Franklin H. Walker House

Summary

The Franklin H. Walker House was a private residence located at 2730 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was also known as Doctor's Hospital. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985,[1] but subsequently demolished in 1998.[2] It was at the time the largest remaining house along Jefferson Avenue.[3]

Franklin H. Walker House
Walker House c 1910
Map
Interactive map
Location2730 East Jefferson Avenue
Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates42°20′21″N 83°1′11″W / 42.33917°N 83.01972°W / 42.33917; -83.01972
Built1896
ArchitectGeorge D. Mason
Architectural styleNeo-Jacobean
Demolished1998
MPSEast Jefferson Avenue Residential TR
NRHP reference No.85002948[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 09, 1985

Description edit

 
Lot the Walker House stood in 2008

The Franklin H. Walker House was a two-and-one-half-story structure, constructed of brown brick and rock-faced limestone.[3] The massive Neo-Jacobean house was irregular in both floorplan and in height.[3] A medieval-influenced octagonal tower with a pointed roof projected from one corner of the house; at the other corner, a two-story, three-sided bay window unit projected from the main bulk of the house. The gable roof was covered with tiles; walls at the gable ends terminated in fractables.[3]

History and significance edit

This home was built in 1896 for Franklin H. Walker, a son of Hiram Walker and president of the Hiram Walker Distillery.[4] Walker hired George D. Mason to design the house. The house was notable for its immense size, diverse building materials, and medieval motif.[3]

The house was eventually converted into a hospital, and extensively remodeled and added on to.[3] The house was used until 1980 as Doctor's Hospital.[5] It was demolished in 1998.

References edit

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ "Demolition Planned". Detroit News. August 12, 1998.
  3. ^ a b c d e f [National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Franklin H. Walker House, National Park Service
  4. ^ Franklin H. Walker Obituary, New York Times, June 18, 1916
  5. ^ Patricia Ibbotson (2004), Detroit's Hospitals, Healers, and Helpers, Arcadia Publishing, p. 117, ISBN 0-7385-3223-1