George D. Mason
Encyclopedia
George DeWitt Mason was an American architect who practiced in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit 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...

 in the latter part of the 19th and early decades of the 20th centuries.

Mason was born in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...

 , the son of James H. and Zelda E. Mason. The family moved to Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit 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...

 in 1870 and he received his early education there.

Education and 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
Henry T. Brush
Henry T. Brush was an American architect who practiced in Detroit, Michigan in the latter part of the 19th century. Brush was born in Detroit, Michigan the son of Amanda Brush. Henry's father was from Canada and died by the time he was 11. Amanda remarried William Cicero Grant who was...

 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. One of the first buildings in which Mason received equal billing for the design was the Ransom Gillis House
Ransom Gillis House
The Ransom Gillis House is an abandoned ruin located at 205 Alfred Street in Detroit, Michigan. It was "mothballed" by the City of Detroit in 2005/2006 in hopes of restoration in the future. The structure has been unoccupied since the mid-1960's.- History :...

. In 1878 he joined with Zachariah Rice to form the firm Mason and Rice. This partnership lasted until 1898, after which time Mason continued his practice alone.

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.

Selected commissions

Those before 1898 were with Mason and Rice
All buildings are in Detroit Michigan unless otherwise indicated.

  • Ransom Gillis House
    Ransom Gillis House
    The Ransom Gillis House is an abandoned ruin located at 205 Alfred Street in Detroit, Michigan. It was "mothballed" by the City of Detroit in 2005/2006 in hopes of restoration in the future. The structure has been unoccupied since the mid-1960's.- History :...

     (with Brush
    Henry T. Brush
    Henry T. Brush was an American architect who practiced in Detroit, Michigan in the latter part of the 19th century. Brush was born in Detroit, Michigan the son of Amanda Brush. Henry's father was from Canada and died by the time he was 11. Amanda remarried William Cicero Grant who was...

    ) (1876 or 1878)
  • Michigan Central Railroad Depot, Chelsea, Michigan
    Chelsea, Michigan
    Chelsea is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,398 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a village....

     (1880)
  • Cass Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church
    Cass Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church
    The Cass Community United Methodist Church is located at 3901 Cass Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was built in 1883 as the Cass Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1985.- History :The Cass...

     (1883) (Chapel only; while the building stands, it has been totally refaced.
  • Thompson Home
    Thompson Home
    The Thompson Home is a Victorian structure located at 4756 Cass Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Originally the Thompson Home for Old Ladies, it was constructed in 1884, designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.- History :David...

     (1884)
  • Most Holy Trinity Rectory (1886)
  • Grand Hotel
    Grand Hotel (Mackinac Island)
    The Grand Hotel is a historic hotel and coastal resort located on Mackinac Island, Michigan, a small island located at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac within Lake Huron between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. Constructed in the late 19th century, the facility advertises itself as...

    , Mackinac Island
    Mackinac Island
    Mackinac Island is an island and resort area covering in land area, part of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lake Huron, at the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac, between the state's Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The island was home to a Native American settlement before European...

    ,Michigan
  • Gilbert Lee House (1888)
  • First Presbyterian Church (Detroit, Michigan)
    First Presbyterian Church (Detroit, Michigan)
    The Ecumenical Theological Seminary is located at 2930 Woodward Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was built in 1889 as the First Presbyterian Church, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1979.- Architecture :George D...

     (1889)
  • James E. Scripps House (additions) (1891)
  • Trinity Episcopal Church (1892)
  • Belle Isle
    Belle Isle
    - Places :In Canada* Belle Isle , an island and strait In England, UK* Belle Isle, an area of Leeds, West Yorkshire* Belle Isle , an island in Lake District, Cumbria...

     Police Station (1893)
  • Hiram Walker
    Hiram Walker
    Hiram Walker was an American grocer and distiller, and the eponym of the famous distillery in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Walker was born in East Douglas, Massachusetts, and moved to Detroit in the mid-1830s...

     and Sons, Building, Windsor, Ontario
    Windsor, Ontario
    Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...

     (1896)
  • Detroit Opera House, (1898) (Demolished 1966)
  • Palms Apartments
    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 US to use reinforced concrete as one of its major construction materials...

     (with Albert Kahn) (1903)
  • Belle Isle Aquarium
    Belle Isle Aquarium
    The Belle Isle Aquarium, located on Belle Isle Park in Detroit, Michigan, was the oldest continually-operating aquarium in North America. Designed by noted architect Albert Kahn, it opened on August 18, 1904 and closed April 3, 2005 [...

    , (with Kahn)
  • West Engineering Building (with Kahn) (1904), University of Michigan
    University of Michigan
    The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

    , Ann Arbor, Michigan
    Ann Arbor, Michigan
    Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...

  • Century Club and Gem Theater (1903), (1927), building moved, 1997
  • Cadillac
    Cadillac
    Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...

     Motor Car Company Amsterdam Street Plant (1905)
  • Pontchartrain Hotel (1907) (Demolished 1920)
  • Mitchell Brothers Company Building, (1907) Cadillac, Michigan
    Cadillac, Michigan
    Cadillac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Wexford County. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,000. The city is situated at the junction of US 131, M-55 and M-115...

  • Charles T. Fisher
    Charles T. Fisher
    Charles Thomas Fisher was a Catholic American businessman and an automotive pioneer.Born in Norwalk, Ohio, Charles was the second son of Lawrence and Margaret Fisher. The family would grow to include seven boys and four girls...

     House (ca. 1915)
  • Fred Fisher House (ca.1918); later additions, ca. 1923
  • Trinity United Methodist Church (Highland Park, Michigan)
    Trinity United Methodist Church (Highland Park, Michigan)
    The New Mt. Moriah Baptist Church is located at 13100 Woodward Avenue in Highland Park, Michigan. It was built in 1922 as the Trinity United Methodist Church and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.- History :...

  • Detroit Yacht Club
    Detroit Yacht Club
    The Detroit Yacht Club is a private marina and sailing 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...

     $1,000,000 Cost (1923) Belle Isle Park
    Belle Isle Park
    Belle Isle is a island park in the Detroit River, between the United States mainland and Canada, managed by the Detroit Recreation Department. It is connected to the rest of Detroit, Michigan by the MacArthur Bridge...

  • Detroit Masonic Temple
    Detroit Masonic Temple
    The Detroit Masonic Temple is the world's largest Masonic Temple. Located in the Cass Corridor of Detroit, Michigan, at 500 Temple Street, the building serves as a home to various masonic organizations including the York Rite Sovereign College of North America. The Masonic Temple Theatre is a venue...

     (1926)
  • Central Woodward Christian Church
    Central Woodward Christian Church
    Central Woodward Christian Church is a Metro-Detroit congregation affiliated with the Christian Church . Located in Troy, Michigan, this historic congregation was originally located in Detroit on Woodward Avenue...

     (1928)
  • Detroit College of Law Building (Demolished)
  • Zion Lutheran Church, Ann Arbor, Michigan

External links

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