Baxter & O'Dell

Architecture firm

Forest Arms, drawn from its recorded size and kind until a photo we may share turns up

Designer of Forest Arms, the building that opened in Detroit's Midtown in 1906. It is one of 5 works by Baxter & O'Dell on record across Detroit, built from 1906 to 1911.

works on record in Metro Detroit: 5
of work here, 1906 to 1911: 5 years
Detroit neighborhoods: 3

Every Baxter & O'Dell building here, side by side

All 5 of Baxter & O'Dell's works on record, oldest at left. None has a height on record, so each is drawn at one standard size in the shape of its kind.

Forest Arms

1906, Detroit, height not on record, drawn at one standard size

Standing and open

Open its page

Standing
Tap or point at a building

The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated October 25, 2026

Of everything Baxter & O'Dell designed here, Forest Arms leads the list, a building in Detroit's Midtown, finished in 1906.

The record opens in 1906 with Forest Arms, in the years Detroit became the Motor City and built like it meant to stay on top, and closes in 1911 with the Cassy J. Boydell House. The 1900s were Baxter & O'Dell's busiest decade here, with 4 works on record. Inside the city, Baxter & O'Dell's buildings stand in 3 neighborhoods, from Virginia Park to Midtown.

All 5 of Baxter & O'Dell's works on record are still standing. Homes were a calling card for Baxter & O'Dell, 3 of them on record, the Joseph Marpoom House and the John Wagner House among them. Anyone tracing Baxter & O'Dell's work can begin at Forest Arms at 4625 Second Ave and follow the map from there.

Baxter & O'Dell in Metro Detroit, oldest first

Where their buildings stand

Decade built

5 works on the map

Loading the map

Standing
Demolished
Altered
Works close together

5 works on the map

Where the work stands

Sources

The facts on Baxter & O'Dell come from Historic Detroit; Rebuild Detroit wrote the story above from them, and each photo names its license.

Source: Historic Detroit