The Elisha Taylor House is a historic private house located at 59 Alfred Street in Midtown

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 ...

, within the

Brush Park The Brush Park Historic District, frequently referred to as simply Brush Park, is a 22-block neighborhood located within Midtown Detroit, Michigan and designated by the city.

district. The house was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973 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 1975. Since 1981, it has served as a center for art and architectural study, known as the Art House.Art House
/ref>

History

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. The architects were Koch & Hess of

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

and Detroit.Pajot, Dennis. ''Building Milwaukee City Hall: The Political, Legal and Construction Battles''. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 3013. In 1875, Craig sold the house to attorney Elisha Taylor. Taylor was a Detroit attorney who held many offices during his career, including City Attorney, assistant Michigan Attorney General from 1837 to 1841, and Circuit Court Commissioner from 1846 to 1854.

Description

The Elisha Taylor House is two-and-a-half stories tall, made of red brick on a rough stone foundation.The Elisha Taylor Home
from Detroit1701.org The structure is an eclectic mix of Gothic and Tudor Revival with elements of other styles, including Queen Anne and Italianate. The house has a high mansard roof with large protruding dormers and unusual

vergeboard Bargeboard (probably from Medieval Latin ''bargus'', or ''barcus'', a scaffold, and not from the now obsolete synonym "vergeboard") or rake fascia is a board fastened to each projecting gable of a roof to give it strength and protection, and to ...

ing at the peak. It is one of the best examples surviving in Detroit of post-Civil War residential design.Elisha Taylor House
from the city of Detroit

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 Mintons was a major company in Staffordshire pottery, "Europe's leading ceramic factory during the Victorian era", an independent business from 1793 to 1968. It was a leader in ceramic design, working in a number of different ceramic bodies, ...

floor tiles, parquet floors, and etched glass.

References

External links

Art House — Tours
{{Metro Detroit Historic Homes Houses in Detroit Houses completed in 1870 1870 establishments in Michigan Historic district contributing properties in Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites in Wayne County, Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, Michigan Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Second Empire architecture in Michigan Victorian architecture in Michigan