Remarks
The only child of Henry Ford and Clara Bryant, Edsel Ford was an avid art collector and built this house for his family as well as their growing collection of fine artworks, some of which they later donated to the Detroit Institute of Arts. Completed in 1929, the dwelling was designed by Detroit architect Albert Kahn to resemble an English country manor. The 60-room manse features dark wood paneling, decorative plaster ceilings and leaded glass. The Modern Rooms, however, were streamlined in the 1930s by Walter Dorwin Teague to include polished wood veneers, recessed lighting and Art Deco furniture. Acclaimed landscape architect Jens Jensen designed the beautiful grounds fringing the shoreline of Lake St. Clair.