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Building, Dearborn, since 1913

Fair Lane

Still standing, photographed 2024

Fair Lane, Henry Ford Estate, Dearborn, Southwest side, 2008 Photo: Dave Parker, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Opened
1913
Style
Baronial
Standing
113 years

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Jens Jensen and Joseph N. French

Fair Lane has stood on Evergreen Rd. in Dearborn since 1913, 113 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.

On the map

More photos of Fair Lane

Built in 1913-1915, this Tudor Revival-style house was designed by Marion Mahony Griffin, William H. Van Tyne, and..., 2024 Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Built in 1913-1915, this Tudor Revival-style house was designed by Marion Mahony Griffin, William H. Van Tyne, and..., 2024 Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Built in 1913-1915, this Tudor Revival-style house was designed by Marion Mahony Griffin, William H. Van Tyne, and..., 2024 Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What is there now

Standing

We checked building permits, sales, listings and the city's blight and demolition files on October 24, 2026. Nothing new at this address in the last two years.

The story

By Victoria Jackson, Editor in Chief Updated

In 1913, as the auto boom spread out from Detroit and the suburbs began to fill in, Fair Lane opened in Dearborn.

Frank Lloyd Wright, Jens Jensen, Joseph N. French, Joseph Nathaniel French, and Marion Mahony Griffin drew the plans, in the Baronial style.

The National Register of Historic Places listed it in 1966.

Next time you are nearby, stop at 4901 Evergreen Rd and look up.

Fair Lane is the former estate of Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Bryant Ford, in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was named after an area in Cork, Ireland, where Ford's adoptive grandfather, Patrick Ahern, was born.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Timeline

  1. 1913 Built Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Jens Jensen, Joseph N. French, Joseph Nathaniel French, and Marion Mahony Griffin
  2. 1966 Listed on the National Register November 13, 1966
  3. 2026 Today 113 years and still standing

Where it is

4901 Evergreen Rd., Dearborn

On this map

  1. Fair Lane This place
  2. Commandant's Quarters 0.8 mi
  3. Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum 1.0 mi
  4. Dearborn Country Club 1.0 mi

Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors

Who made it

Frank Lloyd Wright
Photo: New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer: Al Ravenna, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Frank Lloyd Wright

American architect, 1867 to 1959. Designed Fair Lane (1913) and 4 more in Metro Detroit

Also by Frank Lloyd Wright

Jens Jensen
Photo: Municipal Archives of Trondheim from Trondheim, Norway, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Jens Jensen

Danish-American landscape designer, 1860 to 1951. Designed Fair Lane (1913) and the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House

Also by Jens Jensen

Joseph N. French
Photo: AnonymousUnknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Joseph N. French

Architect, 1888 to 1975. Designed Fair Lane (1913)

Joseph Nathaniel French
Photo: AnonymousUnknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Joseph Nathaniel French

American architect, 1888 to 1975. Designed the Fisher Building (1928) and Fair Lane

Also by Joseph Nathaniel French

Marion Mahony Griffin
Photo: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Architect

Marion Mahony Griffin

American architect and artist, 1871 to 1961. Designed Fair Lane (1913)

More from Dearborn in the 1910s

Around the block

Photo credits

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

  1. Fair Lane, Henry Ford Estate, Dearborn, Southwest side, 2008 Photo: Dave Parker, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  2. Built in 1913-1915, this Tudor Revival-style house was designed by Marion Mahony Griffin, William H. Van Tyne, and..., 2024 Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  3. Built in 1913-1915, this Tudor Revival-style house was designed by Marion Mahony Griffin, William H. Van Tyne, and..., 2024 Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  4. Built in 1913-1915, this Tudor Revival-style house was designed by Marion Mahony Griffin, William H. Van Tyne, and..., 2024 Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  5. Built in 1913-1915, this Tudor Revival-style house was designed by Marion Mahony Griffin, William H. Van Tyne, and..., 2024 Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  6. Fair Lane, Henry Ford Estate, Dearborn, John Burroughs Grotto, by Jens Jensen, 2008 Photo: Dave Parker, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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.