Elisha Taylor House

Elisha Taylor House
Location 59 Alfred Street
Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates 42°20′36″N 83°3′16″W / 42.34333°N 83.05444°W / 42.34333; -83.05444Coordinates: 42°20′36″N 83°3′16″W / 42.34333°N 83.05444°W / 42.34333; -83.05444
Built 1871
Architect Koch & Hess
Architectural style French Renaissance Revival, Second Empire, Victorian, Gothic Revival
NRHP Reference # 75000971[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP March 05, 1975
Designated MSHS November 15, 1973[2]

The Elisha Taylor House is a private home located at 59 Alfred Street in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Brush Park district. The house was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973[2] and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[1] Since 1981, it has served as a center for art and architectural study, known as the Art House.[3]

History

The Elisha Taylor House in a 1884 drawing by Silas Farmer

The Elisha Taylor House was built in 1871 for William H. Craig, a local lawyer, land speculator, and president of the Detroit Board of Trade.[4] The architects were Koch & Hess of Milwaukee and Detroit.[5] In 1875,[6] Craig sold the house to attorney Elisha Taylor.[7] Taylor was a Detroit attorney who held many offices during his career, including City Attorney,[7] assistant Michigan Attorney General from 1837 to 1841, and Circuit Court Commissioner from 1846 to 1854.[6]

Description

The Elisha Taylor House is two-and-a-half stories tall, made of red brick on a rough stone foundation.[6] The structure is an eclectic mix of Gothic and Tudor Revival with elements of other styles, including Queen Anne and Italianate.[6] The house has a high mansard roof[7] with large protruding dormers and unusual vergeboarding at the peak.[6] It is one of the best examples surviving in Detroit of post-Civil War residential design.[7]

Current use

Since 1981, the structure has been used as a center for art and architectural study. The interior has been well preserved, boasting original fireplaces, mirrors, woodwork, decorative plaster, stenciling, Mintons floor tiles, parquet floors, and etched glass.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 "Taylor, Elisha, House". Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Art House
  4. ↑ Martelle, Scott (2014). Detroit: A Biography. Chicago Review Press. p. 61. ISBN 1613730691.
  5. ↑ Pajot, Dennis. Building Milwaukee City Hall: The Political, Legal and Construction Battles. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 3013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 The Elisha Taylor Home from Detroit1701.org
  7. 1 2 3 4 Elisha Taylor House from the city of Detroit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brush Park Historic District.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/27/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.