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| Robert Goelet House at Newport, Rhode Island |
The house we visited this summer was at Gaukler Point on the shores of Lake St Clair in Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan. It belonged to Mr and Mrs Edsel Ford.
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| Mr & Mrs Edsel Ford |
Edsel Ford was the only son of Henry Ford and President of the Ford Motor Company from 1919.
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| Edsel Bryan Ford, 1893-1943 |
Their house at Gaukler was designed by Albert Khan.
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| Rear of Edsel & Eleanor Ford House |
The house is open to the public; tours begin inside the house at the door in the right of the picture above.
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| Side view of Edsel & Eleanor Ford House |
Unfortunately photography is not permitted inside the house so I had to restrict my shots to the rest of the estate. The pool looked inviting even although it was not too warm at the time.
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| Swimming Pool |
A small waterfall at the far runs into Lake St Clair. If you go to the far end and stand on the bank (in that clear spot at the left) you can see across the Lake to the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club.
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| Grosse Pointe Yacht Club |
The separate pool house has its own squash court. A picture board reinforces the families recreational ties.
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Their children even had miniature cars to race around the grounds; these cars are on show along with other models inside the garage.
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| Racing Cars |
The Ford's daughter Josephine had a playhouse (2/3 scale) built for her in the grounds - a gift from her grandmother.
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| Josephine's Play House |
Original furniture remains on show inside including a fully furnished bedroom.
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| Inside Josephine's Playhouse |
As you would expect from a motor magnet some of the family's cars are are show, including these.
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| 1934 Brewster Town Car |
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| 1920s Lincoln |
However the picture I like best show Edsel with his cars near the house.
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| Edsel Ford |
I hope I have given you a flavour of what you can see at Edsel & Eleanor Ford's House. You may find out more at http://www.fordhouse.org/ If you go there make sure you check the video links at the bottom of that page.
Meanwhile to see houses that have inspired others cross over to Sepia-Saturday-201.
Photo Attributions:
- Mr & Mrs Edsel Ford - Library of Congress
- Bryan Edsel Ford - Library of Congress
- Rear and Side View of Edsel & Eleanor Ford House and Josephine's Playhouse - Andrew Jameson, 3 June 2011; CC BY-SA 3,0
- All others by Bob Scotney, including Edsel and his cars (photo of picture on display)
