What Happened to Anna Dodge's Mansion?

Horace dodge the co-founder of the dodge motor  company died unexpectedly after contracting the   spanish flu in 1920. his widow anna was left  the entirety of his 146 million dollar fortune   or the modern day equivalent of over 2 billion  dollars which made her the wealthiest woman in   the world hi everyone ken here welcome to this  house today we are exploring rose terrace in gross   point michigan make sure to hit that subscribe  button so you never miss an exciting episode of   this house anna had humble beginnings as a child  she grew up in a two-room tenement and lacked any   sense of luxury when she met horace dodge he was  just a mechanic tinkering in his father's shop   no one thought he would ever become noteworthy  the two married and horace's tinkering paid off   securing patents working for ford motors and then  starting his own motor company with his brother   the now successful couple were considered  crude and unrefined and were not accepted   by detroit's elite when the dodge motor company  became extremely successful there would be no   denying their influence the dodgers built a  red sandstone house in grosse pointe michigan   it had an understated elegance about it  with a beautiful view of lake sinclair   as their wealth grew the couple began purchasing  steamboats and yachts each larger than the last   they had developed a habit of spending money so  it was no surprise that when Horace passed away   that anna would continue to spend not even a year  had passed since horace's death when anna decided   to head down to florida to find a vacation home  her realtor hugh dillman was a very charming man   and also half her age they had a blast sailing  around the world looking at homes together   the house that caught her eye was playa riante the  largest home in palm beach it did not take much   convincing from hugh to have anna buy it but that  wasn't the only thing she wanted she had become   smitten with a young charismatic realtor and the  two were quick to tie the knot for their honeymoon   they set sail for europe where they toured lavish  palaces from the 17th century it was here that   anna fell head over heels for 18th century french  art and began acquiring paintings and antiques the   couple returned to michigan and anna found her  former home to be drab and lacking compared to   what she had seen in europe in 1931 she purchased  the adjoining property and had it torn down along   with a house that she and Horace had built she  wanted a grand palace to take its place she   hired Horace trumbauer to design her dream home  trumbauer had recently completed white marsh hall   and linwood hall a couple of the largest homes  in the united states he met with anna and decided   to assign his assistant julian abel to the task  julian was one of the first black architects to   practice in the united states he was well-versed  in european architecture and had fresh ideas to   incorporate 1930s modern technology into old world  designs he drafted a planned and anna swooned over   the drawings construction started but did not get  far one day anna pulled up in her 257 foot yacht   the delphine got out on the dock and looked at  the progress the proportions were all wrong she   wanted something larger than what she was seeing  she demanded the house be torn down and that the   crew start over with larger rooms the construction  of the palace required a massive crew to build   detroit was now seeing the worst of the  great depression and factories had shut down   the unemployed factory workers were thrilled to  hear that their factories were being reopened   and that they would be getting their jobs  back when they so desperately needed money   anna seemed to be oblivious to anything happening  outside of her gates because she imported 600   workers from europe to build in the factories  because she did not trust that americans could   create the european look she was going for as soon  as the foundation was set the european workers   moved into the basement of the palace where they  would live until it was complete construction   would carry on for two more years and anna would  travel to europe to await its completion she began   purchasing art antiques furniture tapestries  and everything needed to decorate her house   she employed joseph devine to  help her secure quality pieces   with the hopes of putting together the  most notable 18th century french collection   devine knew that anna was uncultured and took full  advantage he made sure she only bought valuable   antiques but when they would uncover something  extremely rare he would convince her that the item   was worthless purchase it for himself and auction  it off in the united states she never did catch   on to him but it is important to note for later  that anna was in fact clueless about such things   by 1934 the palace which would be donned rose  terrace was now complete it had cost a whopping   seven million dollars or the modern-day equivalent  of over 121 million dollars for the construction   alone the property was entered through a pair  of iron gates and the drive wound through the   gardens before reaching the house the mansion  included 75 rooms with 18 and a half foot ceilings   you entered the home through a vestibule and  continued through to the 32 by 62 foot music   room which doubled as a ballroom from here  you could see panoramic views of the lake   to one end a pipe organ was housed in a void which  allowed music to echo throughout the entire house   one wing of the palace housed the dining room  with wall paneling crafted in france from mellow   cypress and imported to be installed in the room  in the opposite wing of the palace was the library   each oak panel had been hand carved anna loved  this room and would use it for receiving guests   instead of the formal reception room the stair  hall was heavily ornamented with floating stairs   rotating about a central void to the top floor  the red carpet runner was one of anna's prized   possessions and she insisted that nobody  walk on it she would instruct her family and   guest to instead walk on the marble to the sides  of the runner if they had to use the stairs the   men's drawing room contained a bar and was rather  rustic with the floorboards having been imported   from a french inn the second floor housed  anna's lavish bedroom decorated in turquoise   the bathtub in her ensuite was cut from  a single block of green belgian marble   the rest of the second floor was filled with guest  rooms each with their own private bathrooms the   entirety of the third floor was set aside for the  servants with 20 rooms for the staff the basement   housed a kitchen which was large enough to prepare  a three-course meal for 100 dinner guests also in   the basement were rooms for cutting fresh flowers  a gymnasium and despite prohibition a wine cellar   anna now had a palace with a professionally  trained staff to call home but she wasn't happy in   her relationship in 1940 anna and hugh officially  separated her daughter passed away shortly after   anna began to withdraw herself from society  officially divorcing hugh in 1947 she became   increasingly reclusive not leaving her bedroom  she would sit in bed watching tv throughout the   day and night her friends and family would come to  visit but would only be admitted during commercial   breaks she wasted away in her bed until her  passing in 1970. rose terrace was willed to   her grandchildren but they were unable to afford  its upkeep the palace consumed 55 000 gallons of   oil per year to heat and hundreds of thousands  of dollars to maintain they listed the house for   the bargain price of 1.25 million dollars or the  modern day equivalent of about 10 million dollars   but no buyers could be found her artwork  antiques and entire rooms were auctioned off   the palace was stripped of its ornamentation and  demolition ensued by 1976 there was not a trace   of rose terrace left to be found thank you all for  watching i really hope that you enjoyed this video   make sure to hit that subscribe button so you  never miss an exciting episode of this house i   would also like to extend a special thank you to  our members and to those who have given us super   thanks you've helped us achieved our goal for  upgrading our audio quality and i really hope that   you've noticed a difference in this video let me  know what you thought about the audio quality down   in the comments below i hope you have a wonderful  day i'll see you next time on this house!

Channel: This House

Views: 238,661

Keywords: mansion, detroit, dodge, mansion tour, mega mansion, Emilie Grigsby, history, history shows, historical photos, old, famous, interesting, original, this house, what is this, what is This, history tour, history documentary, documentary, documentaries, architecture, historic architecture, american castle, us history, architectural history, new york city, lost architecture, luxury, palace, palace tour, home tour, house tour, castle, estate, Julian Adele, horace trumbauer

Id: 7WBU1MRob70

Length: 8min 28sec (508 seconds)

Published: Fri May 27 2022