Ransom Gillis House
Encyclopedia
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.
merchant. The property was sold by Gillis in 1880. The house and property passed though the hands of four different upper income families between 1876 and 1919. After this time the main structure was converted into a Rooming House along with most of the other structures on the street. The Carriage House
behind the structure was rented by Mary Chase Perry Stratton
in 1903 becoming the first home of Pewabic Pottery
. The pottery
left the Carriage House in 1906 and it was then occupied by an auto repair shop, a battery service shop, and finally a filling station before it was torn down and replaced by a restaurant in 1935. The restaurant operated until the 1960's and was torn down in 2005/2006 as part of the city's "mothballing" work on the property.
A storefront was added to the front of the Ransom Gillis House in the late 1930's and was operated along with the Rooming House until the mid-1960's. Various attempts were made to restore the main structure in the 1970's, 1980's, and in the mid-2000's, none of which succeeded.
The property is owned by the City of Detroit as of 2001.
The Ransom Gillis House brought the Venetian Gothic style made popular by John Ruskin's
book The Stones of Venice (book)
to Detroit. The centerpiece of the structure was the turret situated in the front left corner the circumference of which was accented by five rows of tiles of simple geometric designs in hues of bright blue, red, yellow, and brown. Similar tile work was spread throughout the rest of the structure. The base of the turret was decorated with stone carvings of quadruplets of flower blossoms, similar but all slightly different. The turret was supported from below by an ornate stone post. Dark ornately carved wood columns enclosed the porch at the entrance to the house. Lastly, a steep, dark slate mansard roof with ornate iron cresting completed the peaks in a traditional detail of the day.
Michigan
Michigan 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"....
. 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
The Ransom Gillis House was built between 1876 and 1878 for Ransom Gillis a wholesale dry goodsDry goods
Dry goods are products such as textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and sundries. In U.S. retailing, a dry goods store carries consumer goods that are distinct from those carried by hardware stores and grocery stores, though "dry goods" as a term for textiles has been dated back to 1742 in England or...
merchant. The property was sold by Gillis in 1880. The house and property passed though the hands of four different upper income families between 1876 and 1919. After this time the main structure was converted into a Rooming House along with most of the other structures on the street. The Carriage House
Carriage house
A carriage house, also called remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack.In Great Britain the farm building was called a Cart Shed...
behind the structure was rented by Mary Chase Perry Stratton
Mary Chase Perry Stratton
Mary Chase Perry Stratton was an American ceramic artist. She was a co-founder, along with Horace James Caulkins, of Pewabic Pottery, a form of ceramic art used to make architectural tiles.-Early years:...
in 1903 becoming the first home of Pewabic Pottery
Pewabic Pottery
Pewabic Pottery is a studio and school located in Detroit, Michigan and founded in 1903. The studio is known for its iridescent glazes, some of which grace notable buildings such as the Shedd Aquarium and Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Pewabic Pottery is on display...
. The pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
left the Carriage House in 1906 and it was then occupied by an auto repair shop, a battery service shop, and finally a filling station before it was torn down and replaced by a restaurant in 1935. The restaurant operated until the 1960's and was torn down in 2005/2006 as part of the city's "mothballing" work on the property.
A storefront was added to the front of the Ransom Gillis House in the late 1930's and was operated along with the Rooming House until the mid-1960's. Various attempts were made to restore the main structure in the 1970's, 1980's, and in the mid-2000's, none of which succeeded.
The property is owned by the City of Detroit as of 2001.
Description
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
book The Stones of Venice (book)
The Stones of Venice (book)
The Stones of Venice is a three-volume treatise on Venetian art and architecture by English art historian John Ruskin, first published from 1851 to 1853. Intending to prove how the architecture in Venice exemplified the principles he discussed in his earlier work, The Seven Lamps of Architecture,...
to Detroit. The centerpiece of the structure was the turret situated in the front left corner the circumference of which was accented by five rows of tiles of simple geometric designs in hues of bright blue, red, yellow, and brown. Similar tile work was spread throughout the rest of the structure. The base of the turret was decorated with stone carvings of quadruplets of flower blossoms, similar but all slightly different. The turret was supported from below by an ornate stone post. Dark ornately carved wood columns enclosed the porch at the entrance to the house. Lastly, a steep, dark slate mansard roof with ornate iron cresting completed the peaks in a traditional detail of the day.