Michaels House
375 North Almont Avenue
Circa 1907
The Michaels House is of Queen Anne Style and was built in 1907 by Edward Michaels. Edward Michaels entered the lumber business in Capac in 1895, and in 1901 with his brother Louis purchased the Imlay City lumber business of John Marshall. He purchased his brother’s interest in 1910 and continued the business until September of 1937, when he sold the lumberyard to Mulhall Lumber Company of Owosso.
Edward Michaels was born in 1862 and married Miss Rose Martin in 1895. He died in August of 1938.
The Michaels House is a fine example of a Victorian home. Some of the characteristics of a Queen Anne Style are the dominant front-facing gables, the asymmetrical face and the front facing one-story porch. Towers are found on several styles of homes of the Victorian period, but typically on Queen Anne homes the towers were placed on the front corner of the home.
The interior of this house contains plaster moldings around the edge of the ceilings. Most of the light fixtures in the lower level are reproduction; however the staircase and upstairs rooms are all original.
The fireplace is a coal fireplace and the depth of the fireplace is only about one foot—insufficient depth for a wood fire. When the house was purchased in 1988 the ceilings had all been stripped down to lathe and covered with Celeotex board. It was removed and the lathe taken down, entirely new wet plaster ceilings were then installed.
All of the oak moldings, paneling, doors and floors are original to the home and contain geometric patterns. One of the unique features of this house is the stained glass window in the staircase landing. Much of the glass in the house is either leaded glass or cut glass. There are five bedrooms upstairs and servant quarters with a separate stairway leading down to the kitchen. The kitchen has been totally re-done. All of the doors were sanded and refinished to their original state and the cabinets are consistent with what was in the home originally.
Michaels House
375 North Almont Avenue
Circa 1907