Meadow Brook Hall is a Tudor revival style mansion located at 350 Estate Drive in Rochester Hills, Michigan. It was built between 1926 and 1929 by the heiress to the

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

automaker fortune, Matilda Dodge Wilson and her second husband, lumber baron, Alfred Wilson. Covering with 110 rooms, the structure is the fourth largest historic mansion museum in the United States, and is classified as one of America's Castles. In 1957, the mansion and the surrounding property and buildings were donated to the state of Michigan in order to fund Michigan State University–Oakland, now known as

Oakland University Oakland University is a public university, public research university in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson, it was initially known as Michigan State ...

. The structure was named a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

in 2012.

History

Meadow Brook Farms originally belonged to Matilda's first husband, automotive tycoon John F. Dodge. He purchased the property along with the large white farmhouse off Adams Road as a holiday retreat for his family. The mansion is located on a estate off South Adams Road; Dodge added a nine-hole golf course, some of the holes of which still follow the current Katke-Cousins 18-hole course on the property. Meadow Brook Hall was constructed between 1926 and 1929 by Matilda Dodge Wilson and her second husband, Alfred Wilson at a cost of $4 million. Throughout her lifetime, Matilda resided in the hall for nearly forty years. Some of the family's time was spent vacationing at their summer home in Bar Harbor, Maine and winter home in Scottsdale, Arizona. The hall was also partially closed for a brief time during the depth of the Depression. Covering and with 110 rooms, the mansion is the fourth largest historic house museum in the United States. It was designed by

William Kapp William Edward Kapp (August 20, 1891 in Toledo – 1969) was an American architect. He earned his architectural degree at the University of Pennsylvania. For the majority of his career, he worked for the firm Smith, Hinchman & Grylls. Projects ...

of the firm

Smith, Hinchman & Grylls SmithGroup is an international architectural, engineering and planning firm. Established in Detroit in 1853 by architect Sheldon Smith, SmithGroup is the longest continually operating architecture and engineering firm in the United States that ...

in a Tudor-revival style. The building features stonework and a plaster dining room ceiling created by Corrado Parducci. Much of the original artwork collected by the Wilsons is still found at Meadow Brook including paintings by

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh ...

Rosa Bonheur Rosa Bonheur (born Marie-Rosalie Bonheur; 16 March 1822 – 25 May 1899) was a French artist known best as a painter of animals ( animalière). She also made sculpture in a realist style. Her paintings include ''Ploughing in the Nivernais'', fir ...

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedham Vale, th ...

and

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

, as well as

Tiffany glass Tiffany glass refers to the many and varied types of glass developed and produced from 1878 to 1933 at the Tiffany Studios in New York City, by Louis Comfort Tiffany and a team of other designers, including Clara Driscoll, Agnes F. Northrop, an ...

Stickley furniture Gustav Stickley (March 9, 1858 – April 15, 1942) was an American furniture manufacturer, design leader, publisher, and a leading voice in the American Arts and Crafts movement. Stickley's design philosophy was a major influence on American ...

Meissen porcelain Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the first European hard-paste porcelain. Early experiments were done in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger continued von Tschirnhaus's work an ...

, and

Rookwood pottery Rookwood Pottery is an American ceramics company that was founded in 1880 and closed in 1967, before being revived in 2004. It was initially located in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has now returned there. In its heyday ...

. The estate was added to 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 1979 and

in 2012.

In 1957, Alfred and Matilda Dodge Wilson donated the 1,500 acre estate to

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

, along with $2 million to create a branch college campus, now known as

. The Wilsons lived in Meadow Brook Hall until Alfred's death in 1962. Mrs. Wilson continued to live on the property until her death in 1967. Additional buildings which were also designed by William Kapp on the estate included: *Knole Cottage (1926), a six-room miniature playhouse on the Meadow Brook estate. *Sunset Terrace, a retirement home for Matilda and Alfred Wilson on Meadow Brook, which in 1963 became the

president's home.

Concours d'Elegance

The Meadow Brook

Concours d'Elegance ''Concours d'Elegance'' ( French: ''concours d'élégance'') is a term of French origin that means a "competition of elegance" and refers to an event where prestigious vehicles are displayed and judged. It dates back to 17th-century France, whe ...

was held annually during August on the grounds of Meadow Brook Hall from 1979 until 2010. This week-long event was one of the largest collector car shows in the world, and a social event in the tradition of the first Concours in 1920s Paris which was an exhibition of automotive design, craftsmanship, history and a tool for automobile manufacturers to market products. Over the years, the event also served as a fundraiser for the preservation of Meadow Brook Hall. On July 20, 2010, promoters announced that the Concours d'Elegance would leave Meadow Brook Hall after that year for the Inn at St. John's in

Plymouth, Michigan Plymouth is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, United States. The population was 9,370 at the 2020 census. The city of Plymouth is surrounded by Plymouth Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Plymouth is a western suburb of Metro ...

. The event is now known at the Concours d'Elegance of America at St. John's.

References

;Inline ;General *A&E with Richard Guy Wilson, Ph.D.,(2000). America's Castles: The Auto Baron Estates, ''A&E Television Network''. *Kvaran, Einar Einarsson, ''Shadowing Parducci'', unpublished manuscript. *Wilson, Matilda Rausch Dodge, Debbie Patrick, ed., (1998). ''A Place in the Country: Matilda Wilson's Personal Guidebook to Meadow Brook Hall'', Rochester, MI: Oakland University Press.

External links

* * {{authority control National Register of Historic Places in Oakland County, Michigan National Historic Landmarks in Metro Detroit Houses completed in 1929 Historic house museums in Michigan Concours d'Elegance Oakland University campus Museums in Oakland County, Michigan Art museums and galleries in Michigan University museums in Michigan Tourist attractions in Metro Detroit Houses in Oakland County, Michigan Gilded Age mansions Tudor Revival architecture in Michigan

History

Concours d'Elegance

See also

References

External links