Michigan's preeminent example of Shingle Style architecture, the home of industrialist and avid art collector, Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), located at 71 East Ferry Avenue, was designed by renowned Philadelphia architect, Wilson Eyre, Jr. Freer, along with his eventual neighbor, Frank J. Hecker, were partners in the railroad car business. In 1904, Freer acquired the Peacock Room, a beautiful Anglo-Japanese dining room, originally located inside the townhouse of English shipowner, Frederick Richards Leyland, at 49 Princes Gate in London, from Leyland's widow. The Peacock Room was designed by British architect, Thomas Jeckyll, and American painter, James McNeill Whistler. It was reinstalled in a room within the carriage house. Freer bequeathed the Peacock Room as well as his prized art collection to the United States Government, with special instructions provisions. This collection would become the Smithsonian Institute's Freer Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Since 1923, the Freer residence has been home to the Merrill-Palmer Institute (currently Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute), a non-profit organization that focuses on child and family development. It is owned by Wayne State University. #Detroit #EastFerryAvenueHistoricDistrict #MidtownDetroit #WayneState #ShingleStyle #VictorianArchitecture #CharlesLangFreer #WilsonEyreJr #archi_ologie #oldhouselove #casasecasarios #houses_ofthe_world #beautifulhouseoldandnew #TheAmericanHome #houseportrait #BrickStory #RawDetroit #PureMichigan #PureMittigan #MotorCityShooters #PureDetroit313 #DepictTheD #VisitDetroit #Michiganders #ThisPlaceMatters #ThisPlaceMattersDetroit #MichiganPlacesMatter (at Charles Lang Freer House) https://www.instagram.com/p/CM7SWJ4jCgd/?igshid=9e296vekzcud
