Rosedale Park, Detroit

Description

Rosedale Park is a historic district located in Detroit, Michigan. It is roughly bounded by Fenkell, Outer Drive, Grand River Avenue, Southfield Freeway, Glastonbury Avenue, Lyndon Street and Westwood Drive. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. The Rosedale Park district has the largest number of individual properties of any district nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan, with 1533.The district contains primarily brick houses, and was largely developed from the late 1920s through the 1940s.HistoryThe land on which Rosedale Park sits was originally deeded in 1835 to Otis C. Freeman and George Bellamy as two 80-acre (32 ha) parcels. Over time, these parcels were subdivided until in 1916 the Rosedale Park Land Development Company purchased and platted a large portion of what was to become the Rosedale Park Historic District. This development company platted other projects in addition to Rosedale Park, most notably the North Rosedale Park neighborhood directly across Grand River Avenue. The company considered the location amenable to development because of its proximity to Grand River Avenue, a direct link to downtown Detroit, and the contemporaneous construction of Outer Drive.Interest in the new subdivision was immediate, and in 1917, the Rosedale Park Land Development Company platted an addition to the original area. However, the actual construction in the neighborhood was slow—from 1917 until the end of World War I, only 15 houses had been constructed. However, construction soon blossomed, and in 1921 a third addition was platted. The city of Detroit annexed the subdivision in 1926, bringing water and sewer to the neighborhood and making the area more attractive.