Local History

Houses

Lovell, W., 415: Henry Gilbert House

The Henry Gilbert House represents one of Kalamazoo’s most handsome Queen Anne’s. Cleverly designed with unique features, the house showcases the excellence of Victorian-era craftsmanship. The home was built in…

Lovell, W., 839: Alonzo T. Prentice House

The Alonzo T. Prentice House sits at the southeast corner of W. Lovell and Davis streets in the Vine Neighborhood. The home, built in 1884, exhibits a mixture of Victorian and Gothic Revival elements.

Low Road, 1414: Robinson House

The home at 1414 Low Road bridges the working class Vine Neighborhood with the upscale Orchard Hills plat. The striking Marshall sandstone home currently hides behind enough foliage to obscure…

Lustron Homes

The Lustron home was an enameled-steel prefabricated house that was immensely popular and highly promoted during a two-year period in United States history, 1948 to 1950.

Main Street, W., 1003: Horace Haines House

A stately Queen Anne-style home that stood at the southwest corner of West Main Street and Catherine (1003 West Main Street) on what is now Kalamazoo College property. The home was razed in 1974 to make way for Kalamazoo College parking.

Main Street, W., 1012: McDuffee Home

This stately home once stood at the northwest corner of West Main and Stuart streets. Built about 1890, it was owned by Louis Phillippe McDuffee and his wife, Harriet. The home fell into disrepair and was razed in 1958.

Main Street, W., 324: T.P. Sheldon House

Built in the early 1850s, the home on the northeast corner of Main and Park streets was built by Kalamazoo’s first banker, T.P. Sheldon. It later saw use as a private school for young women and a men’s club house. It was torn down in 1902.

Mansion Row

Back when West Michigan Avenue was called West Main Street, there were so many large and impressive homes along the stretch of road west of Westnedge Avenue (then called West Street) toward Oakland Drive, the area was dubbed “Mansion Row.”

Michigan Modern

The following Kalamazoo area houses and buildings have been recognized by the Michigan Modern Project as significant contributions to modernist design. The MMP has its goals the following: Define Michigan’s role…

Norman F. Carver Jr. Houses

One of Kalamazoo’s most important artistic residents in the post-World War II era was Norman F. Carver Jr. (1928-2018). Carver was born in Kalamazoo to an artistic family. His father…

Oak, 415-417: Daniel Jacobs House

This home must rank as one of the oldest surviving houses in Kalamazoo. The lot had been listed under "Welch's Addition" until Frederick Booher, one of Kalamazoo's earliest settlers and then a real estate broker, bought it and several others in...

Oakland Drive, 1006: Gatehouse, State Hospital

Originally intended as a gatehouse at the entrance drive to the State Hospital grounds. The gate was never constructed, though the drive passed beside the building for several years. In style, the gatehouse belongs to that category popularly...

Oakland Drive, 814: Henry Montague House

This simple but spacious brick home built on the eve of the Civil War, suggests its identification with the popular Greek Revival by its side-lighted and pilastered doorway and the hint of an entablature under the eaves. It was built in 1861...

Park Street, S., 344: Trowbridge House

The Trowbridge house stood on the northwest corner of Park and Lovell streets, opposite the Ladies Library. The home was built in 1876 by Kalamazoo builders Bush & Paterson for W.C. Trowbridge, a merchant, and his wife Mary. It stood until 1960.

Park, S., 628: R. Dexter Walker House

This fine example of the "Greek Revival" temple retains a great deal of its original appearance. Its present condition is a testimony to the skill of its builder, a young Canadian brick maker, Richard Dexter Walker. Walker bought his lot in the...

Parkview, 3403: John Gibbs House

The John Gibbs House sits along the south side of Parkview Avenue, just east of Drake Road. The pre-Civil War house (1853-1854) reflects the Greek Revival style popular among early…

Prairie Style Homes

“The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, integration with the landscape, solid construction, craftsmanship, and discipline…

Rose, S., 604: Ira D. Bixby House

One of S. Rose Street’s most elegant and well-maintained homes is the Ira D. Bixby House, an Italian Villa-style residence built for one of Kalamazoo’s early lumber dealers. In 1860,…

Rose, S., 628: James Clapham House

In 1848, Orson Fowler, one of America's leading phrenologists, departed from his analysis of the human personality to publish a carefully reasoned treatise on "modern" architecture. A Home for All: the Octagon Mode of Building passed through...