TheWilliam Livingstone House, commonly calledSlumpy, was a house constructed in 1894[1] and located in theBrush Park district ofDetroit,Michigan. The home was architectAlbert Kahn's first independent project.[2]
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William Livingstone Jr. (1844–1925), publisher of theDetroit Evening Journal,[3] was the second president of the Dime Savings Bank.[4] He hired a young Kahn, who was working for the architectural firm ofMason & Rice, to design his residence at 76 Eliot Street. When he obtained this commission – presumably with Mason's help – Kahn was only 22 or 23 years old and had just returned from spending 1891 in Europe, studying the classical architecture of the Old World: his decision to design the home in theFrench Renaissance Revival style reflected the time he spent sketching the best Gallic architecture.[5] For the house, Kahn incorporated elements of the Frenchchâteauesque style, such asbays and cone shapedturrets.[6]
In 1987, theRed Cross intended to demolish the mansion, originally located west of John R. Street, to make way for their new building.[7] Preservationists succeeded in moving the Livingstone House about one block to the east to 284 Eliot Street,[8] but the building languished for many years. The William Livingstone House's subsequent blight and slumping circular tower earned it the nickname Slumpy among theruins photography community.[2] The building continued to decay to the point of collapse[9] and was completely demolished on September 15, 2007. The William Livingstone House was commemorated in a painting by Lowell Boileau entitledOpen House, which was unveiled the day of its demolition.[10]
The cover of the 2019 studio albumHiding Places byBilly Woods andKenny Segal is a photograph of the William Livingstone House taken in 2006 by photographersYves Marchand and Romain Meffre.[11]
42°20′52.2″N83°03′13.4″W / 42.347833°N 83.053722°W /42.347833; -83.053722
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