The Franklin H. Walker House was a private residence located at 2730 East Jefferson Avenue in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
. It was also known as Doctor's Hospital. The house was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1985,
but subsequently demolished in 1998.
It was at the time the largest remaining house along Jefferson Avenue.
Description
The Franklin H. Walker House was a two-and-one-half-story structure, constructed of brown brick and rock-faced limestone.
The massive
Neo-Jacobean
The Jacobethan or Jacobean Revival architectural style is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the English Renaissance (15 ...
house was irregular in both floorplan and in height.
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.
History and significance
This home was built in 1896 for Franklin H. Walker, a son of
Hiram Walker and president of the Hiram Walker Distillery.
[Franklin H. Walker Obituary](_blank)
''New York Times,'' June 18, 1916 Walker hired
George D. Mason to design the house. The house was notable for its immense size, diverse building materials, and medieval motif.
The house was eventually converted into a hospital, and extensively remodeled and added on to.
The house was used until 1980 as Doctor's Hospital.
It was demolished in 1998.
References
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Houses in Detroit
Hospitals in Michigan
Demolished buildings and structures in Detroit
Former houses in the United States
Houses completed in 1896
Buildings and structures demolished in 1990
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
National Register of Historic Places in Detroit
Jacobean architecture in the United States
Victorian architecture in Michigan
Gilded Age mansions