Du Mouchelle Art Galleries:  This is a fine arts auctioneer and estate appraiser with many fine collectibles on display. It's located at 409 E. Jefferson Ave., across from the Ren Cen.  (313-963-6255 www.dumouchelles.com/.)

Detroit Gallery of Contemporary Crafts: This gallery has unique American artwork for purchase, including clothing, hats, jewelry, handbags, home accessories, furniture, lighting and gifts.  It's located at 104 Fisher Building, in the New Center area, near the old GM headquarters and the Model T (“T”-Plex) Museum.  (313-873-7888.)

Abreact Performance Space: This is an open forum venue for performing artists. It was known as the Abreact Playhouse when it was founded in 2000.  A new form of artistic expression unfolded at that time with two Detroit actors.  ("Abreact" refers to a release of repressed emotions by acting out the cause).  Abreact is also an art gallery.  Recent shows include work by Chris Vollmer -- Old and New Works.  Refer to Theatre page, also.   Abreact is located at 1301 W. Lafayette, #113 in Corktown.  (reservations@theabreact.com.)

​4731 Grand River Creative Corridor:  Founded by Derrick Weaver with 70 artists on Grand River west of Midtown, this half-mile collection of murals and art billboards decorate an essentially abandoned area with images of Native Americans, provocative images and abstract paintings.  The focus is a gallery building at 4731 Grand River.  Refer to Page 16, Detroit Weird and Wonderful for more details.  (313-355-3273.)

Miscellaneous Small Detroit Galleries (Info. Pending)

(Partial Source:  Metrotimes, The Annual Manual, 2013)

5E Gallery:  Located at 2661 Michigan Ave, Detroit.

The Arts League of Michigan:  Located at 311 E. Grand River Ave., Detroit.  (313-965-8430.)

Cave Gallery, Russell Industrial Center:  Located at 1604 Clay, Detroit (cavedetroit.com.)

Cass Café 4620 Cass Ave., Detroit.  (313-831-1400 casscafe.com.)

Center Gallery at the College for Creative Studies:  Located at 301 Frederick Douglass, Detroit. Area shown on this page.  (313-664-7800 collegeforcreativestudies.edu.)

College for Creative Studies Gallery:  Located at 201 E. Kirby, Detroit.   Area shown on this page.  (1-800-952-2728.)

Contemporary Art Institute Detroit:  Located at 4141 Rosa Parks Blvd., Detroit.  (313-899-2243 thecaid.org.)

Dell Pryor Gallery:  Located at 4201 Cass Ave, Detroit.  (313-833-6990 dellpryorgalleries.com.)

Detroit Artists Market:  Located at 4719 Woodward, Detroit.  (313-832-8540 detroitartistsmarket.org.)

Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School: Detroit.  (drsketchydetroit.blogspot.com)

Ellen Kayrod Gallery:  Located at 4750 Woodward, Detroit.  (313-833-1300 hannan.org.)

Johanson Charles Gallery:  Located at 1345 Division St., Detroit.  (313-483-1158.)

The Josephine Ford Sculpture Garden:  Located at 201 E. Kirby, Detroit.  (collegeforcreativestudies.ed.)

JRainey:  Located at 140 Service, Detroit.  (313-433-5022 jraineygallery.com.)

Ladybug Gallery:  Located at 1250 Hubbard, Detroit.  (313-899-2243 thecaid.org.)

Motor City Brewing Works (Wednesday Nights):  Located at 470 W. Canfield, Detroit.  (313-832-2700 motorcitybeer.com.)

Pioneer Building:  Located at 2679 E. Grand Blvd., Detroit.  (313-872-1943 thepioneerbuilding.com.)

Russell Industrial Center:  Located at 1600 Clay, Detroit.  (313-872-4000 ricdetroit.org.)

Swords Into Plowshares Peace Center and Gallery:  Located at 33 E. Adams, Detroit.  (313-963-7575 swordsintoplowsharesdetroit.intuitwebsites.com.)

Tangent Gallery:  Located at 715 E. Milwaukee, Detroit.  (313-873-2955 tangentgallery.com.)

The UFO Factory:  Located at 1345 Division, Detroit.  (313-483-1158 ufofactory.com.)

WCCCD Brown and Juanita C. Ford Gallery at Wayne County Community College:   Located at 1001 W. Fort, Detroit.  (313-593-0904.)

Work:  Detroit:  Located at 3663 Woodward, Detroit.  (313-593-0940.)

N'Namdi Center of Contemporary Art:  The N'Namdi Gallery was opened in Detroit in 1981, by George N'Namdi.  The Center of Contemporary Art was recently built, presenting works of modern abstractionism by Africans and African Americans.  Exhibitions have included artists like Ed Clark, Frank Bolsing, Robert Colescott, Howarden Pindell, Richard Mayhew, and Nanette Carter.  It's located at 52 East Forest in Midtown.  (313-831-8300.)

Re:View Contemporary Gallery:  Founded by Dimone DeSousa, this facility creates media in the visual arts, design and writing.  The Contemporary Gallery is composed of an Exhibitions Gallery with one and two person exhibits by nationally and locally known artists, and a Commercial Gallery and Design Store with works by different artists and designers.  Recent exhibits have included work by Kate Silvio, Joe Namy, and Adam Shirley.   It's located at 444 Willis. (313-833-9000 www.reviewcontemporary.com/ .)

Heidelberg Project:  Sometimes controversial, this is a group of houses in a two block area, extensively decorated with discarded objects, and has a reputation that extends far beyond Detroit.  Tyree Guyton founded Heidelberg Project -- often regarded as an art community -- on the east side of the city.  The local area has sometimes had a love-hate relationship with this artwork that once faced almost certain demolition by a former mayor.  The Project also includes a gift shop that sells unique, handmade greeting cards by Darlene Reynolds and "The Book," a 160-page document featuring the 20-year history of the Project in photos. There are many other interesting keepsakes for purchase at the shop.  It's located at 3360 Charlevoix St./42 Watson Street.   Unfortunately, the project has suffered a huge rash of fires recently and many of these attractions are gone.  (313-267-1622 information@heidelberg.org,)

Bureau of Urban Living: This is a modern goods store with gifts and specially designed maps and prints offered by local artist and designers.  It's located at 460 West Canfield.  (313-833-9336  bureauliving.com.)

MBAD/ABA Museum Where “African Town Begins”:  It’s located at 6559 Grand River in the New Center. Museum Details pending.

Many ponds and nature trails meander through the landscape, including an oriental water garden. 

Several gardens were included as well as fountains with reflecting pools and landscaped terraces. Many improvements were commissioned to add glasswork, wood carvings, fine furniture, sculpture, tapestries and quality decor by gifted artisans of the era, who Booth personally supervised. Several works by old masters were bought for the residence.

Booth then bought a 172 acre ramshackle farm in Bloomfield Hills, adding lakes and trees to its barren hills.  The Cranbrook House was built in 1908. 

It is the oldest surviving manor home in southeast Michigan and was named after Cranbrook, the Booth home town in England. Otherwise known as the Booth mansion, it is registered as a National Historic Landmark and was designed by Albert Kahn in the English Arts and Crafts style.

√√Rec The Cranbrook House and Gardens (Bloomfield Hills):   George Gough Booth made his fortune in iron works, lived in Windsor, Ontario and then moved to Detroit when he married Ellen Warren Scripps, the daughter of Edmund Scripps, newspaper magnate.  

√RecMeadow Brook Hall and Gardens (Rochester): The great Hall was recently designated a National Historic Landmark.  Designed by Smith Hinchman and Grylls, architects, the Tudor Revival mansion with 110 rooms and a total of 88,000 square feet, was constructed in 1929 for Matilda Dodge Wilson, the widow of John Dodge of automotive fame and Alfred G. Wilson.  The 1,400 acre site includes two golf courses and the campus of Oakland University.  The mansion is the fourth or fifth largest in the U.S. and contains a substantial portion of the estate's original art collection that includes Bonheur, Constable, Reynolds and Gainsborough masterpieces as well as the many Romanesque sculptures of Carrado Parducci.  One masterpiece was recently identified as a rare find and restored by the Detroit Institute of Arts under exclusive arrangements.  

Palmer Woods: This neighborhood covers several blocks along Woodward in northern Detroit and is still a coveted residential area of breathtaking architecture and stately old mansions.  (Both Gilda Radner and Minoru Yamasaki lived in this large neighborhood that includes Palmer Woods and Palmer Park.)

Barry Subdivision:  The Barry neighborhood is a small collection of upscale homes on the lower east side at the western-most edge of the Detroit’s Gold Coast by the river.

√Rec Indian Village:  The original address of many of Detroit’s first families in an area about three blocks wide and five blocks long bordering East Jefferson.  Today it clings to its heritage with less certainty among neighbors who have seen better days.  This island of prosperity still offers up a sampling of fine architecture near its east side upper middle class siblings that are a notch lower on the income scale and less well maintained.

The Hunter House:  Designed by George Depew in 1890 for William Northwood in the Chateauesque style, this 3-story home later became a church in the 1960s and was then purchased by the Hunter family for restoration as a home.

These buildings include the Roehm House, the Scott House, the Owen House, the Raymond C. Smith Carriage House and the John R. Carriage House. The primary focus of this collection is the Pungs House (interior photos pending). The historic Victorian home was built in 1891 for William Pungs and offers accommodations, dining and meeting space. Significantly, Mr. Pungs was Vice President of the Michigan Railroad Supply Company and founder of the Anderson Carriage Company.  Both are important contributions. For without the rail that brought resources to Detroit and the carriage builders, the U.S. auto industry might never have gained a foothold five years later.   

This industry would inevitably change the character of the very neighborhoods that fostered its creation, with the replacement of the Carriage House by the garage, and the carriage by the auto body, using the same materials.  The Pungs House contains nine guest rooms, two fireplaces and hardwood floors.  Each guest room has a private bathroom.  The Inn has offered package deals that share visits with the DIA and the Michigan Science Center. Dining at the Inn is available in its banquet and meeting facilities, and outdoor reception areas.                                                                                                                                                                                                 This EXCELLENT extended stay Inn also features parlors, and areas for standing cocktail receptions.  It's popular with metro Detroiters and other visitors who use the facility to enjoy a sports weekend, to tour Eastern Market or the RiverWalk, or to see art at the DIA.  Other important homes, like the Lewis Cass Mansion are found on the next corner or across the street.  The Inn is located at 84 East Ferry.  (Please contact this popular Inn at 313-871-6000 or review the website at, theinnonferrystreet.com.).

Some editing still required.

Cranbrook Educational Community and Museums (Bloomfield Hills):  Founded in 1904, it is a co-educational community for K through 12-college prep. and graduate students who share the campus with museums of art and science on 319 acres. 

Both noted architects, Eliel Saarinen and Albert Kahn designed many of the buildings in the tradition of the Arts and Crafts movement and the International style. 


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In 1922 the Booths decided to make a lasting commitment to their dream to create six separate cultural institutions of science, education and art on their estate.  They eventually willed the property to the Cranbrook Foundation in 1944. Tours, both guided and self-guided, are available at the Cranbrook House and Gardens now totaling 319 acres. The mansion is currently used for some of the Cranbrook's administrative offices.  The Cranbrook House is located within the rolling hills of the Cranbrook Educational Community at 39221 Woodward Ave. (248-645-3147 cranbrook.edu/housegardens/history)
Saarinen House:  Also, available on the Cranbrook grounds for tours, is the Saarinen House designed by Eliel Saarinen, Cranbrook architect.

Booth was never quite satisfied with the mansion, and added several wings and out-buildings to the site. 

The Fisher Mansion:  Built in 1927.  Art Deco home of Lawrence P. Fisher of Fisher Body; includes gardens fountains and pools.  For some time it was the home to the Hare Krishna.  It's located on 383 Lenox Street, in Detroit near the river in East Town, on the lower east side (313-331-6740).  With tile roof and mission style architecture it could be a part of Beverly Hills, California real estate -- instead of Detroit -- and looks out of place here without palm trees.

​√RecThe Inn at 97 Winder: This magnificent home is an 11,000 square foot 1876 Victorian/Second Empire mansion designed by John V. Smith and built for John Harvey in the neighborhood once known as Little Paris, and later known as Brush Park.  A few curved windows constructed in the Lucarne style frame the 2nd story.  The façade is wrapped in parallel bands of stone and brick.  It combines a touch of Queen Anne and Mansard architectural features and is the largest of the remaining Victorian homes in Detroit. 

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​√Rec  234 Winder Street Inn:  This home is known as the Emmanuel Schloss House, and is one of many fine examples of the 2nd Empire architectural style in Brush Park.  This two-story brick building was built in 1872 for Jewish-German immigrants, Emmanuel and Rebecca Schloss.  It is listed as a State of Michigan Historical Landmark, and has been completely restored to its original finery.  Tours are regularly available.  Buffet-style dining or barbecue have been arranged through reservations for special events, celebrations and weddings.  The Inn also includes a parlor for other gatherings.  This beautiful and historic residence is located at 234 Winder Street near several museums.  (313-831-4091 www.234winderstinn.com.)

Several old masterpieces stubbornly hang on in Brush Park, once known as Little Paris.  These were the comfortable abodes of business elites like Gillis, Hudson and Kahn. 

Perhaps five to ten percent of the opulent mansions still cling to a carpet of fields in the southeast Midtown neighborhood.   A sudden urgency favors preservation, and for a handful, restoration is in full swing.  Some were rehabbed into bed-and-breakfasts, Inns or business retreats.  A few urban pioneers have restored them for personal use. 

These homes have the power to turn back the clock to Detroit’s 2nd Empire, Victorian, Federal or Italianate finery that balances a craftsman’s flare with conservative pride.  Equal finery is found outside Brush Park, but these design jewels risk a death struggle to stay one step ahead of salvagers.  Vandals and pyrophiles prey on them without notice.  Their schedules are never posted and their appointments always open. 

Restoration billboards proclaim “Coming Soon” but may arrive too late.  Once rescued, these gems radiate consummate glory as unsurpassed as any in 1880.  

Some catch a break when a developer leverages their rich heritage to market new apartments. Two investors renovated a couple of the last best examples of early Brush Park including the Ransom Gillis mansion before the carpet could be yanked from under them.   Without a savior they faced demolition or the scrapper.

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The home is constructed of sandstone walls and a slate roof with interiors of antique wood and transplanted wood fireplaces.  A large Gallery room built with 16th century style oak paneling and stained glass windows gives the building its distinctive character. 

Extensive art collections decorate some rooms that include Renoir, Cezanne and Degas paintings. Whole sections of paneling and  furnishings were obtained from English estates like Wollaston and Upminster, Deene Park, Heronden Hall or modeled after Boughton Malherbe.  A graceful landscape of tall pines, oaks, maples and weeping willows decorates a broad grassy meadow leading to the home on the lakeshore. 

A swimming pool and squash court provided the Fords recreation, and a turntable garage permitted easy access to parked cars. 

The estate has undergone restoration recently.  Classes, lectures, tours and special events are held here. 

The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House is located at 1100 Lake Shore Dr., Grosse Pointe Shores among other great mansions and the brilliant vistas of Lake St. Clair.  (33-884-4222 www.fordhouse.org)

Marvin M. Stanton Home/The Castle(not shown): A former Bed and Breakfast constructed in the medieval castle style in 1898, this 13,500 square foot home is a collection of parapets, crenulations, turrets, beige colored stone lintels and red brick.  Marvin M. Stanton, originally from New York, established a thriving men's clothing business and built the home along a canal. It also included a carriage house. This mansion is not currently available to the public for interior viewing except for interested buyers (at the time of this writing).  It's located at 530 Parkview on the east side of Detroit.

Detroit’s Market-N-The ARC Gallery Emporium:  It’s located at 51 W. Hancock and Woodward in Midtown.

​Those who lived in the home helped form the foundation of Detroit business and culture in their day, including J.L. Hudson (of the department stores) David Whitney (lumber baron) and Albert Kahn (architect). The Inn has been fabulously restored and is an imposing showpiece in the area. Today it is offered as a boutique hotel featuring three parlors, a lounge and dining area with nook, presenting gourmet cuisine with generous elegance. Detroit-original beverages and delicacies are provided with impeccable concierge service, in a setting of fine furniture, 12-14 foot ceilings, and private bathrooms. The Inn has been on Register of National Historic Places since 1991, and is a short stroll from other great attractions like the new Little Caesars Arena, Ford Field, Comerica Park, the Fox Theatre, and the DIA. The Q-1 Rail stops on Woodward a relatively short distance away availing nearly direct access to all.  Check for the current availability of this Inn's special amenities.  (This home would make a fine setting for a period film production.)  (313-832-4348. www.theinnat97winder.com)

The campus also features the restored Booth mansion (or "Cranbrook House"), the home of the founder, with its gardens, reflecting pool and landscaped grounds.  

​√Rec The Whitney:  A luxurious mansion built in 1894 for lumber baron David Whitney, Jr., the Whitney has 52 rooms and 20 fireplaces, comprising  21,000 square feet.  

The Freer Mansion: This was the home of Charles Lang Freer built in 1890 and designed by Wilson Eyre.  Freer made his fortune in the rail car business.  

The mansion contains numerous rooms and private art galleries that reflected the tastes of Detroit’s elite in the era of Detroit’s early opulence.  It combines a mix of rustic influences with touches of urban elegance.  Freer was impressed with Maryland spruce roof shingles and applied the same designs to his home.  He was the friend of the Whitneys and Heckers who lived nearby and regularly entertained in the area with competitive zeal. 

One room in the mansion was built to spec for a room Freer admired in the house of another friend.  It contained Asian peacock graphics. When his friend died, Freer persuaded the widow to sell him the installation, transferring the entire collection to his property. 

The home is sited on a hill in view of the lake, with lawns flanked by fountains and gardens. 

All this brought admiration and national recognition to the estate from architects and builders of fine homes throughout the nation.

The Freer mansion contains an extensive art gallery in the north end of the building.

The Freer name is associated with the Smithsonian Institute and a prestigious national art gallery Mr. Freer founded.

This mansion is located on 71 E. Ferry Street in northeast Midtown.  Tours are available.

Please see Page 2c to continue your review of Cranbrook attractions. 

√√Rec  The Inn on Ferry Street (The "Pungs House"):  Detroit’s famous Ferry Street has preserved many fine homes of cultural significance to the city.  Six of them form the Inn’s collection on Ferry Street.

Carl Milles and Marshall Fredericks created many of the sculptures on campus. The large, cascading set of terraces adjacent to the Art Museum displays Marshall Frederick's animal and aquatic figures.  

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Among the unusual features of the Hall, at the time of its construction, are 39 uniquely constructed brick chimneys, a full-size home theatre, four kitchens and two elevators.  At the insistence of Matilda Wilson, wood fixtures and furnishings lack inlay features and, therefore, the mansion is filled with solid hewn examples of furniture and decorations.  Unlike The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, for instance, most of the interior millwork, carvings and décor are American in origin and made from American wood products or building materials quarried in the U.S -- and then crafted by American craftsmen.  Materials include sandstone, brick, clay shingle roof tile, wood timbers, carved plaster ceilings, and gold plated bathroom fixtures.  Bedrooms are in the French Rococo or American Colonial style.  The dining room is Neo-classical.  Until recently, the Hall was the location of the Concours d'Elegance of America car show but the mansion hosts several other seminal events for the area.  The grounds include a farmhouse and gardens.  The Hall is available for tours and conventions.  (Refer to the Theatre page describing the Music Hall as well.)  (248-364-6263 www.meadowbrookhall.org.)

​The side elevation reveals at building with ample additional square footage at the rear and an elegant roof line and distinctive chimney.  This side presents a bit of a 2nd Empire profile.

Recent demand by entrepreneurs in the area has created a shortage in living space, sparking renewed interest in the old mansions of Brush Park.  There are about 20 bargains waiting to be snatched up provided they aren't demolished first.

​A beautiful Queen Anne residence has been restored on 291 Edmunds Street and an attractive French Renaissance building with patterned slate roof shingles was restored on 79 Alfred.

The continuing contributions of the students and faculty have furnished a superlative collection of American design over the years that often tours the U.S. and Europe, rivaling the Bauhaus tradition in its depth and breadth of design.  Many of the Art Museum shows exhibit ceramics, fiber, metal work, painting, photography, print media, sculpture and furniture design. 

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​√Rec“The Edmund”or Lucien Moore House (Albert Kahn):   A beautiful renovation was recently completed on this 1885 mansion, just one of a handful of living museums restored to former grandeur.  Keystone gables, brick and stone-banded bay windows and arcades frame five spacious apartments and a luxury penthouse rendered in Gothic Revival-French Renaissance style. (Contact 313-623-2461 for further information. Website pending.)