Category: North Tour

407 North Main Street

c. 1896 – Queen Anne

This is the largest Queen Anne style residence in Romeo and was constructed in 1896 by William Russell of Davis for Harvey Eldred (1842-1899) a retired Bruce Township farmer. Freed of the restraints of earlier styles, this building boasts comer porches and spindled verandas, stained glass windows and shingled gables. During the 1920’s, the home was owned by Judge Henry McKay whose wife kept a herd of prize goats in the back lot much to the chagrin of the neighbors.

393 North Main Street

c. 1840 – Greek Revival

202 Minot Street

c. 1891 – Queen Anne

240 Minot Street

c. 1856 (R) 1871 Italianate – Second Empire

Moses A. Giddings (1824·1911) a native of Preston, Connecticut settled in Romeo in 1846 and entered the dry goods trade. When the First National Bank of Romeo was formed in 1863, Giddings became a board member and in 1871, he was elected president. His home built c. 1856, next to his brother’s large mansion, was of the Italianate style with interiors that include marble fireplaces, elaborate plaster cornices and ornate ceiling medallions. In 1871 Giddings decided to up-date his residence by replacing the shallow Italianate roof with the more fash­ionable “French” or mansard roof.

This mansion along with its two neighbors to the north had shared for over a century a park-like setting with scores of mature oak trees and acres of sweeping lawns that combined to create a remarkable visual impact. But “progress” demanded the demolition of the Edwin W. Gid­dings mansion (July, 1967) the destruction of many of the trees, and the removal of the natural slope of the hill. In its place an apart­ment complex has been erected.

187 Turner Street

c. 1939 – Cape Cod Style

439 Prospect  Street

c. 1870 – Italianate

Ransom B. Moore, wealthy banker from Troy, New York, arrived in Romeo in 1870 and established a private bank in partnership with E. W. Giddings (Citizens National Bank after 1874). The same year he purchased from Giddings two acres of the most desirable land on “the ridge” overlooking Romeo and constructed the costliest Italianate residence in town. The Romeo Observer for January 11, 1871 noted that the Moore residence was built “in the moat substantial manner.” It was “lighted with gas” and ”warmed with pipes throughout.” Particular note was made of “the fine observatory” and the total cost of the residence was estimated at “not less than $15,000.” Two years later, Mrs. Moore died and the home was sold for $12,000 to James Gray (1843·1911) owner of lhe Opera House and Clifton Mills. In February, 1874 Mr. & Mrs. Gray held a reception in their new home and The Romeo Observer called it “the event of the season.” The home was “commodious and splendidly furn­ ished.” The food was “rich and tempting” and “excellent music supplied the wants of those who felt inclined to dance.” It was “an event to be long remembered.” In 1886, the home was sold again, this time to the widow of lumber baron Henry Stephens I. Madame Stephens (1831-1919) extended the porches, added a sun room and used the home as her “summer retreat” well into the twentieth century.

439 Morton Street

c. 1872 (R) 1940, 2016 Second Empire – Colonial

Alden Giddings (1820-1886), a native of Stafford, Connecticut, arrived in Romeo in 1857 where his older brothers, Edwin and Moses, had already achieved wealth in merchandising. Alden opened his own dry goods store and like his brothers, soon accumulated a fortune. In 1872, his “French Cottage with a full man­sard roof was completed by Romeo builder, R F. Odion. The Romeo Obseruer proclaimed it “a house of the finest architectural beauty . . . and for completeness in all its parts, beauty and variety of furnish, surpasses anything in our village.” A great variety of woods were used on the interior: “alternate strips of maple and black walnut” in the hall floor, “pine and black walnut” woodwork in the dining room, “butternut, ash and black walnut” doors, and “pine, ash, black walnut and maple” in the first floor bathroom. During the 1940’s the home was completely rebuilt in the Colonial style. In 2016, the home was completely remodeled again leaving virtually no remanent of the home built by Giddings.

441 Minot Street

c. 1959 – Modern

This is the most architecturally signifi­cant modern residence in Romeo today, yet its major feature, an enclosed garden court or “atrium” is an ancient Roman concept. Archi­tect Glen Paulsen, talented student of Eero Sa­narinen and past president of the Cranbrook Art Academy designed this home in 1959 for James Church owner of Church & Church Lumber Co.

381 Chandler Street

c. 1861 – Greek Revival

James Reardon (1824·1909) was owner of “the old East Mill” three miles west of town for several years and a grain dealer who occasionally had to travel to Chicago “to look after his wheat transactions among the sharks of that city.” The 1859 map of Romeo indicates an early building on this site. However, it would appear that the present resi­dence was constructed by Reardon after he purchased the property from George Chandler in November, 1860 for $152. The home, a late Greek Revival, has recently been · restored and is one of the moat striking houses in Romeo today.

307 Chandler Street

c. 1872 – Victorian Gothic

“D. H.· Rowley who sold a fine resi­dence last Spring, seems to be extremely fond of building fine houses,” noted The Romeo Observer in January 1871 “He has nearly finished a fine residence on Chandler Street in the Gothic style at a cost of $6,000. We hope circumstances will continue him in the business.” The best Victorian Gothic residence in Romeo and the model for several others, David Rowley’s second house was somewhat less exuberant than his first. Nevertheless, quality items were readily apparent: solid brass doorknobs with cockerspaniel heads in 1/2 relief handcarved ribbon designs on the window hoods, a spiral staircase, and ”the finest interior decorations in the village, being the work of E. H. Partch” Unfortunately, much of the interior has been altered in recent years. Notice the matching Victorian Gothic carriage house.