“Not as bad as some, but clunky & pedestrian.” –Barrett Ryker
Photo: Larry Saylor
Grosse Pointe Park is a Detroit suburb filled with classic homes of the 1920s. This one must have been avant-garde when it was built—Modern, even International Style in its massing, with red tile and stucco alluding to Pueblo and Spanish antecedents.
Apparently it survived intact until a recent remodeling. “We noticed the house immediately when our son moved to the neighborhood,” says our correspondent. “We couldn’t take
our eyes off the misshapen mess of prefab roof trusses, stock windows, and vinyl siding, all of which seemed to have smothered a vintage stucco house”—in an attempt to recast it as a disproportionate bungalow?
“With a little snooping,” says the neighbor, “we located a picture of the original house. The massive addition on top destroyed its character.” After renovation, it went on the market for $525,000, the price since reduced.
Do…understand and respect the original intention. Here, the International Style and Spanish elements produced a notable house of its time.
