Goss, Arnold and Gertrude, House

The Arnold and Gertrude Goss House holds historical significance in Michigan between 1922 and 1938 because it was the home of a pioneer in the automotive and refrigeration industries, it was designed by one of the foremost Detroit architects of the early twentieth century, its estate grounds were laid out by the director of the University of Michigan's Nichols Arboretum, and it is an outstanding example of the Georgian/Craftsman style of architecture of the 1910s and 1920s. Arnold Goss (1875-1938) was an early financial advisor to General Motors Corporation founder, William C. Durant, while serving as Secretary of the Buick Motor Company. Goss led the development of the domestic, electric, refrigeration industry through his financing of the Kelvinator Corporation, and he established one of the premier breeding facilities for Jersey cattle in the nation on this property. The significance of the Goss House is further enhanced by its association with the architect George D. Mason (1856-1948), who is recognized as one of the most distinguished practitioners in Michigan, first in partnership with Zacharias Rice from 1878 until 1898 and then as the principal of his own firm. In addition, the estate grounds of the Goss House were designed by Aubrey W. Tealdi (1881-1979), the first instructor in landscape architecture at the University of Michigan, who learned the principles of the Prairie School of landscape design from his mentor and the first designer of the Nichols Arboretum, Ossian Cole Simonds. Finally, the stately Goss House, surrounded by 5 acres of its original landscape within the city of Ann Arbor, is an exemplary model of an early twentieth-century style of residential architecture, which combines elements of the Georgian Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles.

The Arnold and Gertrude Goss House, "Skylodge," is an outstanding example of a 1920s, stately, country home, which combines elements of the Georgian Colonial Revival and Craftsman styles, a popular blend of that era in Ann Arbor. When it was constructed in 1923, the Goss House was situated on 600 acres bounded by Glazier Way, Green Road, Plymouth Road and what is now Huron Parkway. It is the only historic home in the Woodlands neighborhood on Glazier Way, which sprang up around Skylodge in the 1980s and 1990s, after the last 40 acres of the Goss estate were sold by the Goss family to developer Robert Guenther. Sitting on a hill, where it once had a commanding view to the south of the Huron River, the house is now surrounded by 5 acres of lawns and wooded areas (six, platted city lots), its-stately facade framed by majestic pine trees. Amongst the contemporary, late 20th-century homes in the Woodlands neighborhood, Skylodge establishes a commanding presence, set back from the street on its 3-acre front lawn. Residents of the area generally agree that the Goss house and grounds add historic elegance, character and sense of place to this neighborhood, now located within the city limits of Ann Arbor. The Goss House, designed by Detroit architect George DeWitt Mason, is a two-and-a-half-story, cypress-clapboarded residence, containing 4,379 square feet of living space on the first two floors. The basement measures an additional 2,059 square feet. The structure combines Georgian features- a symmetrical facade, hip roof, and classical portico - with Craftsman elements, including overhanging eaves with exposed rafter ends, fieldstone chimney stacks, and pergolas. An appended sunroom and porch project from the east and west sides of the home's rectangular facade, in typical 1920s fashion, each supported by columns and enhanced with pergolas at the eaves line. While the two bays of large, double-hung windows on either side of the entry portico have a decidedly Georgian geometry and balance, the Craftsman overhanging eaves, dropping dramatically over the second-story windows, contribute a strong horizontality to the facade, reminiscent of the Prairie architectural style.