1856 Italianate in Muir, MI
Added to OHD on 3/21/20 - Last OHD Update: 6/25/20 -
SOLD / Archived Post
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515 Ionia St, Muir, MI is a single-family home that contains 3, 449 sq ft and was built in 1856. It contains 4 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms. It also includes a full-concrete partially finished basement, a fireplace and a 1/4 acre separate lot. BATVAI All measurements approximate. The agent holds equitable rights to the property.
Contact Information
Kevin George, Irongate Realty Group(248) 231-1111
Links, Photos & Additional Info
State: Michigan | Region: Midwest (East North Central) | Associated Styles or Type: Italianate
Period & Associated Styles: Italianate (1840-1885), Romantic Era
Features: Neighborhood, Painted Wood | Misc: Fixer-Uppers
Period & Associated Styles: Italianate (1840-1885), Romantic Era
Features: Neighborhood, Painted Wood | Misc: Fixer-Uppers
13 Comments on 1856 Italianate in Muir, MI
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OHD does not represent this home. Price, status and other details must be independently verified. Do not contact the agent unless you are interested in the property.
Commenting means you've read and will abide by the comment rules.
Click here to read the comment rules, updated 1/12/20.
OHD does not represent this home. Price, status and other details must be independently verified. Do not contact the agent unless you are interested in the property.
@pic#9: Is that a passthrough fireplace?
@pic#40: Thank you, Marion L. Griffing and Paul L. Keiffer. I WILL watch out for automobiles.
Escondido, CA
That fireplace is VERY COOL. I guess you could make a fire in the middle and enjoy it from both sides of the room? Or dare your friends to cut through while the fire was lit if you were bored . . . .
The first home I remember, was an apartment in a house owned by my grandparents. It had a pass through fireplace, between the living and dining room. I remember playing peek a boo through it!
It is common that fireplaces are blocked off in historic buildings because the chimney mortar is weak thus a fire hazard. A building inspection ought to be done before anyone tries to make a fire
Melbourne, Australia,
Fascinating!
Exquisite mid-Victorian cast iron mantle.
How does it work, is a coal grate set in the middle of the tiled area?
Are they more likely to be found in certain regions?
Cadiz, OH
Despite this textbook American Italianate style home being faded, there’s so much to like here. The two wood mantels are of later vintage but the ornate cast iron version is likely original and dates from the 1850’s-1860’s. Based on the several exact match iron examples I’ve seen, this Rococo Revival example must have been very popular. What sets this model apart from others is that to each side of the mantel are inset panes of glass that were reverse painted with floral motifs. A pair of these mantels were for sale a few years back on e-Bay and on one, the reverse painted surface had partially flaked off revealing the clear glass. Coal grates and an iron grill was placed in front of the mantel. As for the pass-though feature, that one is harder to explain but I suspect some firebricks at the back dislodged and someone left it opened up to the other room. Italianates of this type closely followed English prototypes which were in turn inspired by the medieval Tuscan Villas of Italy. Osborne House, where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert lived in during the early 1850’s, is the epitome of the early Italianate style.
Melbourne, Australia,
Hi John,
Thank you for the great information on the cast iron Rococo mantle, I hadn’t noticed the reverse painted glass panels, they’re truly magnificent!
If the pass through fireplace has been modified from a standard double chimney breast, do you know of any examples where this feature was installed as part of the original build, or what time period it dates from.
I’m quite intrigued by it, I’ve never seen one.
Cadiz, OH
No, I haven’t, although modern fireplaces are often double sided, I’m not aware of examples that were originally open between both sides. I think it might cause the fireplace dampers not to work well because of the uneven air flow. That is the best that I can come up with.
Thanks – Looked it up:
The French term for reverse-painted glass is Églomisé from a late 18th Century decorator named Jean-Baptiste Glomy. A similar example from Boston:
https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/building-garden/fireplaces-mantels/exceptional-hiram-tucker-boston-ma-cast-iron-fireplace-mantel-eglomise/id-f_7465883/
Cadiz, OH
Thank you, Jim, my scholarly friend. Eglomise is a term I’ve heard before so thanks as well for defining the term as it applies to antique mantels. Apparently, such hand painted mantel decorations lasted no more than about a decade because I’ve not seen any post Civil War examples. I do recall seeing a fair number of American clocks from the first half of the 19th century that had reverse painted scenery on their doors. This antebellum period also coincides with the large volume of Faux finish millwork painting that took place transforming the plain grain of poplar, pine, or maple, into fine mahogany or exotic burlwood finishes, all hand painted.
MI
We see this house whenever we go to Muir for breakfast. I can not even comprehend how much it must cost to heat! Lots of neat features.
The home of early Muir settler Andrew Byron Robinson (1826-1877), his wife Laura Louise Hall and their 4 children. Robinson was a farmer and speculator who came from New York state and, with others, planned and developed the village of Muir and became Postmaster and Justice of the Peace. Although he was in Muir in the 1850’s, the house may date from a few years later. His widow lived there for many years and it was later owned in absentia by grandson Jay Byron Robinson.
The Robinson House has much of its original architectural detail intact and looks to be an excellent candidate for period restoration.
Tampa, FL
That ceiling! Wow!! I’m also fascinated by what appears to be an old-style pool in the back? Wondering when that was added to the property…