United States historic place
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
automaker fortune,
Matilda Dodge Wilson
and her second husband, lumber baron, Alfred Wilson. Covering 88,000 square feet (8,200 m
2
) with 110 rooms,
[3]
[4]
the structure is the fourth largest historic mansion museum in the United States, and is classified as one of
America's Castles
.
[5]
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
. The structure was named a
National Historic Landmark
in 2012.
[2]
[6]
History
[
edit
]
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 1,443-acre (5.84 km
2
) 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.
[7]
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
.
[8]
Covering 88,000 square feet (8,200 m
2
) and with 110 rooms,
[3]
[4]
the mansion is the fourth largest historic house museum in the United States.
[5]
It was designed by
William Kapp
of the firm
Smith, Hinchman & Grylls
in a Tudor-revival style.
[9]
[10]
The building features stonework and a plaster dining room ceiling created by
Corrado Parducci
.
[5]
Much of the original artwork collected by the Wilsons is still found at Meadow Brook including paintings by
Anthony van Dyck
,
Rosa Bonheur
,
Joshua Reynolds
,
John Constable
and
Thomas Gainsborough
, as well as
Tiffany glass
,
Stickley furniture
,
Meissen porcelain
, and
Rookwood pottery
.
[11]
The estate was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
in 1979 and
National Historic Landmark
in 2012.
[12]
[5]
In 1957, Alfred and Matilda Dodge Wilson donated the 1,500 acre estate to
Michigan State University
, along with
$
2 million to create a branch college campus, now known as
Oakland University
.
[5]
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.
[5]
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.
[10]
- Sunset Terrace, a retirement home for Matilda and Alfred Wilson on Meadow Brook, which in 1963 became the
Oakland University
president's home.
[10]
Concours d'Elegance
[
edit
]
The Meadow Brook
Concours d'Elegance
was held annually during August on the grounds of Meadow Brook Hall from 1979 until 2010.
[13]
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.
[13]
Over the years, the event also served as a fundraiser for the preservation of Meadow Brook Hall.
[14]
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
.
[15]
The event is now known at the Concours d'Elegance of America at St. John's.
[16]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- Inline
- ^
"National Register Information System"
.
National Register of Historic Places
.
National Park Service
. July 9, 2010.
- ^
a
b
"National Register of Historic Places Listings"
.
www.nps.gov
.
- ^
a
b
"Welcome Mat: Meadow Brook Hall's Holiday Walk"
.
The Detroit News
. November 17, 2016.
- ^
a
b
"Meadow Brook Hall History - Rochester, MI"
.
meadowbrookhall.org
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Moutzalias, Tanya (October 28, 2015).
"Inside Meadow Brook Hall, the historic estate of one of the world's wealthiest women of her time"
.
MLive
. Retrieved
August 24,
2018
.
- ^
"National Historic Landmarks: 13 New Sites Designated"
.
Huffington Post
. March 7, 2012
. Retrieved
April 14,
2012
.
- ^
Lavey, Kathleen (January 7, 2016).
"Check out these 5 Michigan castles"
.
Times Herald
. Port Huron, Michigan
. Retrieved
August 24,
2018
.
- ^
Colman, Justin (March 6, 2012).
"Meadow Brook Hall receives national landmark recognition"
.
The Oakland Post
. Retrieved
August 24,
2018
.
- ^
Tate, Robert (June 16, 2017).
"Meadow Brook Hall Looks Back to Automotive Elegance"
.
Motor Cities
. Retrieved
August 24,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
Witsil, Frank (June 15, 2021).
"Downton Abbey fame leads to Meadow Brook Hall architect getting credit he deserves"
.
Detroit Free Press
.
- ^
Pollack, Susan (September 1, 2015).
"Historic Auto Baron Home Tours to Check Out"
.
Experience Michigan Magazine
. Retrieved
August 24,
2018
.
- ^
"Meadow Brook Hall"
.
The Historical Marker Database
. Retrieved
August 24,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"Concours"
.
ConcoursUSA
. Retrieved
March 18,
2011
.
- ^
"Frequently Asked Questions"
. Meadow Brook Hall Concours d'Elegance. 2003. Archived from
the original
on March 21, 2012
. Retrieved
March 18,
2011
.
- ^
Edsall, Larry (July 30, 2010).
"Detroit's Concours d'Elegance of America to Leave Meadow Brook"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
October 25,
2010
.
- ^
Hart, Roger (August 22, 2011). "Elegance Endures".
AutoWeek
.
61
(17): 38.
ISSN
0192-9674
.
- 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
[
edit
]
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