The Thomas S. Sprague House was a private residence located at 80 West Palmer Avenue in Midtown

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 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 1986, but was subsequently demolished.Thomas S. Sprague House (Demolished)
from the city of Detroit

History

Thomas S Sprague House Detroit DEMOLISHED

William Scott & Company constructed this house for Thomas S. Sprague, a Detroit real estate developer. Sprague himself lived in the house from 1884 to 1901, when ''Detroit Evening News'' editorial writer Arthur D. Welton moved into the house. Arthur Patriache, a manager for the Pere Marquette Railroad, lived in the house from 1905 to 1916. Restaurateur Michael Guarnieri purchased the house in 1916, and it remained in the Guarnieri family possession until 1977, when Wayne State University purchased the property. The house was demolished in 1994.

Description

The Thomas S. Sprague House was a -story Queen Anne / Shingle style house. The front facade had a variety of projecting and receding elements, and a variety of surface treatments, creating an asymmetric composition with rich texture. A one-story hipped roof porch covered the center entrance, and wrapped around a corner octagonal turret. To the side of the entrance was a triple window surmounted with stained glass. Double hung first floor windows in the turret were also topped by arched stained glass sections. The turret was topped with a gable which made the structure into a bay window. Another bay window was set into the opposite side of the facade. The interior of the house was maintained in nearly original form for almost 100 years. The interior contained combination gas-electric chandeliers, stained glass windows, patterned hearth tiles, and a radiator with a glass door warming oven. A unique asymmetrical butternut fireplace with mantelpiece was in the parlor.

References

{{University–Cultural Center Multiple Resource Area Houses in Detroit Demolished buildings and structures in Detroit Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Houses completed in 1884 National Register of Historic Places in Detroit Buildings and structures demolished in 1994