Building, North End, since 1893
Frances Harper Inn
Still standing, photographed 2023
- Opened
- 1893
- Style
- Queen Anne
- Standing
- 133 years
Frances Harper Inn has stood on Horton St. in North End since 1893, 133 years and counting. Who built it, what makes it special and how to see it for yourself.
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
Frances Harper Inn opened in 1893, as Detroit's lumber, stove and shipbuilding money went into brick and stone.
It was built in the Queen Anne style, and it still reads that way from the sidewalk.
The National Register of Historic Places listed it in 2023.
Go see it at 307 Horton St. Photos never get the scale right.
The Frances Harper Inn is a house located at 307 Horton Street in Detroit, Michigan. It is significant for its operation, between about 1915 and 1950, by the Christian Industrial Club, a Detroit Black women's club. The club used the house to provide safe and affordable housing for Black women and girls who did not have families to house them.
Timeline
- 1893 Built Queen Anne
- 2023 Listed on the National Register July 20, 2023
- 2026 Today 133 years and still standing
Where it is
307 Horton St.
On this map
- 1 Frances Harper Inn This place
- 2 Hamlin Avenue Station 0.2 mi
- 3 7300 Woodward 0.2 mi
- 4 Stanley Hong's Mannia Cafe 0.2 mi
- 5 Grand Quarters 0.2 mi
- 6 Basso Building 0.2 mi
- 7 Millwood Apartments 0.3 mi
- 8 New Center Commercial Historic District 0.3 mi
- 9 Metropolitan United Methodist Church 0.3 mi
Street map from OpenStreetMap contributors
More from Detroit in the 1890s
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![Belle Isle Pavilion, [Pavilion, Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Mich.]](https://rebuilddetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/rd-photos/landmarks/landmark-4294-2180-thumb-512916ec9d.jpg)
Belle Isle Pavilion
Building, built 1893, by Spier & Rohns, demolished 1950
Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
-
![Floral Clock at Water Works Park, Floral clock, Water [Works] Park, Detroit, Mich.](https://rebuilddetroit.com/wp-content/uploads/rd-photos/landmarks/landmark-4470-2305-thumb-1a3e4ef4e0.jpg)
Floral Clock at Water Works Park
Monument, built 1893
Photo: Detroit Publishing Company, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
-
Coronado Apartments
Building, built 1894, Romanesque Revival, by William S. Joy
Photo: Andrew Jameson at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
Dunbar Memorial Hospital
Monument, built 1892, Romanesque Revival
Photo: Andrew Jameson at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
Detroit Club
Building, built 1891, Richardsonian Romanesque, by Wilson Eyre
Photo: Mikerussell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
-
Ecumenical Theological Seminary
House of worship, built 1891, Richardsonian Romanesque, by Mason & Rice
Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Around the block
It is in North End. See the neighborhood's homes, pros and story.
- Hamlin Avenue Station Building, built 1898, by Louis Kamper 0.2 mi
-
7300 Woodward
Building, built 1910, by Albert Kahn
Photo: Jet Lowe, Historic American Buildings Survey, no known restrictions, via Library of Congress
0.2 mi
- Stanley Hong's Mannia Cafe Building, built 1971, Googie, by Nathan Johnson 0.2 mi
- Grand Quarters Building, built 1915, by Fuller Claflin, demolished 2011 0.2 mi
- Basso Building Building, built 1915, Beaux Arts, by Van Leyen, Schilling, Keough & Reynolds, demolished 0.2 mi
-
Millwood Apartments
Building, built 1905, Classical Revival, by Raseman & Fisher
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
0.3 mi
-
New Center Commercial Historic District
Building, Commercial, by Albert Kahn
Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
0.3 mi
-
Metropolitan United Methodist Church
House of worship, built 1926, English Gothic, by William E.N. Hunter
Photo: Andrew Jameson at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
0.3 mi
Photo credits
Every photo on this page is used under its license, named here with its author and a link to the original.
- Frances Harper Inn Detroit 2023 This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of... Photo: Andrew Jameson, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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.