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Ypsilanti Historic Walking Tour |
15. . Now turn and go across Huron Street at the light and walk north again, back the way you came. The next stop on the tour is 1 S. Huron, Ypsilanti's City Hall. The building was built in 1887 in the Richardsonian Romanesque Style for Ypsilanti Savings Bank. Originally taller with a steeply pitched Gothic Revival Style roofline with dormers, a fire early in its history reduced the size of the building. A metal facade was put on when that type of commercial facade was popular in the 1960s. Recent renovations have removed that metal facade to reveal the brick and detailed stonework underneath. The heavy stone arches over the lower story windows and heavy stone columns on the front are representative of the Richardsonian Romanesque Style. Those heavy columns once supported a porch; there are now windows in its place. Originally a bank, it has been city hall since the 1970s. The past photographs seen here probably speak louder than words about changes in style that can affect a building. The building is open on weekdays but nothing of the original interior exists.
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16. Cross Michigan Avenue again and continue north on Huron Street. 130 N. Huron is the next stop on the walk. This square Italianate Style building was erected in 1858 by merchant Edwin Mills. Originally a home, it became the Ladies' Library building when Mary Ann Starkweather, a local philanthropist, gave the library the home in 1890. The projecting bay on the front was added then. The home features double symmetrical windows and a cupola in the low pitched roof. Built in brick with stone details, notice the words "Ladies Library" in the arch above the central double doors. A dentil course (Dentils are small identical teeth-like projections) runs along the roofline and the eaves are supported by heavy double brackets. There are wood carvings in the pediment of the central bay. Originally, a Tiffany & Co. window sat in the central bay's second story. The window can now be seen at the Ypsilanti Historical Museum.
The building became the city library, then sat empty and was slated for demolition for a senior high rise apartment building, was saved, then became offices, and now is once again a private residence.
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17. Walk north to the last stop on the tour at 206 N. Huron. This large home was built in 1863 by Delos Showerman. Daniel Quirk, Jr. also lived in the home and added the rectangular north addition in 1927. He was the son of the founder of Peninsular Paper; (His father's house was the second stop of our tour). The basic style of the home is Italianate. It has a slate roof with low slope, a large front porch, and symmetrical windows. The north addition is in the Georgian Revival Style, which is simpler and more formal than Italianate, (less trim and detailing). It was added as a library and ballroom to the home. Some of the luxuries of the home included a bathroom in every bedroom, which was very rare at the time. There was a buzzer system for servants, cedar lined built in drawers in the bedrooms, and triple-hung windows.
In 1956 it was purchased by the city and used as a courthouse. The wood paneled library became a courtroom with balconies around the edge of the room for viewing proceedings. Today the building houses law offices.
You can now proceed back to where you began at 220 N. Huron Street.
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