Detroit’s once-stately Ransom Gillis House had become an echo of its former self, and was nearly destroyed by the city…until Nicole Curtis and the Rehab Addict crew came along. Now, Curtis has turned the 19th century mansion into the biggest single project she’s ever undertaken–one we’ll be able to see for ourselves very soon, courtesy of an eight-part Rehab Addict run beginning this November. Until then, here’s a spot of context, including the Ransom Gillis House’s long history, how it fell into such grand disrepair, and what Curtis plans to do to restore it to glory.
The Ransom Gillis House was named for–you guessed it–Ransom Gillis, a dry goods impresario of great Midwestern renown in the 19th century. He constructed the house between 1876 and 1878, lived in it for two years, and promptly sold it in 1880. Over the next four decades, upper-class families called the mansion home; then, in 1919, it was converted into a rooming house, but was not well-maintained, and became decrepit before shuttering permanently in the 1960s.
A carriage house behind the property was converted, following the house’s own acceptance of borders. It was first a pottery shop, and then an auto repair shop, a battery-specific repair shop, and a filling station, in succession. When none of those operations panned out, the carriage house in 1935 made the traditional jump to restaurant…and that, too, failed; the carriage house was demolished when the Ransom Gillis House closed for good in the 60s.
Since then, there’s been an attempt at reviving the RGH about once per decade, but nothing stuck. The City of Detroit has owned the property since 2001.
Enter Nicole Curtis, who put to use the Holy Trifecta: 1) She’s from the greater Detroit area, and has a keen appreciation for it; 2) She has a very popular show and is able to attract corporate sponsorship; and 3) She will go to war with you if you try to tear something down just because it’s old. Curtis partnered with Detroit-based Quicken Loans, whose headquarters are a 1.1 mile walk from the house itself, and who were already in the middle of nailing down a $70 million investment in overhauling the entire Brush Park neighborhood, well-known in Detroit for the Gilded Age architecture of which the Ransom Gillis House is a prime example.
(And, just to be clear–that $70 million isn’t just for the Ransom Gillis house. It includes full restoration of three other neighborhood mansions, plus brand-new retail developments and a grand total of 337 mixed-income housing units.)
So–what do we know about the house as a house? Reports vary as to the square footage–Nicole Curtis herself has said she doesn’t have an exact measurement–but at least one write-up lists it as a 5,000 square footer. Judging by the numerous exterior shots of the brick edifice, that estimate can’t be far off. It also explains why the house needed eleven fireplaces. (Sadly, most of the ornate tilework around each of them has long been broken away; Curtis and crew have to come up with new designs from scratch.)
The house’s turret has been restored, as well; you can see it’s missing in the second photograph above, taken some years before Curtis came onto the scene. The master bedroom–one of five bedrooms on the second floor–boasts 20-foot ceilings, and a breathtaking view of downtown Detroit. (It isn’t entirely clear whether the turret is a part of the master bedroom; judging by most of the articles on the house’s restoration, it sounds like the master bedroom and the turret are separate.)
Also included? Servants’ quarters. The house has an extensive basement–but those quarters won’t be retained; instead, Curtis plans to divvy them up into bedrooms on both sides of the house. That’s right–she is dividing the house in half, because, frankly, two 2,500 square foot houses on either side of a duplex make a lot more sense, in almost any housing market, than one 5,000 square foot behemoth. It also gives you a great excuse to have neighbors over and compare notes on the restoration.
The project did run into a bit of a snag early on, when the Rehab Addict crew began work before acquiring all of the necessary permits from the city. Said Eric Jones, director of Detroit’s Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department:
Of its own initiative and its own expense, the BPDC [Brush Park Development Company] apparently has performed some work to stabilize the structure from further deterioration without first obtaining the necessary permits. We have been in conversation with the BPDC, which is in the process of submitting its paperwork for a permit to begin the rehabilitation of this historic building. Once a permit is obtained, an inspector will visit the site to perform a detailed inspection to ensure that all work being performed is done to code.
It’s not immediately clear if the structure would have crumbled without basic repairs, and the crew literally couldn’t wait for the paperwork to clear, or if everyone involved was just so excited to get started that they shouted “To hell with waiting!” and ran forward, hammers in hand, shrieking with glee. Whatever the reason, it appears the snags are all un-snagged now.
Indeed, the Ransom Gillis House restoration is humming along nicely: residents have reported that workers are on site basically around the clock, working toward the late August completion date. By September, the restored house will be open for tours. And by November, the eight finished Rehab Addict episodes detailing the whole project will begin airing on HGTV and DIY.
In typical Curtisian fashion, everything that can be salvaged will, and keeping things as authentic as possible is her first priority. “[The house has] gone through salvaging. It’s gone through fires. This house has been through the worst of the worst,” she told Detroit’s WXYZ. “It’s very important that when children walk through this house somebody says to them ‘the reason there’s a fireplace here isn’t because we like it during the holidays, it’s because this is how they heated the home.”
So far, she’s elated with how the project is coming together. “It’s a happy home,” she says. “Every day when I come here, I have goosebumps. If I have goosebumps, that’s a good thing.”
Just for good measure, here’s a photo of Ransom Gillis himself…
…and here’s a shot of his house mid-renovation, from the end of July.
HGTV hasn’t yet announced an air date for the newest Rehab Addict episodes. For now, you can catch the show on the DIY Network, Wednesdays at 9 PM EST.
(Photo credits: Ransom Gillis and caved-in photo via Wikipedia; rehab via Nicole Curtis on Facebook)
