Cranbrook House

In 1908, architect Albert Kahn completed an English Tudor Revival home for newspaper baron George Booth on 40 acres of land outside Detroit. Boasting ornate wooden carving and moldings, decorative copper gutters, handcrafted tapestries and tiles, and magnificent gardens, Cranbrook House became – and remains – one of America’s outstanding examples of arts-and-crafts design.

But Booth and his wife Helen wanted Cranbrook, which would ultimately expand 315 acres, to serve a more public purpose. They began before World War I by building a theater and a meeting house, and they also made major additions to their own house. Educational offerings grew quickly after the war with the establishment (and construction) of a boys’ school, a girls’ school, a science institute, and an art school. The first president of the Cranbrook Academy of Art was architect Eliel Saarinen, who not only taught there but designed many buildings for the Booths, including the boys and girls schools and facilities for artists.

The role of Cranbrook House has changed the Booths died in the late 1940s, but it remains a vital part of what is now known as the Cranbrook Educational Community. Not only does the house frequently host conferences and meetings, but thousands of visitors each year enjoy tours of its outstanding architecture, elegant furnishings, and beautiful gardens.

Restoration Plans
Cranbrook House developed a number of structural problems over the year, including a weakened terrace, leaking roofs and gutters, loose and falling bricks, and chimney problems threatened the future of the institution’s main building. Leaks over the library were particularly worrisome, since they endangered the house’s collection of priceless books. The restoration, funded in part by a $300,000 federal Save America’s Treasures grant, will repair these problems.

Special Events and Tours
Cranbrook House plays host to thousands of visitors each year and contains fine art, antiques and unique examples of the arts and crafts movement. Those visitors include tourists, students, teachers, historians and architects from throughout the world, as well as groups and organization that use Cranbrook House as a venue for conferences and meetings.

Public Access
Cranbrook House and Gardens is open for guided and self-guided tours from May through October and the community’s art museums, science museums, and library are also open to the public.

Contact Information
Cranbrook
39221 Woodward Ave.
PO Box 801
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303-0801
Toll-free: 877-402-7262
Tour Information: 248-645-3147
Website: www.cranbrook.edu

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Other Points of Interest
Explore these links on the National Trust’s Web site to learn more about how preservation benefits individuals and communities.

America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places
Since 1988, this list has been one of the most effective tools in the fight to save America's irreplaceable architectural, cultural, and natural heritage. Use the new 11 Most Endangered database to learn about threatened sites in Michigan.
Website: www.nationaltrust.org

Preservation Success Stories
Visitors to Detroit can now stay in a beautiful boutique hotel created from a row of dilapidated Victorian homes and carriage houses near the city’s midtown Cultural District.
www.nationaltrust.org

Historic Hotels
Planning a visit to Michigan? Try one of these hotels from the National Trust For Historic Preservation's book, Historic Hotels of America Directory.

Grand Hotel
Website: www.nationaltrust.org/historic_hotels

Stafford's Perry Hotel
Website: www.nationaltrust.org/historic_hotels