Putnam: Historic Lansing house by Darius Moon faces 'demolition by neglect'
Judy PutnamLANSING – Another piece of Lansing history could be headed to the landfill.
An 1874-75 house designed and built by Darius B. Moon, an early, prominent Lansing architect, will be offered in a tax foreclosure auction July 30 by Ingham County Treasurer Eric Schertzing. The house sits across Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from the Michigan Hall of Justice.
The simple exterior of the two-story house at 108-110 S. MLK Jr. is still charming with original carved wood trim above the wide windows and large basement windows, now boarded, in the brick foundation.
It was designed and built by Moon, a self-taught architect, when he was in his mid-20s. The timbers were hauled in by horse from a family farm in Delta Township during the winters of 1874 and 1875.
It’s a double house for two families with identical entrances on each side. Moon lived in one side and leased out the other, according to his biographer, James MacLean, the outreach director for Capital Area District Library. In 2015, he published "Darius B. Moon: The History of a Michigan Architect 1880-1910."
"It’s probably one of the earliest examples of a double house we have in the city. We had a lot of double houses and a lot of townhomes. They’ve all disappeared," MacLean said.
He estimates that there were once hundreds of Moon homes in the area. That's fallen to perhaps 60.
While the outside of the Moon house is in decent shape, inside, it’s another story. Litter from squatters, damage from a 2017 fire, broken windows and falling plaster and renovations over the years have eaten away most traces of the historic nature of the home.
Longtime residents might remember Moon’s work from the R.E. Olds Mansion, which was torn down in 1971 for the construction of I-496. He also worked on an update of the Turner-Dodge House, now owned by the city of Lansing, at 100 E. North St., Lansing.
An 1891 Queen Anne style house on Lansing Community College campus was designed by him, the Rogers-Carrier House at 528 N. Capitol Ave.
Another gorgeous example is across the street from Riddle Elementary in private hands. That house was moved in 1978 when Logan Street, now MLK Boulevard, was expanded. It used to sit directly south of the far-plainer foreclosed property and was the house Moon built for his family.
Last week Schertzing led a tour of historians, city officials and preservationists through the foreclosed house.
It's been boarded up since 2015. A fire damaged the interior in 2017. The 3,000-square-foot house was owned by E.L. Investment Properties but went into foreclosure after two years of unpaid taxes, according to online records. It’s assessed value is just $6,400, considered about half of market value.
Can the house be saved? It might take a miracle.
Rough estimates from the group to restore it to livable conditions ranged from $200,000 to $340,000. That’s a lot for a strip where property values are low, though they rise a few blocks over in the Westside Neighborhood.
“It’s not exactly in good shape. Does that mean it’s not salvageable? I don’t know,” said Cassandra Nelson, vice president of Preservation Lansing. “There is not a lot of integrity left on the inside.”
Nelson, a Westside resident, said she’s driven by the house thousands of times and admired its large ground level windows.
“Environmentally, the greenest building is the one that’s already built,” Nelson said “For some of these amazing old houses, we will never find craftsmanship like that again.”
Brian McGrain, director of economic development and planning for the city of Lansing said officials are “open to ideas.” He said there are federal resources for cities to demolish old houses but no dollars to restore them.
He said the city would consider partnering with investors or groups with ideas on how to restore the property.
“We’re very open to working in partnership. I think all of us in this room would be absolutely devastated if this house would come down,” McGrain said, but acknowledged the home’s rough condition. “This is demolition by neglect.”
James MacLean, the Moon biographer, repeated a quote from a businessman and historian when asked if Lansing does a good job of preserving its history.
"Lansing has never been very keen on preserving its old landmarks either public or private," said the late James P. Edmonds in 1946.
Two years ago, the Board of Water and Light demolished the Jenison House, an 1918 Tudor that was also called the Scott House, to make way for an electrical substation.
Schertzing said he’s exploring ideas with preservationists. He’s also wondering if there might be a training group that could use the house to learn how to take down historic properties.
“It kills me to take those 140-year-old timbers and just smash them up,” he said.
Schertzing said that if the house doesn't sell at two auctions, and faces demolition, he’s committed to salvaging pieces of it.
“Would someone like an original Darius Moon porch? I’d give it to them,” he said.
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Judy Putnam is a columnist with the Lansing State Journal. Contact her at (517) 267-1304 or at jputnam@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @judyputnam.
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