Marcus R. Burrowes (1874–1953) was a notable Detroit architect. He served one year in the position of president of the Michigan Society of Architects and was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). He was widely known in southeast Michigan, especially during the second and third decades of the twentieth century, for his recreation of English Revival style buildings.
Burrowes was born in Tonawanda, New York, near Buffalo. Burrowes attended the Denver Art Academy, where he attended lectures and received instruction by architects of note, as well as serving an apprenticeship to a leading architectural firm in Denver. In the 1890s, Burrowes work took him to Canada, where he was employed in the chief architects office of the Dominion at Ottawa, specializing in post office buildings. From Canada, he crossed the Detroit River to Detroit, a place suitable for an entrepreneurial architect like Burrowes.
Initially, Burrowes worked in the offices of Albert Kahn. In 1907, he joined the firm of Stratton and Baldwin for two years, which put him into contact with leading figures in the Arts and Crafts movement in Detroit, including Kahn, William B. Stratton, Frank C. Baldwin, and George Gough Booth. Through Stratton's connections with Mary Chase Perry Stratton of Pewabic Pottery, Burrowes gained exposure to this important Detroit-based firm as well.
However, deciding his future was to be in independent practice, Burrowes formed the firm of Burrowes and Wells with Dalton R. Wells. By 1914, Burrowes was operating under his own name. In 1920 he joined with Frank Eurich, who had received training in the architecture program from Cornell University. Together, Burrowes and Eurich designed many homes in Grosse Pointe and Detroit, as well as several libraries and municipal buildings.
During his lifetime, Burrowes was recognized by his fellow architects. He served as president of the Detroit Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1916 and 1917; vice-president of the Detroit Chapter in 1923, and secretary from 1911 to 1915. He served as president of the Michigan Society of Architects in 1923 and 1924. In 1940, he was made a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and became emeritus in 1952. He was a member of the Episcopal Church and the Detroit Athletic Club.
Burrowes died at the age of 79 at his home in London, Ontario, which he had retired to eight months previous. His obituary in the Detroit Free Press in 1953, stated how "he designed more than 1,000 structures in and near Detroit during his long career."
| Name | City | State/Country | Year Designed | Built | Other Information | Image | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walkerville | Ontario, Canada | 1910 | (Burrowes and Wells) | |||||
| Bloomfield Hills | Michigan | 1911 | ||||||
| Walkerville | Ontario, Canada | 1912 | Devonshire Road | |||||
| Walkerville | Ontario, Canada | 1912 | Devonshire Road | |||||
| Bloomfield Hills | Michigan | 1915-1916 | ||||||
| Bloomfield Hills | Michigan | Lone Pine Road | ||||||
| Bloomfield Hills | Michigan | Evergreen Road(with Henry Scripps Booth) | ||||||
| Bloomfield Hills | Michigan | Lone Pine Road | ||||||
| Detroit | Michigan | East Boston Boulevard | ||||||
| Detroit | Michigan | Hamilton Drive | ||||||
| Detroit | Michigan | Hamilton Drive | ||||||
| Detroit | Michigan | Hamilton Drive | ||||||
| Detroit | Michigan | Hamilton Drive | ||||||
| Detroit | Michigan | Fairway Drive | ||||||
| Detroit | Michigan | 1922 | 2950 Iroquois | |||||
| Detroit | Michigan | 1915 | 2530 Iroquois | |||||
| Detroit | Michigan | 2455 Iroquois | ||||||
| Detroit | Michigan | 1915 | 5415 Cass | |||||
| Detroit | Michigan | 1917 | ||||||
| Detroit | Michigan | 2168 Burns | ||||||
| Detroit | Michigan | |||||||
| Detroit | Michigan | 2501 Burns | ||||||
| Detroit | Michigan | 1912 | 1782 Seminole | |||||
| Detroit | Michigan | |||||||
| Detroit | Michigan | 1910 | 1710 Seminole | |||||
| Grosse Pointe | Michigan | 1924 | 315 Washington | |||||
| Grosse Pointe | Michigan | Bishop Road | ||||||
| Grosse Pointe | Michigan | Hendrie Lane | ||||||
| Grosse Pointe | Michigan | |||||||
| Grosse Pointe | Michigan | Edgemont Park | ||||||
| Grosse Pointe | Michigan | |||||||
| Grosse Pointe | Michigan | Harvard Road | ||||||
| Grosse Pointe | Michigan | Lakeland | ||||||
| Farmington | Michigan | Farmington Road | ||||||
| Farmington | Michigan | 1924 | residence of Marcus R. Burrowes, 24300 Locust Drive | |||||
| Farmington Hills | Michigan | in present-day Heritage Park | ||||||
| Windy Hill | Farmington | Michigan | Kirby White House, Eleven Mile Road | |||||
| Cottage, Biddestone Woods estate | Farmington | Michigan | 1937 | |||||
| Milford | Michigan | 1923 | 1937 | |||||
| Northville Township | Michigan | 1923 | ||||||
| Jacob Seigel House | Detroit | Michigan | 1917 | 1918 | 51 W Boston blvd |
Fox, Jean M. "Marcus Burrowes, English Revival Architect", Monograph #2, Farmington Hills Historical Commission, 1992.
Wilson, Tim Wayne County Training School
Preserve Detroit, [www.preservedetroit.com]