Eugene F. Cooley built this handsome, clapboarded Colonial Revival house for his son Frank E. Cooley, a vice-president of the Michigan Supply Co., a local wholesale plumbing and heating supply establishment founded by the elder Cooley. Dr. Harry A. Haze, at various times a state representative and mayor of Lansing, from 1917-1945. The building also served as the residence of Governor and Mrs. G. Mennen Williams during Williams’ first term in office, 1949-1951, and later as the headquarters to the Michigan Baptist Convention, 1955-1977. In 1978, the City of Lansing acquired the house in a land swap with General Motors. Most recently, the house has been home to the Michigan Women’s Historical Center, which occupied the building from 1987 until 2017.

A 1903 newspaper article in the State Republican indicates that the house was designed by Edwyn A. Bowd, Lansing’s most prominent turn-of-the-century architect, and responsible for many of Lansing’s most significant public buildings, including the First Baptist Church (1892), Carnegie Library (1905), Genesee School (1912), Franklin Avenue Presbyterian Church (1916), significant portions of the School for the Blind campus (1910-1916), Fire House #7 (1925), Fire House #8 (1931), the Knapp’s Building (1937-1939), and the Ottawa Street Power Station (1937-1939). The Cooley-Haze house is one of only a few remaining known residential commissions by Bowd.

The property was listed on the Michigan State Register of Historic Sites March of 1980. The property is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The City of Lansing Parks and Recreation Department seeks to conditionally sell the Cooley-Haze House, to avoid further deterioration of the property, which is in the best interest of the property’s cultural and structural preservation.

It is the intent of the City that by selling the property, it can be put to good use by a local individual or organization and that the historic structure on the property, the Cooley-Haze House, can be preserved and maintained without further expense from the City. To this end, any transfer of the property will be subject to a restrictive covenant, detailed below, requiring that the exterior of the structure on the property be maintained and remain unchanged in appearance.