What an era it must have been...

I rarely get the opportunity to visit and show homes in the the Grosse Pointes, much less any of the grand large homes that were built by the wealthy at the turn of the century. This past weekend I had that opportunity. I showed houses in Indian Village, Grosse Pointe Park and Grosse Pointe Farms. For the most part these were just very big old historic homes, mostly built in the late 1800's or early 1900's. Almost all had three full floors of living space, which we just don't see much out in the suburbs.

One house however stood out, just because of it scale and the elegance that it showed, even in it's current somewhat decrepit state. This home in Grosse Pointe Farms must have been built by a very wealthy person and almost assuredly was a showcase for that wealth at the time. The house sold in 2007 for $1.2 Million and is now listed for sale at less than $400,000 in a foreclosure sale.

The home is advertised as being over 6,000 Sq Ft and it seemed to be bigger as we went through it. It is laid out over four floors, all of them with 9 foot or higher ceilings. It has 7 bedrooms and 5 baths and I think I counted 4 fireplaces, but it may have been 5. The kitchen is actually made up of two rooms, which appeared to have been set up as a food preparation room and a butlers/cooks room that likely also served as a pantry. Of course there was an very large and elegant dining room, as well as a large living room with a huge fireplace off to one side of the foyer. A sitting room or library was on the other side. There is a powder room on this entry level too. Off to the side of that level is one of those drive through covered entrances where one could be dropped off and not get rained upon. The front entrance is a large brick porch.

A very wide and elegant staircase leads to the second floor, where there are four bedrooms and three full baths, one in the master bedroom, one in a guest bedroom and one that is shared between the other two bedrooms. All of the bedrooms are large. Two of the bedrooms - the master and the guest room have balconies.

Up another nice staircase is the ball room, as well as another bath. The ball room takes up most of this floor, but there is also another bedroom at this level, though I suppose it could have been a sitting room off the ball room at one time. The ball room is huge and one can close ones eyes and almost hear the echos of a dance band of that era or a chamber music group. It is easy to imagine 70-80 people or more dancing the night away in the ballroom.

Up the final staircase one encounters the last two bedrooms and yet another bathroom. Along the journey there are various nooks and crannies and little rooms or closets that are left to the imagination as to their purpose or use.

Down in the basement there is one of those huge "spider boilers" that supplied steam for the radiators that still heat the place. Right next to the old coal boiler, which still sits there, is a more modern gas-fired boiler. One can only imagine the cost to heat such a place. Of course all of the windows are the old single pane glass, with storm windows on the outside (which tend to just slow down the cold air as it makes its way into the house.

I've been through the Meadow Brook Hall and a couple of the Ford mansions and now this place. I am always awe-struck at the size and details that are in these places. This mansion has plaster coved ceilings on the entry level that are decorated with plaster medallions - you just don't see that any more. Most of the woodwork is intact; however, someone, (it appears to be the current owner) has replaced or covered over the entry-level fireplace surrounds with what looks like fake Italian stone. They also put granite countertops in the kitchen, or started to anyway. It appears that they ran out of money and the place is now in foreclosure and starting to deteriorate because of neglect and a hard winter. That's really a shame. Someone with deep pockets needs to buy the place and do a thorough and hopefully respectful restoration.

I got a real kick out of finally getting to visit some of the homes in the Grosse Pointes and in Indian Village. Most of the homes that we visited were in the range of 2500-3500 Sq Ft, well kept and many had been nicely modernized, without ruining the charm and elegance that they once embodied. It's a different lifestyle and many of the homes are from a vastly different era, but an era that defined elegance and style in a refined way that has long since been lost. I'm not ready to trade the peaceful ambiance of Milford for the Grosse Pointe lifestyle, even if I could afford it; but I have a better appreciation of why those who can afford it love to live there, too.

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