The
Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, which is named
"Gaukler Point" - is on the shore of Lake St. Clair in
Grosse Pointe ShoresGrosse Pointe refers to a coastal area in Metro Detroit, Michigan, United States that comprises five adjacent individual communities. From southwest to northeast, they are:*Grosse Pointe Park, city*Grosse Pointe, city*Grosse Pointe Farms, city...
, northeast of
DetroitDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
,
MichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It became the new residence of the Edsel and Eleanor Ford family in 1929.
Edsel FordEdsel Bryant Ford , son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was president of Ford Motor Company from 1919 until his death in 1943.-Life and career:...
was the son of
Henry FordHenry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
and an executive at
Ford Motor CompanyFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
. The estate's buildings were designed by architect Albert Kahn, its site plan and gardens by renowned landscape designer
Jens JensenJens Jensen was a Danish-American landscape architect.-Early life:Jens Jensen was born near Dybbøl in Slesvig, Denmark, in 1860, to a wealthy farming family. For the first nineteen years of his life he lived on his family's farm, which cultivated his love for the natural environment...
.
House
The Fords traveled to England with Albert Kahn for the concept's ideas, where they were attracted to the
vernacular architectureVernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
of the
CotswoldsThe Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
. They asked Kahn to design a house that would resemble the closely assembled village cottages typical of that rural region. Kahn’s design included
sandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
exterior walls, a traditional slate roof with the stone shingles decreasing in size as they reach its peak, and moss with ivy grown across the house’s exterior. Construction on the house began in 1926.
While construction of the house itself took only one year, two were spent fitting it with antique wood paneling and fireplaces brought from English
Manor houseA manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
s; interior fittings were in the hands of Charles Roberson, an expert in adapting old
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an paneling and fittings to American interiors. The Gallery, the largest room in the house, is paneled with sixteenth-century oak
linenfoldLinenfold is a simple style of relief carving used to decorate wood panelling with a design "imitating window tracery", "imitating folded linen" or "stiffly imitating folded material". Originally from Flanders, the style became widespread across Northern Europe in the 14th to 16th centuries...
relief carvedRelief carving as a type of woodcarving is as old as antiquity, yet it is still enjoyed by carvers today. Though it is not as popular as other forms of wood carving, it is gaining in popularity because of its versatility as a medium of artistic expression. There is essentially no limit to this form...
wood panelling. Its hooded
chimneypieceFireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and can include elaborate designs extending to the ceiling...
is from
Wollaston Hall in WorcestershireWollaston is a village and suburb of Stourbridge, in West Midlands, England. It is within Dudley Metropolitan Borough. It is situated on the border between Dudley Metropolitan Borough and Staffordshire County , and until 1974 was in Worcestershire. Wollaston is one mile from Stourbridge town...
, England, the timber-framed house had been demolished in 1925 and its dismantled elements and fittings were in the process of being dispersed. Fourteenth century stained-glass window medallions were added to the house in the late 1930s. Roberson's barrel-vaulted ceiling for the Gallery was modeled on one at Boughton Malherbe,
KentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England. Paneling and doors in the Dining Room, entirely devoid of electricity, came from 'New Place', a victim of early twentieth-century expansion in
UpminsterUpminster is a suburban town in northeast London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan, and comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential...
, a new suburb of
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The Library's paneling and its stone chimneypiece came from the Brudenell seat, Deene Park,
NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, England. Harris suggests that this already once removed paneling had come from another 'Brudenell seat.'
The Study has a wooden overmantel with the date 1585, from Heronden Hall,in Kent. town in northeast London, England
Other interesting design elements include kitchen counters made of
sterling silverSterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by mass of silver and 7.5% by mass of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925....
, a "secret" photographic
darkroomA darkroom is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of light sensitive photographic materials, including photographic film and photographic paper. Darkrooms have been created and used since the inception of photography in the early 19th century...
behind a panel of Edsel Ford's office, and
Art DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style rooms designed by
Walter Dorwin TeagueWalter Dorwin Teague was an American architect, designer and one of the most prolific American industrial designers in terms of volume of completed work. Teague's name and vision lives on through the legacy of his company....
, a leading
industrial designIndustrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...
er of the 1930s. Teague’s first floor “Modern Room” features 'the new' indirect lighting method, taupe colored leather wall panels, and a curved niche with eighteen vertical mirrored sections. He also designed bedrooms and sitting rooms for all three of Edsel and Eleanor’s sons. Teague’s design for son
Henry Ford IIHenry Ford II , commonly known as "HF2" and "Hank the Deuce", was the son of Edsel Ford and grandson of Henry Ford...
’s bathroom includes grey glass walls made of the same structural glass as its shower stall.
Furnishings
The house featured an extensive art collection, reflecting Edsel and Eleanor’s status as serious museum benefactors. After Eleanor Ford’s death, many important paintings were donated to the
Detroit Institute of ArtsThe Detroit Institute of Arts is a renowned art museum in the city of Detroit. In 2003, the DIA ranked as the second largest municipally owned museum in the United States, with an art collection valued at more than one billion dollars...
(DIA). Reproductions were hung in their place. The classical
French-styleLouis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
Drawing Room features two original
Paul CézannePaul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
paintings and reproductions of
Pierre-Auguste RenoirPierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to...
and
Edgar DegasEdgar Degas[p] , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist...
works. A reproduction of
Vincent van GoghVincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
's
The Postman Roulin hangs in the Morning Room. An original
Diego RiveraDiego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
painting,
Cactus on the Plains, hangs in the Modern Room.
Gardens
The
estate'sAn estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
gardens were designed by
landscape architectA landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
Jens JensenJens Jensen was a Danish-American landscape architect.-Early life:Jens Jensen was born near Dybbøl in Slesvig, Denmark, in 1860, to a wealthy farming family. For the first nineteen years of his life he lived on his family's farm, which cultivated his love for the natural environment...
with his traditional 'long view,' giving visitors a glimpse of the residence down the long
meadowA meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
after the passing the entry gates, then brief partial views along the long drive, and only at the end revealing the entire house and another view back up the long meadow.
Mrs Ford wanted to have a
rose gardenA Rose garden or Rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses. Designs vary tremendously and roses may be displayed alongside other plants or grouped by individual variety, colour or class in rose beds.-Origins of the rose...
installed but Jensen originally disapproved of this claiming that it would ruin the landscape which was designed to look completely natural. Jensen had previously quit on
Henry FordHenry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
and Clara Ford, when Clara wanted to install a rose garden directly in the center of the backyard meadow at the
Henry Ford EstateFair Lane was the name of the estate of Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford and his wife Clara Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, in the United States. It was named after an area in County Cork in Ireland where Ford's adoptive grandfather, Patrick Ahern, was born...
. Eleanor and Jensen eventually came to a compromise and the rose garden was placed behind some native bushes which was out of sight of the meadow that is the focal piece of the front lawn. Jensens son was contracted later on to install the new garden area which has a
reflecting poolA reflecting pool or reflection pool is a water feature found in gardens, parks, and at memorial sites. It usually consists of a shallow pool of water, undisturbed by fountain jets, for a calm reflective...
and does not have the natural stylizing of the rest of the grounds. Instead he opted for finely trimmed bushes and square grassy areas.
The grounds of the estate include a power house and a gate house along affluent Lake Shore Drive, often mistaken for the actual house. The gate house includes apartments formerly used by staff and an eight-car garage with a
turntableTurntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating music using phonograph turntables and a DJ mixer.The word 'turntablist' was coined in 1995 by DJ Babu to describe the difference between a DJ who just plays records, and one who performs by touching and moving the records, stylus and mixer...
to rotate cars so they don’t need to back out. The Recreation House beyond the man-made
lagoonA lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
and
swimming poolA swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
contains changing rooms and a
squash courtSquash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
with spectator’s gallery. Closer to the gate house is Josephine Ford’s child-sized
playhousePlayhouse is a common Elizabethan term for a theatre, especially those built in London such as The Globe and The Rose.It is also used as the name for theatres today:- Australia :* Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre...
, built for her by her grandmother Clara (Mrs.
Henry FordHenry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
), in 1930. It features working electricity and plumbing and an exterior decorated with characters from nursery rhymes.
For William on his 21st birthday the family enlisted a company which built a full size replica pirate ship on the lagoon as a party showpiece. The party was held outside just off the Apple Patio and featured live acts including
Frank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
.
Museum
Edsel FordEdsel Bryant Ford , son of Henry Ford, was born in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was president of Ford Motor Company from 1919 until his death in 1943.-Life and career:...
died in this house in 1943 and his wife Eleanor Ford lived there until her death in 1976. It was her wish that the property be used for "the benefit of the public." The
Edsel & Eleanor Ford House is open to the public for guided tours. Located on 87 acres (352,076.8 m²) at 1100 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan 48236, the 20000 square feet (1,858 m²) house has a fine collection of original antiques and art, and beautiful lakefront grounds. Including the frontage on Ford's Cove, the total Lake St. Clair waterfront of the property is 3,100 ft. (985 m). The house currently hosts special events, classes and lectures, The estate, at 1100 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan 48236, is listed on the
National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Restoration
Several historical restoration projects have been started in recent years, most of which were to fix the deteriorating masonry on the main house, the play house, and the various walks. The Edsel Ford house relies on donations as well as an original trust set up by Mrs Ford to continue restoration work. Mrs Ford left a total of $15,000,000 USD when she handed the house over in trust in the 1970s. As of 2007 this fund has reached a maximum value of $98,000,000 USD.
The house has undergone multiple large scale restoration projects, including new roofing which was conducted by a firm from
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
using five professional masons. The roof was torn down to the base wood all of which was replaced where needed. The stone was selected to match the existing stone from the same quarry as the original.
The restoration projects are done by skilled craftsmen who have had proven previous experience in their fields. The foundation selects bidders for projects based on their previous experience, portfolio, and firms that can provide near original/original material over pricing to ensure that the estate is restored to the original construction specifications.
The most recent restoration project was to replace the
sandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
pillars on the outside of the lakefront
patioA patio is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a residence and is typically paved. It may refer to a roofless inner courtyard of the sort found in Spanish-style dwellings or a paved area between a residence and a garden....
which had started to crack around the upper edges. To ensure complete historical accuracy the foundation contracted a firm from the same region from where the original stone was purchased.
There are still many rooms which visitors are not permitted, including the basement. While the estate houses 60+ rooms as well as other buildings, the public tours usually only showcases 20 of them. Occasionally the other rooms, such as staff living quarters, are showcased in specific tours. Though a number of rooms in the north upstairs wing of the house hold administrative offices, these are not shown to the public. Some of the rooms are still in less than desirable condition, and restoration projects hope to have the entire estate in show worthy within the next few years.
External links