Skip to content
Rebuild Detroit

Popular in Metro Detroit

Call (888) 471-3135

Historic home, Midtown, since 1884

Thompson Home

Still standing, photographed 2023

The Col. Frank J. Hecker House in Detroit, Michigan, United States, seen here from across Woodward Avenue, is listed on..., 2008 Photo: Andrew Jameson at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Built
1884
Style
Queen Anne
Standing
142 years

Designed by George D. Mason and Mason & Rice

The Thompson Home at 4756 Cass Ave, built in 1884. The family, the architect, the block it belongs to and what stands there today.

On the map

Then and now

On record

Thompson Home on Cass in Detroit MI Photo: Andrew Jameson at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Today, from the street

Thompson Home from the street today Photo: Street View, 2026

What is there now

Standing

We checked building permits, sales, listings and the city's blight and demolition files on October 25, 2026. Nothing new at this address in the last two years.

The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated

The house at 4756 Cass Ave went up in 1884, as Detroit's lumber, stove and shipbuilding money went into brick and stone.

It carries the name of Thompson.

George D. Mason and Mason & Rice designed it in the Queen Anne style.

On the city map it falls in Midtown.

Most homes like it are lived in, so enjoy it from the sidewalk.

The Thompson Home is a Victorian structure located at 4756 Cass Avenue in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. Originally the Thompson Home for Old Ladies, it was constructed in 1884, designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1884 Built Designed by George D. Mason and Mason & Rice
  2. 2026 Today 142 years and still standing

Where it is

4756 Cass Ave.

On this map

  1. Thompson Home This place
  2. Hilberry Theatre 100 ft
  3. Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center 140 ft
  4. Old Main 270 ft
  5. Mulford T. Hunter House 310 ft
  6. George W. Loomer House 350 ft
  7. William C. Boydell House 430 ft
  8. Wayne State University Buildings 480 ft
  9. Perry McAdow House 480 ft

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Who made it

George D. Mason
Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

George D. Mason

American architect, 1856 to 1948. Designed the Lincoln Motor Company Plant (1917) and 39 more in Metro Detroit

Also by George D. Mason

Ecumenical Theological Seminary, by Mason & Rice Ecumenical Theological Seminary, by Mason & Rice. Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Mason & Rice

Architecture firm. Designed Trinity Episcopal Church (1893) and 11 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Mason & Rice

More from Detroit in the 1880s

Around the block

It is in Midtown. See the neighborhood's homes, pros and story.

Photo credits

Every photo on this page is used under its license, named here with its author and a link to the original.

  1. The Col. Frank J. Hecker House in Detroit, Michigan, United States, seen here from across Woodward Avenue, is listed on..., 2008 Photo: Andrew Jameson at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  2. Thompson Home on Cass in Detroit MI Photo: Andrew Jameson at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  3. Thompson Home as it appeared in 2023 Photo: Hhazen24, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  4. Built at behest of wealthy Detroit businessman David Thompson, 1977 Photo: Douglas Allan Dunn, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  5. Thompson Home from the street today Photo: Street View, 2026

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.