Cultural Center in Detroit in Wayne County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Charles Lang Freer House / Merrill-Palmer Institute

Charles Lang Freer House Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Joel S., June 3, 2015

1. Charles Lang Freer House Marker

Inscription. Charles Lang Freer House
Detroit industrialist Charles Lang Freer prospered primarily as a railroad car manufacturer. This house, considered Michigan's finest example of the Shingle Style, was designed by Wilson Eyre Jr. of Philadelphia and built in 1890, Here Freer (1854-1919) assembled one of the most extensive Asian art collections in the world. He also collected Pewabic Pottery and the work of contemporary American artists such as Whistler, Dewing, and Tryon. A 1905 addition incorporated, the "Peacock Room," decorated by James Whistler, which was removed from a house in England and transported here as part of Freer's art collection. In 1906 he donated his collection and the Peacock Room to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Merrill-Palmer Institute
This house was built for industrialist Charles Lang Freer in 1890. Upon Freer's death in 1919, the executors of the will of Lizzie Merrill-Palmer purchased the house for use as a school devoted to improving the quality of parenting. This school became what is now known as the Merrill-Palmer Institute, one of the first institutes of child development established in the United States. Merrill-Palmer's model, combining study, research, and work with children, was widely copied in other locations nationally.

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Its preschool, opened in 1922, led the development of preschool education and childcare across the nation. In 1981 the Merrill-Palmer Institute became part of Wayne State University.

Erected 2003 by Michigan Historical Commission - Michigan Historical Center. (Marker Number S325.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Education. In addition, it is included in the Michigan Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1890.

Location. 42° 21.702′ N, 83° 3.955′ W. Marker is in Detroit, Michigan, in Wayne County. It is in Cultural Center. Marker is on East Ferry Street, 0.1 miles east of Michigan Highway 1, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 71 East Ferry Street, Detroit MI 48202, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Lewis College of Business (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Robert Pauli Scherer (about 400 feet away); International Institute Of Detroit / International Institute Of Metropolitan Detroit (about 500 feet away); Omega Psi Phi (about 500 feet away); Detroit Association of Women's Clubs (approx. 0.2 miles away); Scarab Club

Merrill-Palmer Institute Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Joel S., June 3, 2015

2. Merrill-Palmer Institute Marker

(approx. ¼ mile away); United Sound Systems Recording Studios (approx. 0.3 miles away); Cathedral Church of St. Paul / Interfaith Emergency Center (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Detroit.

Also see . . .
1. Freer House website at Wayne State University. (Submitted on June 23, 2015, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan.)
2. Freer Gallery of Art at the Smithsonian. (Submitted on June 23, 2015, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan.)
3. Shingle Style Architectrue in Wikipedia. (Submitted on June 23, 2015, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan.)

Charles Lang Freer House / Merrill-Palmer Institute and marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Joel S., June 3, 2015

3. Charles Lang Freer House / Merrill-Palmer Institute and marker

Charles Lang Freer House image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Joel S., June 3, 2015

4. Charles Lang Freer House

Charles Lang Freer image. Click for full size.

Photographed By James McNeill Whistler, circa 1903

5. Charles Lang Freer

This 1902-1903 portrait of Charles Lang Freer hangs in the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

National Register of Historic Places plaque image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Joel S., June 3, 2015

6. National Register of Historic Places plaque

The Peacock Room Comes to America image. Click for more information.

via The Smithsonian, unknown

7. The Peacock Room Comes to America

Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art website entry:
Charles Lang Freer purchased the room in 1904. He had it taken apart, shipped across the Atlantic, and reassembled in his home in Detroit, Michigan.
Click for more information.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 12, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 23, 2015, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. This page has been viewed 536 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on June 23, 2015, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. 5. submitted on June 6, 2019, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 6. submitted on June 23, 2015, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. 7. submitted on May 5, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.