Historical Architecture of Grosse Pointe – Cottage Hospital Nurses’ Residence

Last week we explored several of the sublime houses on Ridge Road, Grosse Pointe Farms. This week, we stay on Ridge Road and visit the Cottage Hospital Nurses Residence – now home to the Services for Older Citizens (SOC).

The building, located at 158 Ridge Road, was originally built for the newly constructed Cottage Hospital as a nurse’s residence. Cottage Hospital (now the Henry Ford Medical Center) was built in 1928 and was designed by the renowned firm of Stratton and Snyder.

The nurses’ residence, a separate building from the hospital, was the brainchild of Helen Hall Newberry Joy – daughter of Helen Handy Newberry and John Stoughton Newberry, and wife of Henry Bourne Joy. Ms. Newberry donated the funds so the dormitory could be built for the 20 nurses who would reside there at any one time. A grand opening took place in June 1930, and the residence became known as Newberry House.

The superb 10,000 sq ft three-story residence is a superb Georgian Colonial style design. Its symmetrical design, intricate brickwork, and perfect proportions is down to the creative skills of architect Raymond Carey.

Raymond Carey was a prominent architect in Grosse Pointe Farms, designing many luxurious homes during the era of substantial growth in the community.

Raymond Marwood-Elton Carey was born in England in 1883; he grew up in Bath surrounded by some of the finest examples of Georgian Architecture in the world, most of which still exist today. These Eighteenth Century architectural works of art made a huge impression on Carey and during his career he would design some of Grosse Pointe’s finest Georgian Homes.

Having graduated from the University of Bath, he arrived in Detroit at the beginning of the 20th Century. The city would be his home for just a few years. In 1909 he created what is arguably his finest Georgian masterpiece, the John M. Dwyer House, located at 372 Lakeland.

Shortly after completing the Dwyer House Carey relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba. However, by the mid-1920’s Carey had returned to Detroit. During his second stint in the city Carey’s work began to become extremely sought after and he became a key figure in creating Georgian style homes. His work helped transform the architectural scene in Grosse Pointe Farms, through the golden era for Georgian design. Within 20 years he had created at least 12 homes (that we know of). You can read the full story of Raymond Carey by clicking here.

The Newberry family was instrumental in developing accommodation for nurses. Helen’s mother, Helen Handy Newberry, was a key figure in providing funds to build the Helen Newberry Nurses Home to house the nursing students of Detroit’s Grace Hospital Training School. The Detroit’s Grace Hospital opened in 1888, and the training school for nurses opened a year later. By 1898 it was clear the student nurses’ needed nearby housing while attending the training school. The new residence, designed by Nettleton & Kahn, is now listed on the U.S National Register of Historic Places. It provided accommodation to the nurses from 1898 until Grace Hospital Training school closed its doors in 1968. Source: Wikipedia.

Helen Newberry’s husband, John S. Newberry, had been a pivotal figure in the development of Detroit’s Grace hospital. Its Training School was one of the first training schools for nurses in the United States.

The original cottage hospital, in Grosse Pointe, was organized as a unit of the Neighborhood Club because of the influenza epidemic in 1918. The present Cottage Hospital was built in 1928. Source: Grosse Pointe Historical Society.

In 2012 the Henry Ford Health System donated the use of the Newberry House property to SOC for a nominal sum. Services for Older Citizens then embarked on an extensive reconstruction project, made possible by generous donations from hundreds of community residents, turning the former nurses residence into a state-of-the-art center for senior activities and community events. Source: socservices.org

Today the former nurses residence is an iconic building, standing proudly on Ridge Road, in the heart of Grosse Pointe Farms.

Given that we have Newberry Place, Handy Road and Hall Place in Grosse Pointe Farms, this begs the question as to whether the names were created as a mark of respect to the generosity of this special family – John S. Newberry, Helen Handy Newberry and Helen Hall Newberry?

 

Written by Katie Doelle
Copyright © 2017 Katie Doelle