Tour includes Meadow Brook Hall, Packard Proving Grounds, Christ Church Cranbrook
DEARBORN – The public is invited to join the Dearborn Historical Society’s fall bus trip Sept. 20, which will feature visits to historic sites across southeast Michigan.
The bus will depart from King Boring Field, 3901 Greenfield Road, at 8:45 a.m. and return about 5 p.m.
Planned activities include a guided tour of Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, a luncheon and tour of Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester Hills, and a tour of the Packard Proving Grounds in Shelby Township.
The cost of the bus trip is $65 for Historical Society members and $70 for non-members. Those interested in taking the tour should call Debra Stephens at 734-718-3421.
The first stop on the trip, Christ Church Cranbrook, was founded in 1928 as part of newspaper magnate George C. Booth and wife Ellen’s Cranbrook community.
Featuring the designs of architectural firm Goodhue Associates, Christ Church Cranbrook is rich in architectural detail, including work by woodcarver John Kirchmayer and silversmith Arthur Nevill, stained glass designs by G. Owen Bonawit, sculptures of the “Dawn Men” on the exterior buttresses by Lee Lawrie, and a large fresco at the front of the church by Katherine McEwen.
Meadow Brook Hall, a National Historic Landmark, is the home built by Matilda Dodge Wilson, widow of automobile pioneer John Dodge, and her second husband, lumber broker Alfred Wilson.
Constructed between 1926 and 1929 for $4 million, Meadow Brook represents one of the finest examples of Tudor-revival architecture in the United States.
The Packard Proving Grounds was built in 1926 as a testing facility for Packard automobiles. The 14-acre landmark was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, and is home to the Tudor-style Lodge designed by Albert Kahn, as well as garages, a timing stand, an elevated water storage tank, grand entrance gates, and the Lindberg Hangar.