Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, Grosse Pointe Shores, MI

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Edsel and Eleanor Ford House, Grosse Pointe Shores, MI

The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House is a nice place to visit. There is a guided tour of the house (children under 5 free, between $5 and $15 for others), which lasts approximately 50 minutes, after which you are welcome to walk the gorgeous 86 acre grounds located on Lake St. Claire. Photography is allowed on the grounds and exterior, as well as in any out buildings, but not inside the main Ford House.

The estate consists of: an initial Activities Center (where you purchase tickets to the guided tour, dine in a cafe or visit a gift shop), a Powerhouse, a Pool House, the Gate Lodge, the Playhouse, and the 86 acre grounds.

Besides individual and group tours, many of the facilities can also be rented/reserved for special occasions. Rooms inside the 17,000 square foot Activities Center can be rented for special occasions ( such as book signings, annual mmetings, fashion shows, corporate parties and the like for between $150 and $400. The grounds can be rented for functions and fundraisers for $1,500 per day with capacity for up to 10,000 people. The fee for wedding photography is $250 and the fee for engagement photography is $100. Wedding shower packages are available for between $125 and $225. The catering menu is located here. The Cotswold Cafe lunch menu is here and the dinner menu is here.

The house and estate are the former private residence of Henry and Clara Ford's only child, Edsel, his wife Eleanor and their children: Henry II, Benson, Josephine and William Clay. Edsel Bryant Ford, the only child of Henry and Clara Bryant Ford was born on November 6, 1893. He became President of Ford Motor Company in 1919 at the age of 25. He died in 1943. Eleanor Clay Ford was born in 1896, the daughter of William and Eliza Hudson Clay. Upon her death in 1976, she left Ford House to be preserved and used for the benefit ofthe public.

The architect of the main house was famed Albert Kahn and the grounds/landscape was designed by Jens Jensen. The style of the home/location is Cotswood, from the Cotswood region of Gloucestershire, England. The exterior was built from 1926 to 1927; the interior finished from 1927 to 1929. The estate was originally located on 125 acres, but Eleanor Clay Ford sold 43 acres to the city of Grosse Pointe Woods in 1946 to build a park so a little over 80 acres remain a park of the estate. The main house has 60 rooms and is 30,000 square feet. These rooms include: Entrance Hall, Drawing Room, Dining Room, Morning Room, Edsel Ford's Study, Modern Room, Gallery, Library, Flower Room, Recreation Room, Kitchen, Pantry, family bedroom and bathrooms, guest rooms, and a sitting room.

Contact Information

1100 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan 48236
Phone: (313) 884-4222 | Fax: (313) 884-5977
info@fordhouse.org

Related Web Sites

Edsel and Eleanor Ford House Homepage

Edsel and Eleanor Ford House Croquet League Information

Wikipedia Page on House

Another photo gallery of house and houses of other auto pioneers

Encyclopedia of Detroit page on house

United States Park Service National Park Service page on house

Estate gets great reviews on Yelp.com!

Estate gets great reviews on TripAdvsor.com

About the House on DetroitDvotion.com

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