George W. Loomer House

The two story brick dwelling at 71 West Hancock was built for George W. Loomer in 1888 by the notable Detroit architect Almon C. Varney (the building permit for the building was issued on April 4, 1888). According to the indexes to the Detroit building permits, 71 West Hancock was one of the earliest brick dwellings erected on the street and had an original insured value of $4,300 -- a respectable sum for the period. It has the distinction of being the earliest surviving Richardsonian Romanesque residence in a several block area. 71 West and 77 West Hancock Avenue (originally numbered 33 and 37 West Hancock) are the only dwellings that remain on the block from the turn of the century, when the area was regarded as one of Detroit's most fashionable residential neighborhoods. Among the more notable surviving buildings in the area are J. L. Faxon's First Congregational Church (1891), Malcomson and Higginbotham's Central High School (1896), and Ralph Adam Cram's St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral (1911). Almon Clother Varney, the architect of the house, was one of the best known architects practicing in Detroit in the 1880's. Born in Luzern, New York in 1849, Varney began his study of architecture in the office of Darius Norcross in Glens Falls, New York in 1876. After additional study with E. M. Boyden of Worchester, Massachusetts, Varney left for Detroit in 1878 at the age of 29 to establish his own architectural practice. He drew up plans for the first flats in Detroit (the Varney Apartments on Park Boulevard); designed four Boydell Bros. factories and offices; executed a considerable part of the early buildings of Parke, Davis & Co.; and built a large number of business houses and residences in the area. Varney achieved a broader fame than most of his fellow architects in Detroit through his publishing efforts. His principal work, Our Homes and Their Adornments (Detroit: J. C. Chilton and Co., 1882), was popularly received and went through several printings. Varney died at his summer home, Seebreeze, near Daytona, in 1930. The building's original owner, George W. Loomer, a dealer in pine lumber, shingles, lath, and outdoor posts, was born in New York in 1839. He moved to Michigan and began trading in lumber products at Atwater and Dubois in Detroit in 1876. He later moved his yard to Michigan and 23rd on the far west side of the city. He was elected alderman of the 12th Ward (the area of the Detroit west of 20th Street) in 1883. At the time the house at 71 West Hancock was constructed, however, Loomer was doing business at the intersection of Woodward Avenue and the Grand Trunk Railway, about a mile distant. In July, 1891 the house was purchased by Mulford T. Hunter, a retired steamboat captain, who lived in the house with his daughter, Caroline, and her husband, Fred McGraw. When Mr. Hunter purchased the house he also acquired title to the empty lot immediately west of the home. Upon the news of his daughter's pregnancy in 1893, Mr. Hunter commissioned a house for his family on the empty lot. The family moved into their new home at 77 West Hancock the next year and thereafter leased 71 West Hancock as a rental property. Among the many tenants who lived in the house were the Andersons of Detroit Electric and the Fergusons of R. G. Dunn, according to a subsequent owner. In the years just prior to 1951, the lower floor was being rented as a tea room. The ownership of both buildings passed from Mr. Hunter through his daughter to Carolyn S. McGraw, his granddaughter. In 1951, both buildings were sold to Phila J. Draper and transformed into multi-unit apartment buildings. They continue to be operated in this manner under different ownership today.

The two story brick building at 71 Hancock Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, is a detached urban dwelling built in 1888 in a Richardsonian Romanesque style. Originally a single family residence, it now houses several apartments. Its exterior appearance, however, has been little changed over the years. The building occupies its original site and is proximal to many buildings in the Wayne State University Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 23, 1978. There are no outbuildings associated with the property. The dwelling has a simple, rectangular ground plan laid out on a north-south axis. The northernmost section of the home, nearest the street, features a two story, side-gabled shape. The rear portion of the building is two stories high and has a flat roof. Chimneys are found on the eastern and western sides of the building. The northern facade has an asymmetrical design: a rounded tower topped by a conical roof is placed to the right, a covered entrance porch, with a centered rounded arch springing from short limestone piers, appears to the left. In addition to this massive entrance arch, the porch also has a smaller rounded arch positioned westward that is decorated with a wrought-iron grille. The porch supports an open balcony with a patterned brick balustrade. A window overlooking the porch has an exaggerated rounded surround, and above it is a gabled roof dormer with sides. The eastern and western walls form a parapet on the gabled roof. The walls of the dwelling are constructed of masonry-- much of it intricately laid -- with the exception of the lower portion of the northern facade, which is sheathed in rough-faced limestone. Stone is also used for the belt courses beneath each line of the tower windows; for the steps of the north porch; and for the lintel above the central window in the first floor of the tower. The entrance porch at the rear of the dwelling is built of wood. The roof, originally made of slate, is presently covered with asbestos shingles. Three windows punctuate the basement, first, and second floor of the tower. Six small square windows appear on the third floor. The western and southern facades of the dwelling possess regular window patterns; the eastern facade has an irregular fenestration due to the main stairway of the building. All of the windows have deep reveals. Most of the window panes are original. The interior is trimmed throughout in golden oak. The main staircase is intact, as are a few other original appurtenances. Most, however, were removed when the building was altered to an apartment house forty years ago. The iron fence in front of the building and the landscaping surrounding it are quite attractive but are not original to the property. These were added by the present owner, Edward Black, in the early 1980s.