Since at least 2020 there has been a proposal floating around to repurpose the long-closed Annie Lathrup School building into a new private school called the Lathrup School. Under the leadership of T.R. Ahlstrom on behalf of the George Washington Scholars Endowment, it was envisioned as a nonprofit, self-funded institution for classical education. The building … Continue reading Latest school plan dies
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Much of the city of Lathrup Village was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The historic district includes approximately 1,200 properties, primarily residential, that reflect characteristic housing styles from the first half of the 20th Century. These include Colonial Revival, Tudor and ranch houses. The district is also considered significant due … Continue reading About Lathrup Village
Recently, in our archives, I came across several large, rolled photographs of the House-in-the-Woods, the English cottage-style mansion Louise Lathrup built for herself beginning in 1926. Sadly, I never saw the house; I didn’t move to town until after it was demolished. But seeing the photos prompted me to share some of my research on … Continue reading The sad story of the House-in-the-Woods
This is not our event, but may be of interest to our members and any Lathrup resident who wants to learn more about life in this town in its earlier days. The speaker, Diane Anderson, grew up in Lathrup Village; her mother taught at Annie Lathrup School. The meeting is at city hall, is free and … Continue reading Women’s Club to host “Growing Up Lathrup” talk Monday, March 6
One of the foundational stories of how Lathrup Village came to be is the one about how the young Louise Lathrup hired four noted Detroit architects to be her architectural board. One of them, F. Orla Varney (1885-1969), was a member of a family of architects. His father, Freeman Nelson Varney (1856-1914) and uncle Almon … Continue reading Down the architectural rabbit hole
On June 19, 2009, around 6:20 a.m., the 10,600-square-foot Tudor revival mansion known as the House in the Woods was struck by lightning and burned. It was later demolished. C & G Newspapers reported at the time that three people escaped unharmed. The house suffered a collapsed roof and extensive fire and smoke damage and … Continue reading On this day in Lathrup Village history
We love old houses; that’s part of why we live here. Still, not everyone would be excited to take on a nearly 100-year-old, un-air-conditioned house that needs work. But when new Lathrup Village homeowner Sandy Berris toured the first house ever built in the city, he was immediately smitten. “I wasn’t even looking for a … Continue reading New buyer restoring city’s oldest house
The Lathrup Village Historical Society offers brass plaques for display on your historic city home. The plaques come in two styles (see photo), are custom made for you and come with mounting hardware. Effective 2023, price is $275 for historical society members, $295 for non-members. To order, send a check to Robin Roberts, 28221 Lathrup … Continue reading Historic house plaques
Lathrup Village Historical Society 