#327 - Frederick Stearns House in Detroit

One Night in Detroit

I was a teenager when I last visited Detroit, 50 years ago. When recently planning a visit, I felt clueless. Where are the best and safest areas, today?

Detroit was intimidating in the 1970's. (I have stories) Even though I knew Detroit had changed, I avoided booking a downtown hotel. On the internet, I found a B&B located in an old mansion, tucked into a historic neighborhood, 3 miles from the city's center.

Welcoming
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The inn's website photos looked welcoming, but you never know. I was relieved when we pulled up to the recently renovated, 122-year-old house. 

We found the inn's entrance facing Parker Street. The landscaping was fresh and healthy, on an unusually hot June day.

Facing Jefferson Avenue

The view of the Tudor mansion looked lovely from the corner.  

This side of the house faced Jefferson Avenue, which had a fair amount of traffic. But the lot was large. The house and drive were set back away from the street, with lots of trees and green space. 

1902 Image

This old photo shows the house after it was built in 1902. 

Our room was located on the top floor facing Jefferson. You can see the row of 6 windows.

The Home's First Owner

I was eager to spend a night in the mansion, built by Frederick K. Stearns, so many years ago.

All I had read about him, was that he was a successful businessman and patron of the arts. I was eager to learn more.

Foyer

I pressed the buzzer and we were met by our host, Rachel Mitchell. She let us into the charming foyer.

The first thing that caught my eye was the fireplace, to the left of the door. The words engraved on the mantle read, "Old Wood to Burn Old Friends to Greet"

Around to my right was a cozy little nook with painted glass windows and built in bench. There was a medieval feel to the room.

Current Owner

Rachel graciously welcomed us, even though we'd arrived a couple hours early. She checked us in and gave us a tour. 

Rachel and her husband Eric purchased the property in 2018. She had numerous stories about the 4 years they've spent renovating. Rachel was passionate about the endeavor and totally game for a selfie!

​Ballroom/ Music Room

As we followed Rachel through the inn, I could hear the soundtrack of Phantom of the Opera, eerily playing in the distance. The dramatic music grew louder...

and filled the 3-story room that had once been the Stearns family's Music Room. At one time there had been a balcony just below the beams. (gone after a fire)  

Dancing!

The chandelier high above, made me picture formal attire... skirts swirling over the Ballroom floor. Rachel asked if we knew how to waltz. Don was quick to point to me, as if that would get him off the hook. Suddenly Rachel began to search for a waltz on her playlist. Was she getting ready to teach us? She mentioned the room being used for lessons.

But Rachel didn't end up teaching us. She had errands to do and told us to make ourselves at home. When she was gone, I took one look at the wall mirrors and piano and got excited.

Dance Studio

The room reminded me of ballet lessons, back in my younger years. I remember a piano player who must have been 99. Love those memories! How I would have adored having a music & dance room as a kid!

So I  told Don I had to make use of that music room while the "house" was empty. First I played a quick tune on the piano. (It clashed with the symphony that already filled the room) Then I noticed a vintage book (ballroom dance instruction) resting on top of the piano. I grabbed it and instead of reading, I used it as my dance partner... since Don was not interested. Sometimes you have to make use of a mansion, when you have it all to yourselves!

House Tour

After the music room, Don and I toured around a little more on our own. 

I adored the cheery sunroom with pink flowers and bright green walls.

The library felt warm and cozy. 

There were indeed shelves of books in the library, I just failed to photograph them.

Dining Room

The dining room was impressive in both directions. Looking towards the foyer, we could see the lovely tile work.

The blue Moravian tile surrounding the fireplace, was like something from a fairytale... think Hansel and Gretel!

Looking the other direction, you can see some fun geometry. Circles above and arches over the projected bay windows. Are those projected bays? I need to learn my terms.

There were some nice surprises within the leaded glass. Rachel pointed out the intricate designs on a circular piece of painted glass. From the 1500s!

Near the door to the sunporch, I found a wonderful cabinet that showed off the same woodwork that surrounded the room.

Going Up

An elevator (added in later years) helped us get bags up to our room on the third floor. 

The rest of the time I scrambled up and down the red carpeted stairs whenever I needed a little something. A water glass... coffee... a question answered. 

I didn't mind a bit. The view from above was fun! The light fixture was quite a piece! 

I could have stopped halfway up and had a rest, on the window seat cushions. But I didn't. I just paused to admire more lovely glasswork.
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​The Zinnia Room

Our room was on the third floor, at the end of the hall.

Since Rachel has a background with garden design, she named the 10 guest rooms after flowers. Ours was named for a flower, that's a favorite of mine.

Slanted Ceilings

I loved our spacious room, tucked  beneath the tricky roofline. It reminded me of the room I slept in at my grandmother's.

The pale green walls and Oriental rug also reminded me of the kids' room at Daw's house.

The antiques and flower prints also remind me of Daw's. Daw was a classy decorator so I'm not talking about some Ole Grannie's old-timey stuff!

The bathroom did not remind me of my grandmother's house. Her bathroom was not cool.

I had to take 3 photos to capture the long and luxurious space! (windows at both ends) I'm furious that I ran out of time and didn't make use of the jetted tub!

The King bed was comfy and cozy/

And I was happy to see 2 comfy chairs at the foot of the bed. So often we only get one chair in a small historic hotel room.

At the far end of the room was a white brick gas fireplace. The weather was too warm to make use of the remote control feature!

Enjoying the Garden
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Weather was warm when we arrived, but still much cooler than Texas! 

Don and I had time before our dinner reservations, so we enjoyed a little wine in a garden area between the Stearns House and the Parker House, next door. Today there is a passage between the two.

Chatting with Eric
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As we enjoyed our wine, we met Rachel's husband, Eric. He had been doing yard work. We chatted quite a while about Frederick Stearns and his house. I was intrigued to hear that FK Stearns had huge collection of instruments, which he later donated to the University of Michigan.

We called for an Uber and waited in the drive beside the house. When the driver picked us up, he asked a question that made it clear he thought we were the owners of the mansion. A nice thought.

Morning

In the morning we made coffee with a somewhat complicated machine.

For a fee, we could have made arrangements for an in-house breakfast. That would have been lovely, but we enjoyed our granola bars in the sunroom.

Over coffee we decided how to use our time in Ann Arbor, before checking into our next hotel.

Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments

A quick internet search led us to the U of M building that housed Mr. Stearns' instrument collection. Donated in 1899!

Today there are more than 2,500 instruments. We got to see just a tiny portion, as we wandered the halls... listening to music coming from practice rooms!  

What's Notable?

The historic inn is beautiful, clean, safe and reasonably priced. $258. is steeper than many of our hotel stays, but it's a very decent price for Detroit. Especially since we didn't pay for parking!

It was a treat to meet the people behind this huge renovation. Over 16,000 square feet! How wonderful that Rachel and Eric had the energy and vision! And how fun that our conversations led to a little more exploring in Ann Arbor. That was the icing on the cake!