George DeWitt Mason
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George DeWitt Mason (July 4, 1856 – June 3, 1948) was an American architect who practiced in
Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, in the latter part of the 19th and early decades of the 20th centuries. George Mason was born in
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...
, the son of James H. and Zelda E. Mason. In 1870 the family moved to Detroit, where Mason received his early education.


Career

Mason began his architectural career working for Detroit architect Hugh Smith in 1875, but this only lasted a summer. After this he moved to the firm of Henry T. Brush, where he worked for the first nine months without pay. Mason started out assigned to some specific detailing work on the George O. Robinson House and the
Detroit Public Library The Detroit Public Library is the second largest library system in the U.S. state of Michigan by volumes held (after the University of Michigan Library) and the List of largest libraries in the United States, 12th-largest public library system i ...
. One of the first buildings in which Mason received equal billing for the design was the
Ransom Gillis House The Ransom Gillis House is a historic home located at 205 Alfred Street (formerly 63 Alfred prior to renumbering) in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Brush Park district. It was designed by Henry T. Brush and George D. Mason and built be ...
. In 1878 he joined with Zachariah Rice to form the firm Mason & Rice. This partnership lasted until 1898, after which time Mason continued his practice alone. Mason married Ida Whitaker in 1882, and they had one daughter. From 1884 until 1896 Albert Kahn worked with Mason and Rice, and he returned to partner with Mason for a few years early in the 20th century. A number of Mason's works, either by himself or as part of Mason & Rice, are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. Mason died on June 3, 1948, at his home in the Wilshire Apartments building, at the age of 91. He was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Detroit.


Selected commissions

*
Ransom Gillis House The Ransom Gillis House is a historic home located at 205 Alfred Street (formerly 63 Alfred prior to renumbering) in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, within the Brush Park district. It was designed by Henry T. Brush and George D. Mason and built be ...
205 Alfred Street (with Henry T Brush) (1876 or 1878) * Michigan Central Railroad Chelsea Depot (with Rice),
Chelsea, Michigan Chelsea is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,467 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The area was first settled as early as 1820 within the Michigan Terri ...
(1880) * Cass Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church (with Rice) (1883) (chapel only; while the building stands, it has been totally refaced) 901 Cass Avenue. * Marine City City Hall (with Rice) (1884) (300 Broadway Marine City, MI) (Richardson Romanesque) * Thompson Home (with Rice) 4756 Cass Avenue (1884) * George and Martha Hitchcock House (with Rice),
Farwell, Michigan Farwell is a village in Clare County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 880 at the 2020 census. The village is located within Surrey Township about west of the city of Clare. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, ...
(1885) *
Grand Hotel A grand hotel is a large and luxurious hotel, especially one housed in a building with traditional architectural style. It began to flourish in the 1800s in Europe and North America. Grand Hotel may refer to: Hotels Africa * Grande Hotel Beir ...
(with Rice),
Mackinac Island Mackinac Island ( , ; ; ; ) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac and "Mitchimakinak" in Ojibwemowin, meaning "Great Turtle". It is located in ...
(1887) * Starkweather Memorial Chapel at Highland Cemetery,
Ypsilanti, MIchigan Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...
(1888) * First Presbyterian Church (with Rice) 2930 Woodward Avenue (1889) * Trinity Episcopal Church (with Rice) 1519 Martin Luther King Boulevard (1890) * Engine House No. 18 (with Rice) (1892) * Belle Isle Police Station (with Rice) (1893)Ferry, W. Hawkins (1980). ''The Buildings of Detroit: A History''. Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan. p. 140 * Franklin H. Walker House (with Rice) 2730 East Jefferson (1896). Demolished in 1990s * Century Theatre (1903) *
Palms Apartments The Palms is an apartment building located at 1001 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was one of the first buildings in the United States to use reinforced concrete as one of its major construction materials. It was listed on the Natio ...
(with
Kahn Kahn is a surname of German origin. ''Kahn'' means "small boat", in German. It is also a Germanized form of the Jewish surname Cohen, another variant of which is '' Cahn''.
) (1903) *
Belle Isle Aquarium The Belle Isle Aquarium is a public aquarium located in Belle Isle State Park (Michigan), Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan. Designed by noted architects George D. Mason and Albert Kahn (architect), Albert Kahn, it opened on August 18, 1904, ...
(with Kahn) (1904) * Trinity United Methodist Church (1922), 13100 Woodward Avenue, Highland Park, Michigan. *
Detroit Yacht Club The Detroit Yacht Club (DYC) is a private yacht club in Detroit, Michigan, located on its own island off of Belle Isle in the Detroit River between the MacArthur Bridge and the DTE generating plant. The DYC clubhouse is a restored 1920s Mediter ...
(1923) 1 Riverbank Road. *
Detroit Masonic Temple The Detroit Masonic Temple is the world's largest Masonic Temple. Located in the Cass Corridor neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan, at 500 Temple Street, the building serves as a home to various Freemasonry, masonic organizations including the ...
(1926) 500 Temple. *
Gem Theatre Gem Theatre or Gem Theater may refer to: * Gem Theatre (Detroit) * Gem Theater (Deadwood, South Dakota) * Gem Theatre (Kannapolis, North Carolina) * Gem Theater (New Orleans) *Gem Theater (Pioche, Nevada) The Gem Theater is a movie theater in P ...
(1927) Moved from 62 Columbia to 353 Madison in 1997. * Central Woodward Christian Church (1928) 9000 Woodward Avenue. *
Detroit College of Law The Michigan State University College of Law (Michigan State Law or MSU Law) is the law school of Michigan State University, a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan. Established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, it was the f ...
Building (1937) 130 East Elizabeth. Demolished in 1990s


See also

*
Architecture of metropolitan Detroit The architecture of metropolitan Detroit continues to attract the attention of architects and preservationists alike. With one of the world's recognizable skylines, Detroit's waterfront panorama shows a variety of architectural styles. The Post- ...


References


Further reading

* *Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, ''Architectural Sculpture in America'', unpublished manuscript. *Masonic Temple, Detroit, Michigan A.D. 1926, A.L. 5926 dedication booklette, no date, copyright or publishing information. *Parducci, Corrado, ''Work Records of Corrado J. Parducci'', unpublished manuscript. *


External links


Historic Detroit — George D. Mason
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, George D. 1856 births Culture of Detroit 1948 deaths Architects from Syracuse, New York Architects from Detroit 19th-century American architects 20th-century American architects American railway architects