William Livingstone House

The William Livingstone House in 1983, at its original location at 76 Eliot Street.

The William Livingstone House, commonly called Slumpy, was a house constructed in 1894[1] and located in the Brush Park district of Detroit, Michigan. The home was architect Albert Kahn's first independent project.[2]

History

The William Livingstone House at 284 Eliot Street, shortly before demolition in 2007.

William Livingstone Jr. (1844–1925), publisher of the Detroit Evening Journal,[3] was the second president of the Dime Savings Bank.[4] He hired a young Kahn, who was working for the architectural firm of Mason & Rice, to design his residence at 76 Eliot Street. When he obtained this commission – presumably with Mason's help – Kahn was only 22 or 23 years old and had just returned from spending 1891 in Europe, studying the classical architecture of the Old World: his decision to design the home in the French Renaissance Revival style reflected the time he spent sketching the best Gallic architecture.[5] For the house, Kahn incorporated elements of the French châteauesque style, such as bays and cone shaped turrets.[6]

In 1987, the Red Cross intended to demolish the mansion, originally located west of John R. Street, to make way for their new building.[7] Preservationists succeeded in moving the Livingstone House about one block to the east to 284 Eliot Street,[8] but the building languished for many years. The William Livingstone House's subsequent blight and slumping circular tower earned it the nickname Slumpy among the ruins photography community.[2] The building continued to decay to the point of collapse[9] and was completely demolished on September 15, 2007. The William Livingstone House was commemorated in a painting by Lowell Boileau entitled Open House, which was unveiled the day of its demolition.[10]

The cover of the 2019 studio album Hiding Places by Billy Woods and Kenny Segal is a photograph of the William Livingstone House taken in 2006 by photographers Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre.[11]

References

  1. ^ Brush Park Historic District Final Report Archived 2016-12-20 at the Wayback Machine from the City of Detroit. Retrieved on January 25, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Doucet, B. (2017). Why Detroit Matters: Decline, Renewal and Hope in a Divided City. Policy Press. p. 279. ISBN 978-1-4473-2787-5. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
  3. ^ William Livingstone Archived 2014-01-25 at the Wayback Machine. Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved on December 18, 2013.
  4. ^ Dime Building Archived 2013-12-19 at the Wayback Machine. Historic Detroit. Retrieved on December 18, 2013.
  5. ^ William Livingstone Residence Archived 2018-12-18 at the Wayback Machine. Detroit1701. Retrieved on May 20, 2010.
  6. ^ Matuz, R. (2002). Albert Kahn: Builder of Detroit. Detroit biography series for young readers. Wayne State University Press. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-8143-2957-3. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
  7. ^ Millette, H.G.; Heholt, R. (2020). The New Urban Gothic: Global Gothic in the Age of the Anthropocene. Palgrave Gothic. Springer International Publishing. p. 152. ISBN 978-3-030-43777-0. Retrieved 2022-11-02.
  8. ^ "National Register Of Historic Places Registration Form, 293 Eliot Street" (PDF). Retrieved 2025-01-01.
  9. ^ Amazing Detroit Urban Decay . . . Right Before Your Eyes Archived 2016-04-09 at the Wayback Machine – GreenovationTV
  10. ^ Open House Archived 2008-05-12 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ^ "billy woods and the virtue of hiding". The FADER. Retrieved 2024-01-15.

42°20′52.2″N 83°03′13.4″W / 42.347833°N 83.053722°W / 42.347833; -83.053722