The home of the Michigan Society of Architects is one of the oldest remaining houses in Detroit, and even in its present state of repair (ed: it was completely renovated in 1987), gives an idea of middle-class life in the middle of the nineteenth century. The land on which it sits is truly historic, for it is a piece of one of the original "strip farms" that ran back from the river in the days before the English replaced the French settlers. The site is that of the Antoine Beaubien farm, which had a quarter of a mile frontage on the river, but which ran back from the water nearly three miles, and was 336.83 acres in size. Beaubien was a Colonel in the Detroit Militia and received the patent certificate for his land in 1810.

The Beaubien estate was dissipated rapidly after 1831, and some historians speculate that the wife of Antoine Beaubien, Jr. (Monique Labadie) was overly generous in her gifts to the church and other educational and charitable institutions, but a more likely explanation is that a large part of the farm was sold to the family’s own attorney, and paid for in railroad stocks which proved to have little value. Needless to say, there is no record of the attorney suggesting that the deal be renegotiated.

Beaubien and St. Antoine originated from the two Beaubien brothers, Lambert and Antoine, each of whom received half of the family farm after the death of their father, Jean Baptiste Beaubien, one of the first white settlers on the river, opposite Fort Dearborn. Lambert was a colonel in the First Regiment of Detroit's militia. He fought in the War of 1812. Antoine chose to name his property after his patron saint, St. Antoine. Antoine was a lieutenant colonel in the Michigan Territorial Militia. He donated a chunk of his land for the Sacred Heart Academy, once located at the corner of Jefferson and St. Antoine.

source:Detroit's street names honor early leaders By Mary Bailey / The Detroit News

Just before his death, Antoine sold Lot 8, on the north side of Jefferson Avenue, to Charles J. Trombly for the sum of $2,000, in June of 1850. Trombly was a cousin of Beaubien’s, and a graduate of Georgetown College, in Washington, D.C., and historians feel that the present house was built sometime during 1851 for the use of Trombly and his new bride. The house was not a custom-built, one-of-a-kind residence, since there is some evidence that there were 15 similar residences in the area, all of the same Italianate Townhouse style popular in the 1850’s. Many of these survived until the 1950’s, when they were torn down to provide more parking lots. As an aside, the 1950’s must be one of the blackest decades for Detroit’s architectural historians, for hundreds of important buildings were demolished just before public interest and concern were mobilized for their preservation.

The Trombly House exterior is brick (although whether or not it is a local brick is unknown), and it is supported on fieldstone foundation walls, at least one foot thick. Wall studs are 2" x 6"s and the ceiling joists are 2" x 12", on 12" centers, a structure that is more than adequate even under today’s building code requirements. As a result, there has been little settling of the house, the floors are level, and all doors swing freely. The plastered walls are of wood lath, with two layers of plaster, one coarse undercoat and a finer finish coat, reinforced with hair.

The plan for the house is essentially simple. Over a full basement of limited headroom is the first floor, consisting of a front parlor, complete with a marble manteled fireplace, and two smaller rooms, one of which must have been a dining room. The usual kitchen in those days was an attached structure on the rear of the house. There are 22 steps to the second floor which held a bedroom and sitting room, and the third floor also has two rooms, probably used by children or servants originally. It does not have the special rooms, such as a library or conservatory, that the larger homes had, but it must be remembered that it was always a modest dwelling, not a mansion.

For the next two decades, the house was owned or rented by many different families, including some of the city’s oldest and most familiar names:

McClelland, Cicotte, Whipple, Chapoton, Campau, and Beecher, among others. But in 1872, the house was sold to John F. Antisdel, and it entered its longest period of ownership by one family. Antisdel was a New York Stater in the hotel business, eventually owning hotels in Milwaukee, Bay City and Kingsville, Ontario, plus three large establishments in downtown Detroit. As a businessman, Mr. Antisdel was aware of the importance of maximizing his capital, and sold the house on three occasions, although he continued to occupy it as a tenant during these short spans, until he sold it in 1887.

A Dutch-born artist, William H. Machen, lived in the home for the next five years and built up a national reputation for his paintings, even exhibited in the Detroit Museum of Art. But in 1894, John F. Antisdel bought the house for the second time, and it then remained in his family (through his son, John Farshall Antisdel, until 1943). There then follows some very obscure years in the life of the house, owing to the sporadic issuance of city directories during World War II and the l950’s.

In 1956, the house was rented by free-lance photographer Fred A. Plofchan, who bought the house in 1965. During his occupancy, the plumbing lines were extended to the upper levels, and then rented as studio apartments. For some time, the house has been a combination of office and residential use, with a firm of attorneys, Grubbs & Bledsoe, on the first floor.

When the MSA and the Detroit Chapter,American Institute of Architects leased the building, a group of volunteers from various downtown firms helped the staff paint and refurbish the entire three floors. A thorough study of the house and its potential will determine the extent of restoration by the Society.

The Beaubien/Trombly/Antisdel House is one of the last remaining residences on what was once the premier residential street in Detroit. A little farther east are the Moross House (the oldest authenticated house in the city) and the Chene House (now Little Harry’s Restaurant) (ed: which has been torn down.) And a few mansions remain converted to commercial or institutional use, as well as the fast disappearing big homes near Indian Village. But essentially, Detroit has used up and destroyed much of this heritage, and it is significant that the newest occupant of this house would be the architects of the city and the state.