East Michigan Avenue Historic District (Saline)

The East Michigan Avenue Historic District derives its significance from its cluster of large, nicely detailed Queen Anne and Colonial Revival homes (photos 11-13); the inclusion of one of the finest Bungalows in the City (photo #18); and the dominant presence of two outstanding visual landmarks in the Second Empire Davenport homes, both designed by Detroit architects in the 1870s (photo #s 14-17). Because of its outstanding architectural qualities and important historic associations with key property owners, the East Michigan Avenue Historic District remains a significant visual reminder of Saline's past, and is a particularly important feature of the contemporary city-scape due to the rapid commercialization of adjoining neighborhoods on E. Michigan Avenue. Development in this part of Saline began in 1870 with the platting of the A.H.

Risdon Addition. Like most Village expansion at the time, the new addition was a response to the increased activity caused by the arrival of the railroad. Although some construction took place following the platting, notably the Davenport homes and the house at 300 E. Henry, the properties north of E.

Michigan remained largely undeveloped until 1900. The 1892 tax roll, the only volume extant for the post-1871 period, shows no construction on these sites. The burst of construction in the Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles began after the turn of the century, on the George and Ann Mason lots, and lots purchased and then sold by Willis M. Fowler, who became involved in real estate at this time and built his own home at 315 E.

Michigan in 1909. William Davenport and his son, Beverly, original owners of the homes at 300 E. Michigan and 302 E. Henry respectively, were the most prominent of the local businessmen to make their homes in the District during the nineteenth century.

The elder Davenport's commercial ventures included establishment of the Citizens Bank of Saline. Many of the District's residents were retired farmers who moved to town and took up new trades or local businessmen who built new homes after the turn of the century.

The East Michigan Avenue Historic District comprises roughly 16 acres of the tree-shaded residential neighborhood clustered around the National Register landmark of the William Davenport House (300 E. Michigan, photos# 11, 16). The irregularly shaped District includes 18 wood-framed structures and 9 well-preserved barns and carriage houses, all of which contribute to the District's historic visual character (photos 11-15). The high design quality of these Queen Anne, Second Empire, Colonial Revival, and Bungalow style buildings is marred only by alterations to porches and occasional application of siding.

Despite alterations, the District retains the architectural ambience of the 1870s-1920s period during which these buildings were constructed. Uses are all residential, with the exception of the Funeral Parlor at 301 E. Michigan. Michigan Avenue serves as the central axis for the District.

The lots to the north of Michigan Avenue (including the Maple Street properties) are of fairly uniform size, with even, wide setbacks and yards with mature shrubbery and shade trees. White or light-colored paint covers most homes, and because several in the Queen Anne/Colonial Revival style were constructed by Elwood Rogers, there is a certain unity of scale and detail (photos #13, 19, 20). Some of the homes on Michigan have been covered with siding, and the Colonial Revival buildings at 301 and 305 E. Michigan now have out-of-period Greek Revival porticos.

The District's single Bungalow, smaller in scale than most other buildings, is one of the City's finest examples of the style (photo #18). The 1876 William Davenport home (photos #11, 15, 16) faces these buildings, and occupies an entire city block on the south side of Michigan Avenue. It sits in a spacious landscaped lot, surrounded by a wooden fence. Two carriage houses, with slate-covered mansard roofs and elaborate bargeboards which match the Second Empire style of the main house, face E.

Henry to the rear of the residence (see photos #14, 15). The similarly-styled Second Empire Beverly Davenport House at 302 E. Henry (1873, photo #17) sits behind the William Davenport home on the second-largest lot in the District. Although the building was covered with aluminum siding in the 1960s, salient stylistic features, such as bargeboards and fanciful dormers, remain intact, and along with the William Davenport home, it is a key visual landmark of both the District and the City as a whole.