Photos by John Meiu
Law firm bids a fond farewell to mansion it has called ‘home’
By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
Once an exclusive boarding house for single college students, the historic Hecker-Smiley Mansion at Woodward and Ferry in Detroit now is returning to “university life” after nearly a quarter of a century in loving legal hands.
The stately three-story, 21,000-square-foot structure, which also includes a 5,700-square-foot carriage house, has been the home of Charfoos & Christensen, P.C., a prominent personal injury law firm, since 1991. Earlier this year, the firm sold the mansion for $2.35 million to Wayne State University, which reportedly intends to house its Alumni Relations Department there, while also using it for alumni-related activities and for emeritus faculty events.
Charfoos & Christensen, in turn, recently moved to a new office in Royal Oak, at 26622 Woodward Avenue, some 10 miles north of its former home.
“Working in the Hecker-Smiley Mansion for the past 24 years has been a joy and an honor,” said John Douglas Peters, a shareholder of the firm who managed the restoration of the mansion. “My office was the former bedroom of Colonel Hecker and off that bedroom is a turret where I had a second work desk for special projects.”
The mansion, which dates to 1892, was built by Colonel Frank J. Hecker, a Civil War veteran born, appropriately enough, in Freedom, Mich., Hecker reportedly made his fortune building railroad cars, spending roughly $145,000 (the equivalent of $3.5 million in today’s dollars) to build his dream home. According to local historians, Hecker’s wealth grew with the city’s population, which surged from 90,000 in 1880 to 1 million by 1900.
The 49-room mansion, according to Peters, was designed by New York architect Louis Kamper. In recognition of Detroit’s French heritage, Kamper patterned his design after the Chateau de Chenonceaux near Tours, France. The architectural style is called French Renaissance Chateau, featuring large turrets, Flemish dormers, and the steep, slate roof.
The property’s second owner, Paul Smiley, bought the Hecker Mansion from the colonel’s heirs in 1947, according to Peters. Smiley and his brother ran the Smiley Brothers Music Co. out of the mansion. During the 20 years following Colonel Hecker’s death in 1927, the mansion served as a boarding house for college students of what was to become Wayne State University.
Peters, who recently announced his retirement after a distinguished 40-year career in the law, has written the book on the mansion — quite literally.
Fittingly, it is titled, “The Hecker-Smiley Mansion: 125 Years,” and contains photographs from the Burton Historical Collection, “photographs I took as well and photographs taken by a variety of professional photographers whose credits are mentioned in the book,” according to Peters, who plans to pursue a “second full time occupation as a painter represented by one of New York City’s outstanding galleries.” The book is available through Treasure Press in Belleville, and sells for $49.95 plus shipping.
Since purchasing the mansion in 1991 for $650,000, Charfoos & Christensen spent approximately $1.6 million to totally restore the Detroit gem, Peters indicated.
“All the single pane windows were removed, the wood sashes were routed out to accept thermal pane glass,” he related. “The slate roof was totally restored with new copper valleys, lead-coated copper gutters, cornices, and down spouts. All surface wiring in the building was removed and new electrical services throughout the building were installed.
“Extensive exterior stonework — including cleaning, repair, and replacement — was performed,” Peters said. “Contaminated soil to a depth of three feet was removed from the ‘lawn’ and remediated at a cost of $235,000. All asbestos was removed from the building. There was not much of that, however.”
Quinn Evans Architects, an Ann Arbor based firm that specializes in preservation projects, helped coordinate the restoration work on the mansion, said Peters, who formerly owned a custom furniture company before turning to a career in the law.
“All decorative surfaces on the interior of the house were restored,” he said. “Timberline wooden blinds were installed in all of the window openings. All hardwood floors were restored and refinished, as were the 11 fireplace hearths.
“The first floor of the carriage house, previously a stable, and then a concert hall, was totally renovated and a modern courtroom was installed,” Peters explained. “The basic heating system, which was steam radiation heat, was extensively replaced and restored.”
Wayne State is just the fourth owner of the mansion, which was the site of a “farewell party” on the evening of May 20 for all current and former employees of Charfoos & Christensen, Peters related.
“Approximately 85 people attended, including former partners Mayor Dennis Archer and District Court Judge David Robinson as well as attorneys, paralegals, and secretaries now working with other firms across the state,” said Peters.
A graduate of the University of Toledo College of Law, Peters has served as an associate professor of law and medicine at Wayne State’s School of Medicine since 1978.
“I teach fourth year medical students, using a problem analysis approach, studying the risks associated with certain medical procedures and diagnoses so that the students, when they become doctors, will be able to avoid patient injuries that lead to medical malpractice lawsuits,” Peters said.
Now, as he turns to the next chapter in his life, Peters remains willing to keep an eye on his not-so-distant past.
“I have offered, on a complimentary basis, to assist the engineers at Wayne State University with any questions they might have regarding the history or operation of any aspect of the mansion’s operation or mechanical systems,” Peters said.
(Debra Talcott and John Minnis also contributed to this report.)
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