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Marygrove College Historic Consulting
KDG is currently working as a historic consultant on the rehabilitation of the historic Marygrove College campus. The campus is being renovated for use by the Detroit Public Schools Community District for a new “cradle-to-career” educational campus housing educational facilities for infants through college-aged students. Marygrove College was founded by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) in 1925 and has been an integral part of the neighborhood ever since. After the college closed in 2019, the Marygrove Conservancy was formed to shepherd the campus through the renovation. This exciting project involves rehabilitating some of Detroit’s finest Gothic Revival style buildings for continued use to ensure the educational legacy of the IHM Sisters lives on in Northwest Detroit.
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African American Housing in Inkster, Michigan
KDG is currently conducting a reconnaissance and intensive level architectural survey of historic African American housing in Inkster, Michigan. From the 1920s through the 1960s, Inkster was one of the few places in Metro Detroit where Black residents could purchase a home. Due to restrictive covenants, redlining, discriminatory “steering” practices by real estate agents, and outright violence by white neighbors this small bedroom community became a center for Black community, camaraderie, and homeownership. This project shines a light on the hard-fought gains Black Michiganders made to forge their own American Dream.
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Latinx Survey
In partnership with the City of Detroit, KDG is currently conducting a survey of historic resources with significance to Detroit’s thriving Latinx population. With increased Latinx migration into Detroit happening by the mid-twentieth century, “La Bagley” neighborhood became a flourishing center for Latinx life. Thriving Latinx-founded businesses, newspapers, radio stations, and churches flourished in the 1960s and beyond. Many of these organizations, or their direct successors, are still in operation today. This survey will assist the city and other stakeholders in planning for long-range efforts to interpret and preserve important Latinx sites.
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Second Baptist Church National Register Nomination
The KDG team is currently working on a National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Second Baptist Church which was founded by a group of African American men and women who left Detroit’s First Baptist Church due to discriminatory practices. Second Baptist Church went to on to play a significant role in the abolitionist movement as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Early congregants hid freedom seekers fleeing persecution and helped form several noted abolitionist groups in Michigan and Canada. Second Baptist was also heavily involved in the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, hosting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for a guest sermon, collecting money for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and advocating for Black Detroiters with City administrators.
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Welcome Katie Cook!
Katie is KDG’s newest Architectural Historian. She is nearing completion of her graduate degree in historic preservation from Eastern Michigan University. She brings a background in research, writing, and using geographic information systems (GIS) in historic preservation applications to the team. For KDG’s work on African American housing in Inkster, Katie used GIS to illustrate the location of surveyed houses in one of Inkster’s African American neighborhoods. For her capstone project at Eastern Michigan, she is using GIS to map the location of alley housing in 1920s Detroit. We are delighted to have her at KDG.
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A heat map showing the distribution of alley dwellings in Detroit’s core ca. 1922.
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A map created to show the boundaries of a proposed historic district in Inkster and the contributing properties.
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What’s on our Desks?
Research is a key part of the projects that KDG’s Architectural Historians undertake. Their desks are a treasure trove of books, maps, and artifacts which tell the story of Detroit’s history. Take a look at what is on their desks this month!
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The Black Church by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
The Black Church is a fascinating history of the importance of African American religion and traces the history of the Black church from its origins as a center of resistance to slavery to a home for political mobilization and the nexus of Black social life. This book has been paramount in understanding and writing about the history of Detroit’s own Second Baptist Church.
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Building Sisterhood: A Feminist History of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
KDG’s work as historic consultant on the rehabilitation of Marygrove College and Immaculata High School has led us down a rabbit hole of Catholic history in Detroit. Building Sisterhood is an exciting read about Marygrove’s founders the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and their role as early feminists and proponents of women’s education in Detroit and globally.
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Flint Faience Tiles A to Z by Margaret Carney & Ken Galvas
Take a closer look at your bathroom and fireplace tile – it may be Flint Faience! Like many things in the Motor City, Flint Faience tile was birthed from the auto industry – firing tiles in the kilns at the AC Spark Plug Company allowed the kilns to remain hot all night long for more efficient spark plug production during the day. Flint Faience Tiles A to Z is an incredible graphic compendium of the stunning tiles produced by Flint Faience from 1921 to 1933 when it ceased operation. A must read and an excellent coffee table book.
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1835 Map of Detroit
Check out this 1835 Map of Detroit KDG’s Architectural Historians have been studying! Notice the long ribbon farms on the right side of the map prior to this land being divvied up and subdivided. Do you notice that Campus Martius was called Military Square at this time?
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Carver Homes Subdivision Plat Map
KDG’s research on the history of African American settlement in Inkster has required studying plat maps to understand the development patterns in the city. This plat map shows the design for the Carver Homes Subdivision, a World War II defense worker housing complex for Black defense workers in Inkster.
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Underrepresented Communities and Historic Preservation in Michigan
Michigan’s State Historic Preservation Office have recently debuted the Underrepresented Communities and Historic Preservation in Michigan page on their website. This webpage highlights the effort that the SHPO and the National Park Service have put into highlighting and celebrating the history of underrepresented communities including documenting Civil Rights sites in Michigan.
KDG has been deeply involved in these efforts and several of the projects which have kept our Architectural Historian staff busy the past few years are featured on the website – including a survey of African American housing in Inkster, the National Register nomination for the Dr. Ossian Sweet House, and the National Register nomination for the Sojourner Truth Homes. Please check out the website to learn more about efforts to tell Michigan’s full story and the important work being done here at KDG!
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