The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House is a large home located at 1100 Lake Shore Drive in Grosse Pointe Shores, northeast of Detroit, Michigan. It is situated on a site called "Gaukler Point," which is on the shore of Lake St. Clair. The family moved into the house in 1928. Edsel Ford was the son of Henry Ford and worked as an executive at Ford Motor Company. The buildings were designed by architect Albert Kahn, and the layout and gardens were created by famous landscape designer Jens Jensen. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and was named a National Historic Landmark in 2016.

History

The Fords traveled to England with Albert Kahn to gather ideas for a new house design. They were inspired by the traditional buildings of the Cotswolds region and asked Kahn to create a house that looked like the small village houses found there. Kahn's design included sandstone walls, a slate roof with smaller stone shingles at the top, and moss and ivy growing on the outside. Construction of the house began in 1926.

Building the house itself took one year, but two more years were spent adding antique wood paneling and fireplaces from English manor houses. Charles Roberson, an expert in adapting old European designs for American homes, handled the interior details. The Gallery, the largest room, was covered with sixteenth-century oak paneling carved with intricate designs. Its fireplace was taken from Wollaston Hall in England, a house that had been torn down in 1925. A staircase from Lyveden Manor House, once owned by Sir Thomas Tresham, was also used. Fourteenth-century stained-glass window pieces were added in the late 1930s. Roberson designed the Gallery’s ceiling to look like one from Boughton Malherbe in England. The Dining Room had no electricity and used paneling and doors from "New Place," a house destroyed during early 20th-century development in London. The Library’s paneling and fireplace came from Deene Park in England, a home of the Brudenell family. Harris suggests the paneling may have originally come from another Brudenell estate. The Study has a wooden frame with the date 1585, taken from Heronden Hall in Kent.

Other features include kitchen counters made of sterling silver, a hidden darkroom behind a wall in Edsel Ford’s office, and Art Deco-style rooms designed by Walter Dorwin Teague, a famous designer of the 1930s. Teague’s "Modern Room" had special lighting, taupe-colored leather panels, and a curved wall with eighteen mirrored sections. He also designed bedrooms and sitting rooms for Edsel and Eleanor Ford’s three sons. Teague’s design for Henry Ford II’s bathroom included grey glass walls and a shower stall made of the same glass.

The house had a large art collection, showing Edsel and Eleanor Ford’s interest in supporting museums. After Eleanor’s death, many paintings were donated to the Detroit Institute of Arts, and reproductions were placed in their rooms. The classical French-style Drawing Room had two original paintings by Paul Cézanne and reproductions of works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas. A copy of Vincent van Gogh’s The Postman Roulin was displayed in the Morning Room. An original painting by Diego Rivera, Cactus on the Plains, hung in the Modern Room.

The estate’s gardens were designed by landscape architect Jens Jensen, who used a traditional layout called the "long view." Visitors would see the house only after walking through a long meadow and along a winding driveway. Mrs. Ford wanted a rose garden, but Jensen initially refused, saying it would disrupt the natural look. A similar request had caused Jensen to quit working for Henry and Clara Ford earlier. Eleanor and Jensen later agreed to place the rose garden behind bushes, out of sight of the main lawn. Jensen’s son later built the garden, which included a reflecting pool and neatly trimmed bushes, unlike the rest of the grounds.

The estate’s grounds also included a power house and a gate house near Lake Shore Drive, often mistaken for the main house. The gate house had apartments for staff and an eight-car garage with a turntable to rotate cars. A Recreation House beyond a lagoon and swimming pool had changing rooms and a squash court. Near the gate house was a child-sized playhouse built for Josephine Ford by her grandmother Clara in 1930. It had working electricity, plumbing, and decorations based on nursery rhymes.

To celebrate William’s 21st birthday, the family hired a company to build a full-sized pirate ship replica on the lagoon. The party was held outside near the Apple Patio and included live performances by Frank Sinatra.

Museum

Edsel Ford died in this house in 1943, and his wife, Eleanor Ford, lived there until her death in 1976. Eleanor wanted the property to be used for the public's benefit. The Edsel & Eleanor Ford House is now open to the public for guided tours. It is located on 87 acres (350,000 m²) at 1100 Lake Shore Road in Grosse Pointe Shores. The 30,000-square-foot (2,787 m²) house contains a beautiful collection of original antiques and art, as well as lovely lakefront grounds. The property includes a section of Ford's Cove, with 3,100 feet (985 m) of shoreline along Lake St. Clair. The house currently holds special events, classes, and lectures. The estate is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Restoration

Several restoration projects have been started in recent years to repair the worn-down masonry on the main house, the playhouse, and the walkways. The Edsel Ford house depends on donations and a trust created by Mrs. Ford to fund restoration work. Mrs. Ford left $15 million in the trust when she gave the house to it in the 1970s. By 2007, the trust had grown to $98 million.

The house has had many large restoration projects, including new roofing completed by a company from England that used five skilled masons. The old roof was removed down to the wooden base, and any damaged wood was replaced. The stone used for repairs matched the original stone from the same quarry.

Restoration work is done by trained craftsmen with proven experience in their fields. The foundation chooses contractors based on their experience, work samples, and ability to provide materials similar to the original, rather than focusing only on cost. This ensures the estate is restored to match its original design.

The most recent project replaced the sandstone pillars outside the lakefront patio, which had begun to crack near the top. To keep the restoration historically accurate, the foundation hired a company from the same region where the original stone was purchased.

Many rooms in the house are not open to visitors, including the basement. The estate has more than 60 rooms and other buildings, but public tours usually show only 20. Some rooms, like staff living quarters, are included in special tours. Offices in the north upstairs wing are not shown to the public. Some rooms are still in poor condition, and future restoration projects aim to make the entire estate suitable for public display within a few years.

Gallery

• Left and right sides of the house
• Back part of the house
• Powerhouse
• Building near the pool
• Small building for playing
• Garage and southern cottage