300 E. Michigan Ave. / Davenport-Curtiss

About this Item

About this home

National Register Listed: 3/13/75
Historic Name: Davenport-Curtiss
USGS Map: Saline Quadrangle
Common Name: Curtiss
District Name: E. Michigan Avenue
Street and No.: 300 E. Michigan Ave.
Municipal Unit: Saline
County: Washtenaw
Original Usage: Residence
Present Usage: Residence
Ownership: Vera and Carl Curtiss

About this photograph

Photo Negative No.: 13:27
Photo Date: Jan-94
Photo View: North and west facades. Facing southeast.

About the construction

Description: This stately Second Empire house sits on the 300 block facing Michigan Avenue and is surrounded by a spacious fenced area landscaped with a variety of trees and shrubs. Its slate mansard roof has several dormers, with a tower fenestrated by round arch windows in the northeast corner. Brackets adorn the roofline, bay window, and porches on each facade. Stone foundation. Carriage barns in rear.
Date Of Construction: 1876
Architect/Builder: William Scott
Context: This National Register house is important for both architecture and local history. Using the experience of his son, Beverly, who built a Second Empire home on E. Henry, and architect William Scott of Detroit, William Davenport built the house for $8000. It incorporated both the exterior fashion and the newly developed heating, plumbing, and lighting technology of the time. Mr. Davenport was copartner in a general store in 1851, then started the Citizens Bank of Saline in 1863-4. Mrs. Davenport donated the building for the Saline library in 1907. In 1935-7 Mr. and Mrs. Curtiss bought and rehabilitated the house, using care to preserve its integrity. Changes were made to the front porch, and a side porch added. Mr. Curtiss was president of the Citizens Bank. Fence on perimeter of property replaced in 1994.
Bibliographic Reference: Washtenaw County Historical Society record No.5, 1945. Howell Taylor. "Home Viewed by Travelers Since 1876". Saline Library vertical file. Undated.
Form Source: MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF STATE SK 43

About this record

Survey Date: 1994
Surveyor: K. Glynn & S. Kosky
Recorder Date: April, 1994
Card No.: 43

Technical Details

Collection: Saline Historic Homes
Image Size: 2040 x 1472
File Size: 400 KB
Record: SL1328
Link to this Item: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/s/sdlhomes/x-sl1328/sl132801.tif

Rights and Permissions

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IIIF

Manifest: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/sdlhomes:SL1328:SL132801.TIF

Cite this Item

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Full citation: "300 E. Michigan Ave.; Davenport-Curtiss." In the digital collection Saline Historic Homes. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/s/sdlhomes/x-sl1328/sl132801.tif. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 24, 2024.