Lost historic home, Detroit, 1851 to 1917
Biddle House
Demolished in 1917
- Built
- 1851
- Torn down
- 1917
Designed by A.E. Wales
The Biddle House at Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street, built in 1851. The family, the architect, the block it belongs to and what stands there today.
What is there now
Demolished in 1917
We have not yet found a source that says what stands on the spot today. Last looked on October 25, 2026.
The story
The house at Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street went up in 1851, when Detroit was still a river town of timber, brick and church steeples.
It carries the name of Biddle.
The plans came from A.E. Wales.
The house is gone now (it came down in 1917), but its story is part of the street's.
Timeline
- 1851 Built Designed by A.E. Wales
- 1917 Demolished
- 2026 Today 109 years since it came down
Where it is
Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street
On this map
- 1 Biddle House This place
- 2 Mariners Church 240 ft
- 3 Renaissance City Apartments 350 ft
- 4 Light Guard Armory 480 ft
- 5 Coleman A. Young Municipal Center 0.1 mi
- 6 William Cotter Maybury Monument 0.1 mi
- 7 Renaissance Center 0.1 mi
- 8 Burton Abstract & Title Co. Building 0.1 mi
- 9 Greyhound Terminal (second) 0.1 mi
Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors
Who made it
More from Detroit in the 1850s
Around the block
-
Mariners Church
House of worship, built 1849, Gothic Revival, by Calvin N. Otis
Photo: Warren LeMay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
240 ft
-
Renaissance City Apartments
Skyscraper, built 1985, by SDG Associates
Photo: 42-BRT, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
350 ft
- Light Guard Armory Structure, built 1898, Richardsonian Romanesque, by Malcomson & Higginbotham, demolished 1945 480 ft
-
Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
Skyscraper, built 1955, International, by Harley, Ellington & Day
Photo: 42-BRT, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
0.1 mi
- William Cotter Maybury Monument Monument, built 1912, Classic Revival 0.1 mi
-
Renaissance Center
Skyscraper, built 1976, Modern, by John C. Portman
Photo: Notorious4life (Uploads), CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
0.1 mi
- Burton Abstract & Title Co. Building Building, built 1924, by Frank Herman, demolished 1977 0.1 mi
- Greyhound Terminal (second) Building, built 1958, Mid-Century Modern, by Arrasmith & Tyler, demolished 1990 0.1 mi
Sources
Facts only, gathered from these sources. The story above is written by Rebuild Detroit. Every photo names its author and license where it appears.