Ford House Receives 2023 Cultural Landscape Award from Michigan Historic Preservation Network
GROSSE POINTE SHORES, MI (May 22, 2023) – The Michigan Historic Preservation Network awarded Ford House the Michigan Historic Preservation Network 2023 Cultural Landscape Award for the work completed on restoring the pool and lagoon on the estate. The award was issued at the Annual Preservation Awards Reception and Ceremony that took place on Friday, May 12, at Mission Point Resort on Mackinac Island.
“We are truly honored to receive this award from the Michigan Historic Preservation Network,” says Rebecca Torsell, Ford House’s Director of Preservation. “In honoring Eleanor’s wish that the estate be preserved for new generations to enjoy, we worked diligently with skilled artisans and craftspeople from around the globe to ensure that this work restored the pool and lagoon to how it appeared during the family’s time here.”
This project was one of Ford House’s most extensive restorations to date and involved landscape architects, architects, and engineers from Detroit-based Albert Kahn Associates, whose founder, the legendary Albert Kahn, designed the Main Residence and service buildings in the 1920s. Ensuring historical accuracy was critical in this process, and architects from Albert Kahn Associates used archival materials, including original plans, architectural drawings, historical photographs, and family films, to ensure that the pool and lagoon were restored to their original condition.