The Charles Trombly House is located at 553 East Jefferson Avenue in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Michigan. It is more commonly known as the Beaubien House, and is currently the headquarters of the Michigan Architectural Foundation and the American Institute of Architects of Michigan. The building is one of the oldest remaining houses in Detroit, and was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1975 and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1979.

History

The Beaubien House is built on the site of one of Detroit's original

ribbon farm Ribbon farms (also known as strip farms, long-lot farms, or just long lots) are long, narrow land divisions for farming, usually lined up along a waterway. In some instances, they line a road. Background Ribbon or strip farms were prevalent in ...

s, owned by Antoine Beaubien. The farm had a quarter of a mile frontage on the river, but which ran nearly three miles inland. Beaubien was a Colonel in the

Detroit Militia Detroit ( , ; , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the Canada–United States border, United States–Canada border, and the County seat, seat of gov ...

and received the patent certificate for his land in 1810.Beaubien House History
In June 1850, just before his death, Antoine Beaubien sold lot 8 on Jefferson to Charles J. Trombly for the sum of $2,000. Trombly was Beaubien's cousin and a recent graduate of

Georgetown College Georgetown College is a private Christian college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains. The college offers 38 undergraduate degrees and a Master of Arts in educat ...

. The consensus among historians is that the house was built by Trombly sometime during 1851 for use by Trombly and his new wife. Over the next two decades, the house was owned or rented by multiple families. These include some of the city's oldest and most familiar names, such as McClelland, Cicotte, Whipple, Chapoton, Campau, and Beecher, among others. In 1872, the house was sold to John F. Antisdel, whose family owned or rented the home until 1943 (save a five-year period when William H. Machen lived in the home). After World War II, ownership records are spotty. In 1956, photographer Fred A. Plofchan rented the house; he bought it in 1965. During this time, plumbing lines were extended to the upper levels, which were rented as studio apartments, and the house was used as a combination of office and residential space. The Michigan Architectural Foundation later rented the building, completely renovating it in 1987.

Architecture

The house is constructed of brick and sits on a fieldstone foundation. Walls are constructed of plaster over 2" X 6" studs. The house has a full basement and three floors above. The first floor consists of a front parlor with a marble manteled fireplace, and two smaller rooms, one of which was likely a dining room. Both the second and third floors had two rooms.

History

Architecture

References

Further reading