Col. Frank J. Hecker House
Encyclopedia
The Col. Frank J. Hecker House is located at 5510 Woodward Avenue (at the corner of Woodward and East Ferry Avenue
) in Detroit, Michigan
. The mansion serves as the Royal Danish Consulate in Detroit. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1958 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1971.
was born in Freedom, Michigan in 1846. He joined the Union Army at age 18, and rose to the rank of Colonel. After the conclusion of the Civil War
, he hired on as an agent for the Union Pacific Railroad
. Using this experience, he later organized the Peninsular Car Company
(with Charles Lang Freer
, whose home
is next to Hecker's) in Detroit, making his fortune in the railroad supply business. Hecker served in the Army again in the Spanish-American War
, where he was in charge of transporting Spanish prisoners. This service brought him to the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt
, who in 1904 appointed Hecker to the Panama Canal
Commission. Hecker also served as Detroit Police Commissioner, organized several banks in the midwest, and sat on the boards of the Detroit Copper and Brass Rolling Mills, Michigan Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and the Detroit Lumber Company.
and began construction on the mansion at Woodward Avenue at the corner of Ferry. The Col. Frank J. Hecker House, with 21000 square feet (1,951 m²), is an imposing example of French Châteauesque
style based on the Château de Chenonceaux near Tours, France. Col. Hecker used his home to host elaborate parties where he entertained luminaries such as Presidents William McKinley
and Rutherford B. Hayes
.
The exterior of the home has large turret
s at the corners, and Flemish dormer
s in the steep hip roof. Several bays project from the main body of the home, and wrapped around the whole is a balustraded
, colonnaded loggia
. A carriage house in the rear is clearly visible from Woodward. At one point this structure was converted into a concert hall capable of seating 200.
The interior has 49 rooms, including a large oak-paneled hall designed for large parties, an oval dining room done in mahogany, a lobby done in English oak, and a white and gold music room. The fireplaces were constructed of Egyptian Nubian marble and onyx and Italian sienna marble were used in the vestibules.
Col. Hecker lived in the home until his death in 1927. For the next twenty years, the home was owned by the Hecker family, but operated as a boarding house for single college students.
In 1947, the mansion was sold to Paul Smiley of the Smiley Brothers Music Company, who used it for musical instruction and practice as well as a sales office. During this time, both the Detroit's Chamber Music Workshop and Women's Symphony started on the premises. When Smiley died in 1990, the building was sold to Charfoos & Christensen, PC. The firm rehabilitated the mansion, and it currently serves as their law offices.
The mansion also serves as the Royal Danish Consulate in Detroit.
East Ferry Avenue Historic District
The East Ferry Avenue Historic District is a historic residential district in Detroit, Michigan. The nationally-designated historic district stretches two blocks from Woodward Avenue east to Brush; the locally-designated historic district includes a third block between Brush and Beaubien. The...
) in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. The mansion serves as the Royal Danish Consulate in Detroit. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1958 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1971.
Col. Hecker
Col. Frank J. HeckerFrank J. Hecker
Frank J. Hecker was an American railroad-car manufacturer from Detroit, Michigan-Early life:Frank J. Hecker was born in Freedom, Michigan on July 6, 1846. His family moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1859, where Frank was educated...
was born in Freedom, Michigan in 1846. He joined the Union Army at age 18, and rose to the rank of Colonel. After the conclusion of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he hired on as an agent for the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
. Using this experience, he later organized the Peninsular Car Company
Peninsular Car Company
The Peninsular Car Company was a railroad rolling stock manufacturer, founded by Charles L. Freer and Frank J. Hecker in 1885.In 1892, the company merged with Michigan Car Company, the Russel Wheel and Foundry Company, the Detroit Car Wheel Company and several smaller manufacturers to form the...
(with Charles Lang Freer
Charles Lang Freer
Charles Lang Freer was an American railroad-car manufacturer from Detroit, Michigan who gave to the United States his art collections and funds for a building to house them. The Freer Gallery of Art founded by him is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C..-Early life:Freer was...
, whose home
Charles Lang Freer House
The Charles Lang Freer House is located at 71 East Ferry Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Originally built by the industrialist and art collector Charles Lang Freer whose gift of the Freer Gallery of Art began the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The house is currently the Merrill Palmer...
is next to Hecker's) in Detroit, making his fortune in the railroad supply business. Hecker served in the Army again in the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, where he was in charge of transporting Spanish prisoners. This service brought him to the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, who in 1904 appointed Hecker to the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
Commission. Hecker also served as Detroit Police Commissioner, organized several banks in the midwest, and sat on the boards of the Detroit Copper and Brass Rolling Mills, Michigan Fire and Marine Insurance Company, and the Detroit Lumber Company.
Architecture
In 1888, Hecker hired architect Louis KamperLouis Kamper
Louis Kamper was an American architect, active in and aroundDetroit and Wayne County, Michigan, in the United States.-Project range:...
and began construction on the mansion at Woodward Avenue at the corner of Ferry. The Col. Frank J. Hecker House, with 21000 square feet (1,951 m²), is an imposing example of French Châteauesque
Châteauesque
Châteauesque is one of several terms, including Francis I style, and, in Canada, the Château Style, that refer to a revival architectural style based on the French Renaissance architecture of the monumental French country homes built in the Loire Valley from the late fifteenth century to the...
style based on the Château de Chenonceaux near Tours, France. Col. Hecker used his home to host elaborate parties where he entertained luminaries such as Presidents William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
and Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
.
The exterior of the home has large turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s at the corners, and Flemish dormer
Dormer
A dormer is a structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Dormers are used, either in original construction or as later additions, to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually also by enabling addition of windows.Often...
s in the steep hip roof. Several bays project from the main body of the home, and wrapped around the whole is a balustraded
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
, colonnaded loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
. A carriage house in the rear is clearly visible from Woodward. At one point this structure was converted into a concert hall capable of seating 200.
The interior has 49 rooms, including a large oak-paneled hall designed for large parties, an oval dining room done in mahogany, a lobby done in English oak, and a white and gold music room. The fireplaces were constructed of Egyptian Nubian marble and onyx and Italian sienna marble were used in the vestibules.
Later Use
In 1947, the mansion was sold to Paul Smiley of the Smiley Brothers Music Company, who used it for musical instruction and practice as well as a sales office. During this time, both the Detroit's Chamber Music Workshop and Women's Symphony started on the premises. When Smiley died in 1990, the building was sold to Charfoos & Christensen, PC. The firm rehabilitated the mansion, and it currently serves as their law offices.
The mansion also serves as the Royal Danish Consulate in Detroit.
External links
- Charfoos & Christensen.
- "Plots produce bounty of riches," Michael H. Hodges and Joy Hakanson Colby, The Detroit News.