The Col. Frank J. Hecker House is a historic home 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 ...

built in 1888 for local businessman and railroad-car manufacturer Colonel

Frank J. Hecker Frank J. Hecker (July 6, 1846 - 1927) was an American businessman in the railroad-car manufacturing business. Hecker was from Detroit, Michigan. Early life Frank J. Hecker was born in Freedom, Michigan (in Washtenaw County) on July 6, 1846.

. Located at 5510

Woodward Avenue A woodward is a warden of a wood. Woodward may also refer to: Places ;United States * Woodward, Iowa * Woodward, Oklahoma * Woodward, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place * Woodward Avenue, a street in Tallahassee, Florida, which bisects th ...

, it was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1958. It is located near to the

East Ferry Avenue Historic District The East Ferry Avenue Historic District is a historic residential district in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. The nationally designated historic district stretches two blocks from Woodward Avenue east to Brush Street; the locally designated historic ...

and

Cultural Center Historic District The Cultural Center Historic District is a historic district located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, which includes the Art Center (or Cultural Center): the Detroit Public Library, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Horace H. Rackham Educatio ...

, and 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 1971. The house has been owned by

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

since September 2014.

Colonel Frank J. Hecker

was born in Freedom, Michigan, in 1846.Colonel Frank Hecker House
from the National Park Service He joined the Union Army at age 18, and he rose to the rank of Colonel.
from Detroit1701.org. After the conclusion of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, he hired on as an agent for the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

. Using this experience, he later organized the

Peninsular Car Company The Peninsular Car Company was a railroad rolling stock manufacturer, founded by Charles L. Freer and Frank J. Hecker in 1885. In 1892, the company merged with Michigan Car Company, the Russel Wheel and Foundry Company, the Detroit Car Wheel C ...

(with

Charles Lang Freer Charles Lang Freer (February 25, 1854 – September 25, 1919) was an American industrialist, art collector, and patron. He is known for his large collection of East Asian, American, and Middle Eastern Art. In 1906, Freer donated his extensive col ...

, whose home is next to Hecker's) in Detroit, making his fortune in the railroad supply business. Hecker served in the Army again in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

, where he was in charge of transporting Spanish prisoners. This service brought him to the attention of President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, who in 1904 appointed Hecker to the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

Commission. Hecker also served as Detroit Police Commissioner, organized several banks in the midwest, and sat on the boards of the Detroit Copper and Brass Rolling Mills, Michigan Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and the Detroit Lumber Company.

Architecture

In 1888, Hecker hired the short-lived architectural firm of Scott, Kamper & Scott (which included

Louis Kamper Louis Kamper (March 11, 1861 – February 24, 1953)Louis Kampeat Find-A-Grave Retrieved on July 8, 2009 was an American architect, active in and around Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan, in the United States. Project range In the early 20th ...

) and began construction of the mansion on Woodward Avenue, at the corner of Ferry. The house, with , is an imposing example of French Châteauesque style based on the Château de Chenonceaux near Tours, France. Hecker used his home to host elaborate parties, whose guests included presidents

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

and

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governo ...

. The exterior of the home has large

tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifi ...

s at the corners, and Flemish dormers in the steep

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...

. Several bays project from the main body of the home, and wrapped around the whole is a

balustraded A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

, colonnaded

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...

. A

carriage house A carriage house, also called a remise or coach house, is an outbuilding which was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and the related tack. In Great Britain the farm building was called a cart shed. These typically were open ...

at the rear is clearly visible from Woodward. At one point, this structure was converted into a concert hall capable of seating 200. The interior has 49 rooms, including a large oak-paneled hall designed for large parties, an oval dining room done in mahogany, a lobby done in English oak, and a white and gold music room. The fireplaces were constructed of Egyptian Nubian marble, and onyx and Italian

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

marble were used in the vestibules.

Later use

Hecker lived in the home until his death in 1927.Mansion page
at Charfoos & Christensen, P.C. For the next twenty years, the home was owned by the Hecker family, but it operated as a boarding house for single college students. In 1947, the mansion was sold to Paul Smiley of the Smiley Brothers Music Company, who used it for musical instruction and practice, as well as a sales office. During this time, both the Detroit Chamber Music Workshop and Women's Symphony started on the premises. When Smiley died in 1990, the building was sold to Charfoos & Christensen, P.C., a law firm. The firm rehabilitated the mansion, and it served as their law offices until 2014. The mansion has also served as the Royal Danish Consulate in Detroit. In September 2014,

purchased the house for $2.3 million. The University calls it the Tierney Alumni House and it houses the Alumni Relations Department and is used for alumni-related activities.

References

External links

Tierney Alumni House
– Wayne State University

Michael H. Hodges and Joy Hakanson Colby, ''The Detroit News''
Article in "Curbed – Detroit"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hecker, Frank J., House Châteauesque architecture in the United States Culture of Detroit Houses completed in 1888 Houses in Detroit Michigan State Historic Sites National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, Michigan Renaissance Revival architecture in Michigan 1888 establishments in Michigan Louis Kamper buildings Wayne State University Gilded Age mansions

Colonel Frank J. Hecker

Architecture

Later use

References

Further reading

External links