The Charles C. Trowbridge House is located at 1380 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
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
. It is the oldest documented building in the city of Detroit;
[Eric J. Hill, John Gallagher, American Institute of Architects Detroit Chapter](_blank)
''AIA Detroit ,'' Wayne State University Press, 2002, , p.232 it was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974
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 1976.
History
The area where this house sits was originally the Mullett farm, part of a French land grant to Charles Chauvin.
built this house in 1826 at a cost of $2500
[The lot that this house sits on was plat 4 of the Mullett farm, subdivided by Moran]
Charles Trowbridge House
from the city of Detroit on what was then farmland, far from the heart of Detroit.
At the time, the River Road (now East Jefferson) ran behind the house; the original access to the house may have been from what is now the rear.
Houses of this type often had similar front and rear layouts, with entrances at both ends of a central hallway.
In approximately 1850, Trowbridge added a brick addition to the rear of the house.
A stable, still extant, was constructed behind the house.
Trowbridge lived in the house for 56 years until his death in 1883.
[James V. Cambell](_blank)
"Biographical Sketch of Charles C. Trowbridge," read June 3, 1883, published in ''Pioneer Collections: Report of the Pioneer Society of the State of Michigan,'' 1907, pp. 478 - 491 The house, originally built in a
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
style, was updated with
Victorian elements such as the bay window in the front.
[Charles Trowbridge House](_blank)
from Detroit1701.org In 1889, the eastern two bays of the house were removed, leaving the current section.
An apartment house was built on the site where the bays were removed.
By 1929 Detroit artist Roman Kryzanowski was renting and living in his studio located on this property. He died in his studio on July 31, 1929.
[State of Michigan Certificate of Death for Roman Kryzanowsky, residence listed at 1380 East Jefferson, Detroit Michigan. New York Times obituary for Roman Kryzanowski, August 1, 1929.]
After Trowbridge's death, the house remained in the family, and was converted to a rooming house in 1936. In 1942, the Trowbridge family sold the house to Marie Cavanaugh and it was converted back to a single-family residence.
Today, the house is privately owned and houses multiple businesses including Trowbridge Law Firm, Trowbridge Realty, Dickson & Associates and RBD Creative.
Description
When constructed, the house was a five-bay-wide Federal structure with a central entrance.
It has since had two bays removed and has been updated with Victorian elements. The house as it stands exhibits a harmonious blend of Federal and Victorian pieces. The front and rear facades are similar, with an entrance in the same place and a connecting hall between.
In the front, the entrance is at the left-hand side of the current three-bay-wide facade, and is flanked by sidelights with a rectangular transom above. An overhang shielding the entrance is supported by square Doric columns. Above the entrance is a projecting three-sided bay window, with a pediment decorated with fish-scale shingles.
See also
*
References
External links
Trowbridge Realty
{{Metro Detroit Historic Homes
Houses in Detroit
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
Houses completed in 1826
Michigan State Historic Sites
National Register of Historic Places in Detroit
1826 establishments in Michigan Territory