Category: West Canfield Historic District

Built in 1885 by architect Almon C. Varney, the 5,711-square-foot Victorian-style Harry B. Parker House, located in the West Canfield Historic District (669 W Canfield St, Detroit, MI 48201), is one of a few grand architectural wonders that anchor this iconic district.

The residence was first commissioned for a man named Harry B. Parker, who lived in the property up until his passing, at which point his widow took on ownership of it prior to selling it off to tobacco company proprietor Waring H. Ellis in 1895 – a transaction that marked the beginning of the home’s association with Detroit’s early professional elite.

Following Ellis’ occupation of the 669 W Canfield St property, the house was purchased by Detroit attorney Harry A. Lockwood, who was part of the respected Ford Building law firm Clark, Lockwood, Bryant & Klein and a former Circuit Judge in Monroe County. 

From there, in 1913, the Harry B. Parker House had a stint where it was known as the Reindel residence, a namesake derived from George J. Reindel, co-partner of the home and office furnishing manufacturer George J. Reindel Company.

The Reindel family owned the 669 W Canfield St property for four decades until they finally sold it off to Dr. Vincent C. Wall of Wayne State University.

After that, from the mid-1970s forward, real estate attorney Kenneth M. Davies became the home’s longest continuous owner, having first occupied the 669 W Canfield St property as an apartment renter in 1958 during his time as a law student at Wayne State University before becoming its owner and residing in the house for an impressive six decades.

Fast forward to 2020.

In September of that year, the Harry B. Parker House was listed for sale at over $1 million, a high price tag reflecting its rich architectural importance, enduring prestige, and legacy as one of the most elegant Victorian homes in all of Detroit.

Built in 1874 and one of the oldest standing homes on the south side of the West Canfield Historic District, the Colin Fox House located at 627 W Canfield St, Detroit, MI 48201, is one of the district’s most visually significant Carpenter Gothic structures. 

First commissioned for Colin Fox (Division Superintendent of the Western Telegraph and one of the most prolific communications professionals of the age), the 627 W Canfield St property set a precedent for the kind of property sought after by Detroit’s upwardly mobile residents in its earliest days. 

From there, in 1880, the Colin Fox home was purchased by Alexander McVittie, President of the Detroit Ship Building Company and a major figure in the state of Michigan’s marine industry, who occupied the property up until his death in 1909.

The home served as a main gathering place for McVittie’s family, including his granddaughter, Mrs. Stanley S. Kresge, who recalled fond memories of her Sunday visits to the Fox house as a child. 

Following McVittie’s passing, the 627 West Canfield residence was occupied by Kenneth M. Anderson, Alexander McVittie’s son-in-law and the Treasurer and Manager of the Kenneth M. Anderson Company, who occupied the property until 1915, continuing its legacy as a home base for Detroit’s early 20th-century business elite.

Predating much of the surrounding Victorian development in the West Canfield Historic District, the Colin Fox house at 627 West Canfield stands as a model of the area’s transition from wide open farmland to one of Detroit’s most distinguished suburbs. 

Nearly a century after its construction, the home entered an entirely new era when Detroit attorney Henry G. Groehn and his family rehabilitated the property in 1969, ensuring they preserved its original architectural integrity in the process.

As for the home’s later occupancy, from the late 1960s all the way up until the early 2000s it belonged to Beulah Groehn Croxford, founder of the Canfield West–Wayne Preservation Association, a groundbreaking organization dedicated to protecting, restoring, and preserving West Canfield District’s historic homes.

Today, the Colin Fox House stands as a rare and perfectly maintained example of Carpenter Gothic architecture within one of Detroit’s most sophisticated boulevards – a distinguished home that has passed through the hands of everyone from telegraph executives to shipbuilders, business leaders, preservationists, and visionaries. 

A living model of the West Canfield neighborhood’s esteem during the 1880s, the G. H. Whitaker House at 677 W Canfield St, Detroit, MI 48201 (constructed in 1888) stands as proof of architect G. H. Whitaker’s quality craftsmanship and mastery of Victorian-era architectural design.

Following Whitaker’s initial occupancy, the residence at 677 West Canfield attracted a number of upwardly mobile Detroiters within the city’s rising professional and socially prominent classes.

This further reinforced the prestige of the West Canfield district in its early days, making it a desirable suburb for residents of prominence connected to the city’s growing civic, medical, business, and cultural spheres – professionals who wanted a quieter way of life within reach of the hustle and bustle of downtown. 

One such resident was Dr. David Barclay, a physician whose residency from 1920 until his death bolstered West Canfield’s reputation as a hub for medical professionals who chose Canfield as their home base. 

Today, the G. H. Whitaker House at 677 West Canfield remains a vital landmark within the West Canfield Historic District—a well-preserved reminder of the craftsmanship, social standing, and residential character that defined this celebrated Victorian corridor during its inception.