Photograph courtesy of Barbara Barefield
A path between Palmer Woods and Palmer
Park, circa 1895 (photograph courtesy of Library of Congress —LC-D4_12443)
Park, circa 1895 (photograph courtesy of Library of Congress —LC-D4_12443)
The Palmer Woods Historic District is located directly west of
Woodward Avenue and directly north of Palmer Park. The
district is bounded by Woodward Avenue, Seven Mile Road,
the southern edge of Evergreen Cemetery, Strathcona Drive,
and Argyle Crescent. To see map, click
Over the years, other developers joined Burton in constructing
homes in Palmer Woods including two-term Detroit Mayor
Frank Couzens, who along with his partner John Frazor, built
14 homes in the historic district starting is the 1920s. Palmer
Woods remains a showcase for the talents of regional and
international home and landscape architects of the first half
of the 20th century.
Palmer Woods Historic District traces its beginnings back to 1883, when Senator Thomas
Palmer donated 100 acres of farmland to the city of Detroit for use as a public park. The Palmer Family also sold land just north of
the park to developer Charles Burton for
residential subdivision. Burton took
advantage of the rural feel of the area when selling potential
buyers on the subdivision. In a 1915 advertisement, Burton
states, “Situated next to the Palmer Park and the Golf Grounds,
fronting on Woodward Avenue, but screened from its dust and
noise, Palmer Woods is a safeguard from the encroachments of
commercialism.”
