Detroit Architects: Harry S. Angell (May 14, 1887–October 15, 1949)

Harry S. Angell (1887–1949) was a 20th-century Detroit architect born in Howell, Michigan to Edwin G. and Carrie A. Sexton Angell – a master craftsman who helped transform historic neighborhoods like Indian Village into enclaves of prosperity, architectural taste, and prestige. 

Angell’s residential work aligned with the tastes of the era’s early elite: sturdy brick construction, balance and scale, and refined revival-style influences designed to project high status and longevity. 

He married Bessie E. Gibbings in Detroit in April 1912, and the couple lived at 221 E. Philadelphia St for a while before relocating to suburban Berkley.

From that point onward, Angell was hired to design a number of homes, commercial buildings, major landmarks, and mid-rise buildings in Detroit, including the since-demolished Newcomb-Endicott Department Store and U.S. Mortgage Bond Building at 607 Shelby St and the following Indian Village commissions: 

• The Henry T. Ewald House at 3456 Burns
• The George W. Sieberling House at 2253 Iroquois
• The Pearson Wells House at 2410 Burns

Each home showcases Angell’s natural ability to deliver distinguished domestic designs featuring broad façades, eye-catching rooflines, and charming masonry work, all of which would go on to define some of Detroit’s most prestigious residential corridors.

While many of his contemporaries of the age became known for downtown landmarks, Harry S. Angell helped define the luxurious everyday architecture of Detroit’s successful class – a legacy preserved beautifully in districts like Indian Village.

He died at the age of 61 on October 15, 1948, in Berkley, Michigan, and was buried in his native Howell at Lake View Cemetery.