Rogers and MacFarlane was an

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

firm based in

Detroit 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 ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, founded in 1885 by James S. Rogers and Walter MacFarlane. The firm produced commissions in Detroit and southern Michigan from 1885 until 1912. James S. Rogers (born in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, December 5, 1859) was the son of James S. and Virginia (Leef) Rogers. He was educated in the public schools of

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, and attended

Baltimore City College Baltimore City College, known colloquially as City, City College, and B.C.C., is a college preparatory school with a classical liberal arts focus and selective admissions criteria located in Baltimore, Maryland. Opened in October 1839, B.C.C ...

, and

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

. He married Eleanore White at

Adamstown, Maryland Adamstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. It is named for Adam Kohlenberg (March 11, 1819 – January 1, 1868), a station agent and first town merchant who owned much ...

, in June, 1895. He was the co-founder of the firm of Rogers & MacFarlane, then later Rogers & Bonnah, with offices at 1330

Penobscot Building The Greater Penobscot Building, commonly known as the Penobscot Building, is a class-A office tower in Downtown Detroit, Michigan. Constructed in 1928, the Art Deco building is located in the heart of the Detroit Financial District. The Peno ...

in Detroit. He resided at 183 Seminole Avenue, Detroit, Michigan. Walter MacFarlane (born in

Cold Spring, New York Cold Spring is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the town of Philipstown, New York, Philipstown in Putnam County, New York, United States. The population was 1,986 at the 2020 census. It borders the smaller village of Ne ...

, June 15, 1859) attended

Detroit Public Schools Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that serves Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, and high school students in Highland Park, Michigan. The district, which replaced the original Detroit Public Schools (DPS) in 2016, ...

, and was a student at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

, although he was not college–trained in architecture. He was first employed in the architect's office of Mr. Lloyd in Detroit. Later, he co-founded Rogers & MacFarlane, which maintained offices in Detroit for almost thirty years. MacFarlane left the firm in 1910 after suffering a

nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

. After resting in Colorado and Arizona, he returned to Detroit in 1912 and formed a partnership with Walter Maul and Walter Lenz, architectural graduates of the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

(MacFarlane, Maul, and Lentz). MacFarlane married Mildred A. Griffin of New York October 14, 1914, in

South Orange, New Jersey South Orange is a historic suburban Village (New Jersey), village located in Essex County, New Jersey. It was formally known as the Township of South Orange Village from October 1978 until April 25, 2024. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

. He lived at 1053 Iroquois Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, until he died December 16, 1919. Rogers and MacFarlane were responsible for the design of many of the office buildings, banks and factories of Detroit, including the Morgan & Wright Bicycle Tire Company plant (later

Uniroyal Uniroyal, formerly known as the United States Rubber Company, is an American manufacturer of tires and other synthetic rubber-related products, as well as variety of items for military use, such as ammunition, explosives, chemical weapons and op ...

), the

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

Motor Works, the Murphy Power Plant on Congress Street (purchased by

Detroit Edison DTE Electric Company (formerly The Detroit Edison Company) is an investor-owned electric utility founded in 1886 in Detroit, Michigan. As the largest electric utility in Michigan, it serves approximately 2.3 million customers in the southeastern p ...

June, 1914), the King's China Store ( L. B. King and Company Building), and a large number of the most beautiful homes in Detroit.

Selected commissions

:Unless otherwise noted, buildings are in

. *Lake St. Clair Fishing and Shooting Club (1887) 9900 South Channel Drive, St. Clair River, Harsens Island, MI. Demolished in 1926. *Banner Cigar Factory (1888) 138 East Congress, Demolished in 1957. * Michigan Central Railroad Depot (Battle Creek, Michigan) (1888) 44 Mccamly Street North - Since 1991 ''Clara's on the River'' restaurant - 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 ...

in 1971. * Samuel L. Smith House (1889) 5035 Woodward Avenue - Listed on the

in 1986 *Commercial Block (1889) 2100 Michigan Avenue. *Residence of John N Bagley (1889) 2921 East Jefferson Avenue. *Residence of Dr. Robert A. Jamieson (1889) 49 West Willis. *Residence of Rufus Goodell (1890) 223 East Ferry Avenue. *Duplex Residence of James C. Kuhn (1892) 494-496 Charlotte. *Residence of Frank J. Sarmiento (1892) 5456 Cass Avenue. Demolished in 1930. *Shurly Building (1894) 60 West Adams, Demolished in 1940s. *Residence of Frederick W. Burke (1894) 666 West Forest. *Leonard & Carter Building (1895) 26-28 Gratiot Avenue, Demolished in 1966. *Residence of John R. Long (1895) 3430 East Jefferson Avenue, Demolished. *Duplex residence of Dr. Theodore A. McGraw (1895) 8162 East Jefferson Avenue, Demolished in 1925. *Residence of Arthur McGraw (1895) 8353 East Jefferson Avenue, Demolished. *Residence of Martin S. Smith II (1895) 863 Iroquois. *Palmer Park Casino (1896) Demolished in 1940s. *Residence of Jane Owen (1896) 8326 East Jefferson Avenue, Demolished. *Residence of Edward H. Parker. (1896) 8127 East Jefferson Avenue, Demolished. *Residence of Albert H. Finn (1897) 660 Virginia Park. *Iroquois Hotel (1897) 443 West Portage Avenue, Sault Ste. Marie, MI. Demolished. *Residence of William P. Harris (1898) 8335 East Jefferson Avenue. *Residence of George G. Prentis (1898) 535 East Palmer, Demolished in 1960s. *Belle Isle Ferry Pavilion (1899) located at the foot of the west side of Woodward Avenue, Demolished in 1930s. *Residence of Dr. Andrew Biddle (1899) 791 Seminole. *Residence of Matthew T. Starling (1899) 216 King. *Reformed of the Sibley Apartments (1900) 2539-2543 Woodward Avenue, Destroyed by fire in 1920. *Residence of Henry L. Walker (1900) 1005 Iroquois. *Residence of George Anderson (1900) 275 East Ferry Avenue, Demolished in 1960s. *Residence of James C. Buckley (1901) 1053 Iroquois. *Residence of J. Chandler McLauchlan (1901) 1027 Seminole. *Residence of David C. Whitney "Ridgemont" 237 Lakeshore Drive, Grosse Pointe Farms, MI. Demolished in 1955. *Residence of J. Hutchins (1902) 90 Atkinson. *Marquette Building (1905) 243 West Congress. * Crescent Brass and Pin Company Building (1905) 5766 Trumbull Avenue. *Residence of Frederick Andrus (1905) 1012 Seminole. *Morgan & Wright Bicycle Tire Company plant (1905) 6804 East Jefferson (Later

) Demolished in 1985. *Ladder #11 Detroit Fire Department (1906) 1499 East Milwaukee. *Residence of Edward Hunting Jewett (1906) 1053 Burns. *Residence of Mrs. Mary E. Holland (1906) 1111 Seminole. *Residence of James T. Warner (1906) 255 West Grand Boulevard. *Residence of Lloyd Rowland (1907) 161 Longfellow, *Residence of Herman Lippold (1908) 110 Virginia Park. *Residence of Harry M. Jewett "Maplehurst" (1909) 625 Lakeshore, Grosse Pointe Shores, MI. * L. B. King and Company Building (1910) 1274 Library - Listed on the

in 1987 *Warren Motor Car Company Factory (1911) 1331 Holden. *Residence of James S. Rogers (1911) 779 Seminole. * Judge Julian Tyler House (1897) 2251 Robinwood - Toledo, Ohio. Old West End neighborhood.

Notes and references

Photo gallery

File:ClarasontheRiver1.JPG, Michigan Central Railroad Depot (Battle Creek, Michigan) Now: ''Clara's on the River'', restaurant. Listed on the

in 1971. File:Smith House Detroit.jpg, Samuel L. Smith House 5035 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Listed on the

in 1986. File:L B King and Co Building.jpg, L. B. King and Company Building, Detroit, Michigan. Listed on the

in 1987. File:Bagley House Detroit MI.jpg, Residence of John N Bagley in E Jefferson Avenue File:William F Harris House.jpg, Residence of William F Harris in E Jefferson Avenue File:Judge Julian and Lily Heller Tyler house, Old West End, Toledo, Ohio.jpg, Judge Julian and Lily Heller Tyler house, Old West End, Toledo, Ohio {{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers And Macfarlane Defunct architecture firms based in Michigan Companies based in Detroit Defunct companies based in Michigan Culture of Detroit