“The gingerbread trim is … gone,” says Pamela Kittel about April’s feature, the house at 604 E. Washington—one of four demolished “to allow developers to put up another monstrosity,” says Dan Romanchik, or as Lelia Raley coins it, “the latest Megalopolith Brat Castle.”
They were “wonderful houses,” writes local historian Susan Wineberg, who documented the interiors before they were razed. The one we featured “was built in 1866 by James Morwick, a local architect who also built the entrance to Forest Hill Cemetery, St. Andrew’s Church and the Palmer-Ryan house.” According to the 1881 county history, Morwick was a “prime mover” in the Underground Railroad. Morwick not only designed this house, he lived in it. In the 20th century it became a student rental—though not, Wineberg reports, “the crappy run-down housing you expect.”
Our random drawing winner, Dan McLaughlin, quips “I recognized the house as I used the Methodist church as my illegal parking spot on weekend evenings.” McLaughlin will enjoy his $25 gift certificate at Zingerman’s. To enter this month’s contest, use the image and clue above and send your answer to the address below.
—
Order The Fake Ad and I Spy books at AnnArborObserver.com/books
