Ammi Wright House Circa 1900, photo from them Library of Congress archive
I came across this house last summer on one of my whirlwind road trips taking photos in central Michigan. There are few houses in Michigan that are as intriguing as the Ammi Wright house in Alma.. At that time I did not know anything about this house until I posted a photo of it. I was told it was the Ammi Wright house which is remarkable to me, since Ammi Wright got his start in my hometown of Saginaw with the lumber industry. He eventually moved to Alma and built this magnificent house in 1888
Ammi Wright house in Alma summer of 2013
the Wright family sold the house to become Smith Memorial Hospital in 1934 and then Northwood Institute in 1959. In my research on the house I found out it is now owned by Kurt Wassenaar, an architect from Alma and he plans on restoring the house and making it into a hotel. you can read more about it HERE
Ammi Wright house in Alma in winter 2014
Ammi Wright donated the land and money to start Alma College and it is good to see someone is taking an interest in saving this house. We live in an era where the cost to build new is cheaper that restoration, but no one seems to factor in “historical value” when making that statement. I thank people like Mr Wassenaar for caring about our history and architecture to invest in it. I am sure it will be a long and challenging process but I hope I get to tour it when it’s completed.
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Ammi Wright house in Alma circa 1900 Photo: Library of Congress Archive
