Meadow Brook Hall is a

Tudor revival Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

style mansion located at 350 Estate Drive in

Rochester Hills, Michigan Rochester Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Detroit, Rochester Hills is located about north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

. It was built between 1926 and 1929 by the heiress to the

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

automaker fortune,

Matilda Dodge Wilson Matilda Dodge Wilson (née Rausch; October 19, 1883 – September 19, 1967) was an American politician and heiress who was the 43rd Lieutenant Governor of Michigan. Ranked as one of the wealthiest women in the world, she was the widow of John Fra ...

and her second husband, lumber baron, Alfred Wilson. Covering with 110 rooms, the structure is the fourth largest historic mansion museum in the United States, and is classified as one of

America's Castles ''America's Castles'' is a documentary television series that aired on A&E Network from 1994 to 2005. Through interviews, historic photos and newly shot footage, the program documents the mansions and summer homes of the high society of The Gild ...

. In 1957, the mansion and the surrounding property and buildings were donated to the state of Michigan in order to fund Michigan State University–Oakland, now known as

Oakland University Oakland University (OU or Oakland) is a public university, public research university in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson and husband ...

. The structure was named a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 2012.

History

Meadow Brook Farms originally belonged to Matilda's first husband, automotive tycoon John F. Dodge. He purchased the property along with the large white farmhouse off Adams Road as a holiday retreat for his family. The mansion is located on a estate off South Adams Road; Dodge added a nine-hole golf course, some of the holes of which still follow the current Katke-Cousins 18-hole course on the property. Meadow Brook Hall was constructed between 1926 and 1929 by Matilda Dodge Wilson and her second husband, Alfred Wilson at a cost of $4 million (equivalent to $ million in ). The couple also owned "Breakwater", an oceanfront home in

Bar Harbor Bar Harbor () is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. The town is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory, and MDI Biological Laboratory. ...

, Maine, and a winter home in Scottsdale, Arizona, and also eventually a smaller retirement home, dubbed “Sunset Terrace”, on the Meadow Brook estate, which they occupied from 1953 until Alfred’s death in 1962. Matilda resided at the estate, either at Meadow Brook Hall or Sunset Terrace, for nearly forty years. The Hall was also partially closed for a brief time during the depth of the Depression during which the family resided in the existing farmhouse. Covering and with 110 rooms, the mansion is the fourth largest historic house museum in the United States. It was designed by

William Kapp William Edward Kapp (August 20, 1891 in Toledo, Ohio, Toledo – 1969) was an American architect. He earned his architectural degree at the University of Pennsylvania. For the majority of his career, he worked for the firm Smith, Hinchman & Gryll ...

of the firm

Smith, Hinchman & Grylls SmithGroup is an international architectural, engineering and planning firm. Established in 1853 by architect Sheldon Smith, SmithGroup is the longest continually operating architecture and engineering firm in the United States that is not a w ...

in a Tudor-revival style. The building features stonework and a plaster dining room ceiling created by

Corrado Parducci Corrado Giuseppe Parducci (March 10, 1900 – November 22, 1981) was an Italian-American architectural sculpture, sculptor who was a celebrated artist for his numerous early-20th century works. Early life and education Parducci was born to Giuli ...

. Much of the original artwork collected by the Wilsons is still found at Meadow Brook including paintings by

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...

Rosa Bonheur Rosa Bonheur (born Marie-Rosalie Bonheur; 16 March 1822 – 25 May 1899) was a French artist known best as a painter of animals (animalière). She also made sculptures in a Realism (arts), realist style. Her paintings include ''Ploughing in the N ...

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...

and

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (; 14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists o ...

, as well as

Tiffany glass Tiffany glass refers to the many and varied types of glass developed and produced from 1878 to 1929–1930 at the Tiffany Studios in New York City, by Louis Comfort Tiffany and a team of other designers, including Clara Driscoll, Agnes F. Northr ...

, Stickley furniture,

Meissen porcelain Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the first Europe, European hard-paste porcelain. Early experiments were done in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger continued von Tschirnhaus's ...

, and

Rookwood pottery Rookwood Pottery is an American ceramics company that was founded in 1880 and closed in 1967, before being revived in 2004. It was initially located in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has now returned there. In its heyda ...

. The estate was added to 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 ...

in 1979 and

in 2012.

In 1957, Alfred and Matilda Dodge Wilson donated the 1,500 acre estate to

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

, along with $2 million to create a branch college campus, now known as

. The Wilsons moved out of Meadow Brook Hall in 1953 into their newly built retirement home, Sunset Terrace nearby, and lived there until Alfred's death in 1962. Mrs. Wilson moved back into Meadow Brook Hall within months of her husband's death, and lived there until her death in 1967. Sunset Terrace now serves as the residence for the current President of Oakland University. Additional buildings which were also designed by William Kapp on the estate included: *Knole Cottage (1926), a six-room miniature playhouse on the Meadow Brook estate. *Sunset Terrace, a retirement home for Matilda and Alfred Wilson on Meadow Brook, which in 1963 became the

president's home.

Concours d'Elegance

The Meadow Brook

Concours d'Elegance Concours d'Elegance ( French: ''concours d'élégance'') is a term of French origin that means a "competition of elegance" and refers to an event where prestigious vehicles are displayed and judged. It dates back to 17th-century France, where a ...

was held annually during August on the grounds of Meadow Brook Hall from 1979 until 2010. This week-long event was one of the largest collector car shows in the world, and a social event in the tradition of the first Concours in 1920s Paris which was an exhibition of automotive design, craftsmanship, history and a tool for automobile manufacturers to market products. Over the years, the event also served as a fundraiser for the preservation of Meadow Brook Hall. On July 20, 2010, promoters announced that the Concours d'Elegance would leave Meadow Brook Hall after that year for the Inn at St. John's in

Plymouth, Michigan Plymouth is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western suburb of Detroit, Plymouth is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, and northeast of Ann Arbor. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 9,370. ...

. The event is now known at the Concours d'Elegance of America at St. John's.

References

;Inline ;General *A&E with Richard Guy Wilson, Ph.D.,(2000). America's Castles: The Auto Baron Estates, ''A&E Television Network''. *Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, ''Shadowing Parducci'', unpublished manuscript. *Wilson, Matilda Rausch Dodge, Debbie Patrick, ed., (1998). ''A Place in the Country: Matilda Wilson's Personal Guidebook to Meadow Brook Hall'', Rochester, MI: Oakland University Press.

External links

* * {{authority control National Register of Historic Places in Oakland County, Michigan National Historic Landmarks in Metro Detroit Houses completed in 1929 Historic house museums in Michigan Concours d'Elegance Oakland University campus Museums in Oakland County, Michigan Art museums and galleries in Michigan University museums in Michigan Tourist attractions in Metro Detroit Houses in Oakland County, Michigan Gilded Age mansions Tudor Revival architecture in Michigan

History

Concours d'Elegance

See also

References

External links