The apartment building at 415 S. Grand in the 1940s. Note the change in the color of the brickwork above the second-floor windows and how the style of the windows changed between the 2ndand 3rdfloors. The lintels are missing on the third-floor windows. Also observe the bay window on the north side of the structure. (CADL/FPLA)
In the course of a different project I came across this odd-looking structure located at 415 S. Grand. Other tasks always seem to take a priority and investigating the structure at 415 S. Grand fell by the wayside. Well now is the time to look at this fascinating structure. A Lansing State Journal article from 1959 stated that Lot 10 Block 134 was taken as a land patent from the state by Catherine F. Burr on April 7, 1866. Catherine’s husband was Allen R. Burr. The home was probably built after 1866 and before 1873 because Colonel B. Burr, Allen and Catherine’s son, was listed as living on the corner of Kalamazoo Street and Grand Avenue in 1873. The home was not technically on the corner of Kalamazoo and Grand but since there was no homes on lots 11 and 12 in 1873 the description is correct. The same Lansing State Journal referred to a large mortgage taken out on the property in 1898, which is the date the newspaper believed the home was built.[1] This is incorrect. In 1898 the then owner of the home, Israel and Etta Glicman (Glickman) were facing severe financial burdens in their business and were being pressured by creditors for payment of the debt. It was understandable why they would have taken out a large mortgage on the property.(DFP1/10/1899)
You can see the change in the color of the brickwork above the second level. Note the windows on the rear of the building and how they differ from the style of windows on the original structure. They are not as tall and lack the ornamentation of the other windows. (CADL/FPLA)
The 1892 Sanborn map shows a home on Lot 10 Block 134 with the same footprint as the home in 1898 and 1906 Sanborn maps with the main part of the home as 2 or 21/2 stories with the rear of the structure only being 1 story. Comparing the 1906 Sanborn map with the 1913 Sanborn map there was an addition to the rear of the home and the entire structure was 21/2 stories. Sometime between 1913 and 1951 the top level of the structure was expanded and the building became a three story structure. The Ingham County News on September 30, 1886 listed the sale of the property by the Burr’s to Ettie Glicman. The 1888 Lansing City Directory also placed Etta Glicman as living at 409 S. Grand.[2] As to who designed the home the only architects in Lansing at that time were Israel Gillett, C. Brownson, C. Burns and F. Jeffries, so unless new information comes to light the architect and builder are unknown.
You can see in the above image what I believe are lighting rods of the roof on the structure. Based upon the Sanborn maps the original porch wrapped around the home in an L shape but was only one story. The odd second floor porch on the front and south side was added later. (CADL/FPLA)
Allen R. Burr was born in Medina County, Ohio on April 22, 1818. As a young man he attended the local schools. On July 6, 1848 he married Miss Catherine Foote of Southwick, Massachusetts. The couple had two children, Colonel B. and Stella F. Burr. Allen worked as a farmer until he was elected sheriff of Medina County in 1846, a position he held until 1850.
One of the earliest images of Lansing. The hardware store of Burr and Grove was located on the Southwest corner of Washington and Michigan Avenues 1855-1857. (CADL/FPLA)
In 1854 Allen moved to Lansing, Michigan where he opened a hardware store with George K. Grove in 1855. The business survived for two years. He then served as the Lansing Postmaster for two years during the Civil War and resigned the post to take a position as a clerk with Auditor General’s Office. In 1872 Allen was elected Ingham County Sherriff, serving for four years. Allen passed away on June 2, 1885 of exhaustion and an aortic aneurism (SR 6/10/1885)
You can clearly see the mixed brickwork on the addition to the rear of the home and the multiple entrances to the apartments. Note the false mansard roof. The structure is a perfect example of the lack of proper city codes that once troubled the city of Lansing. (CADL/FPLA)
The subdivision of the home at 415 S. Grand took place after the Glicman family sold the property. In 1910 the home had been divided into three apartments. The first residents were Ralph Rawlings who worked for the Michigan Commercial Insurance Company; Arthur H. Mann superintendent of the M.U.R. and Samuel Butterworth an architect who was a partner in the firm of White & Butterworth. One wonders if the firm of White & Butterworth was involved in the redesign of the home? The structure at 415 S. Grand was torn down in 1959 by the Central Wrecking Company to increase parking for the F.N. Arbaugh Department store. Currently the site is still a parking lot.
©Lost Lansing 2019
[1] See LSJ 11/4/1959. The article also stated that Catherine Burr used the home as a private school. The writer has confused Catherine Burr with Laura Burr, the wife of Dr. H.S. Burr. Laura conducted a school much earlier on River Street.
[2]409 S. Grand was the old address for 415 S. Grand.
