The family’s architect · 1886 – 1946
Richard H. Marr
Architect of the Kiefer Building, Palmer Woods mansions and more than fifty Michigan buildings
Richard Henderson Marr was born in Detroit on 24 August 1886. On 29 March 1911 he married Irma Rose Bonning, the daughter of Hermina Kiefer Bonning and the granddaughter of Dr. Herman Kiefer. That made him the old doctor’s grandson-in-law — and the family’s architect.
According to his grandson David Bonning Marr, Richard came home from Boston in 1910 to design the Kiefer Building on Gratiot Avenue, the building that rose on the corner Frances Kiefer had refused to sell (Chapter 6). It was leased to the Crowley, Milner & Co. department store and stood until 1977–78.
Over the next thirty-five years Marr designed mansions for the Fisher brothers of Fisher Body in Palmer Woods and Boston–Edison, homes across Indian Village, Sherwood Forest, Grosse Pointe Park and Bloomfield, the Palmer Park Boulevard apartments, and the R. L. Polk Directory Building. He kept his office in the Architects Building on Brainard Street. He died in Detroit on 23 April 1946.
Richard and Irma had two children, Carl Bonning Marr, who also trained as an architect at the University of Michigan, and Margaret Elizabeth Marr. Their grandson David Bonning Marr (1947–2024) kept the family’s archive of Marr’s drawings and photographs and shared much of this history before his death.
A note on the family tree.Richard married into the family; his children and grandchildren are Dr. Herman Kiefer’s descendants through Hermina. See the family tree →
Buildings by Richard H. Marr
54 buildings and projects, all in Michigan. 44 are documented in published sources; the rest are reported and still need original plans or permits to confirm. This is a working list. Follow the “photo” links to see each building. If you know of a Marr building, or have photographs from the Marr family archive, share them with us.
| # | Building | Address | Type | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Architects Building Built 1924–1925. Marr maintained his architectural office here. | 415 Brainard Street Detroit | Office building | Documented source · photo |
| 2 | R. L. Polk Directory Building Built 1923–1924. Demolished in 1994. | 431 Howard Street Detroit | Commercial building | Documented source · photo |
| 3 | Kiefer Land Company Building / Kiefer Building Built 1910–1911 for the Kiefer Land Company on the corner Frances Kiefer refused to sell, and leased to Crowley, Milner & Co. The Detroit Journal of 11 February 1911 names Marr as architect (pictured at the top of this page). Demolished 1977–78. | 210–226 Gratiot Avenue Detroit | Commercial building | Documented · photo |
| 4 | Towar Apartments Designed for Frank J. Towar, 1916–1917. New Center. Demolished. | 3039 West Grand Boulevard New Center, Detroit | Apartment building | Reported · photo |
| 5 | Villa Lante Apartments 1916. Designed for C. C. Smith. | 663 Prentis Street Detroit | Apartment building | Documented source · photo |
| 6 | Franzen Apartments Marr is credited in the city’s Warren–Prentis historic district documentation. | 683 Prentis Street Detroit | Apartment building | Documented source · photo |
| 7 | Georgian Apartments 1925. Part of the five-building Palmer Park Boulevard apartment development. | 1981 West McNichols Road Highland Park | Apartment building | Documented source · photo |
| 8 | Southcourse Apartments 1924. Part of the Palmer Park Boulevard apartment development. | 2003 West McNichols Road Highland Park | Apartment building | Documented source · photo |
| 9 | Northcourse Apartments 1925. Part of the Palmer Park Boulevard apartment development. | 2025 West McNichols Road Highland Park | Apartment building | Documented source · photo |
| 10 | National Twist Drill & Tool Company — office building Marr designed the Art Deco office portion fronting Rochester Road. The Austin Company designed the factory. The complex began in 1940 and was occupied in 1941. | 6875 North Rochester Road Rochester Hills | Industrial office building | Documented source · photo |
| 11 | Alfred J. and Alma Fisher Mansion Palmer Woods. 1925. | 1771 Balmoral Drive Palmer Woods, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 12 | William A. and Lura Fisher Mansion / Clipper Estate Palmer Woods. Burned in 1994 and demolished in 1995. Published construction dates conflict. | 1791 Wellesley Drive Palmer Woods, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 13 | Meyer L. and Anna Prentis House Palmer Woods. 1929. | 1905 Balmoral Drive Palmer Woods, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 14 | Daniel and Mabel Fisher House Palmer Woods. 1927. | 19386 Cumberland Way Palmer Woods, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 15 | Irvine Herbert Nie House Palmer Woods. 1923. | 1530 Wellesley Drive Palmer Woods, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 16 | Fred C. Thompson House Palmer Woods. Published construction dates conflict. | 19201 Strathcona Drive Palmer Woods, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 17 | Harvey S. and Mabel Durand House Palmer Woods. Sources distinguish different permit, occupancy and completion dates. | 19221 Strathcona Drive Palmer Woods, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 18 | Charles Burton House — earlier residence Palmer Woods. Built in 1915 at 19237 Gloucester Drive and moved to this address in 1930. The two addresses identify one house. | 1700 Lincolnshire Drive Palmer Woods, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 19 | Charles Burton House — later residence Palmer Woods. 1929. Separate from the earlier Burton residence in entry 18. | 19440 Afton Road Palmer Woods, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 20 | Residence at 1810 Wellesley Palmer Woods. Circa 1916. Identified in the Palmer Woods centennial program. | 1810 Wellesley Drive Palmer Woods, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 21 | Dr. Albert H. Steinbrecher House 1916. | 31 Arden Park Boulevard Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 22 | Richard B. Chase House Indian Village. 1915. | 2240 Iroquois Street Indian Village, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 23 | Edward Roney House Indian Village. 1924. | 3421 Burns Street Indian Village, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 24 | William St. John House Indian Village. 1916. | 3453 Burns Street Indian Village, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 25 | Edward F. and Adeline Fisher Mansion Boston–Edison. Published construction dates conflict. | 892 West Boston Boulevard Boston–Edison, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 26 | Thomas J. Thompson House Boston–Edison. 1917. Credited in the Architects Building National Register narrative. | 1666 West Boston Boulevard Boston–Edison, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 27 | Richard H. Marr’s own residence Boston–Edison. Marr’s occupancy is documented by the neighborhood association. | 1186 Edison Street Boston–Edison, Detroit | House | Reported source · photo |
| 28 | Robert W. Sinclair House Sherwood Forest. Building permit dated November 5, 1936. | 19180 Berkeley Road Sherwood Forest, Detroit | House | Documented source |
| 29 | L. C. Miller House Sherwood Forest. Building permit dated August 1, 1935. Sources vary on the owner’s first name. | 19435 Shrewsbury Road Sherwood Forest, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 30 | Jason S. Tuttle House Sherwood Forest. Building permit dated April 5, 1935. | 19600 Stratford Road Sherwood Forest, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 31 | Charles E. Davy House Sherwood Forest. Building permit dated May 26, 1936. | 19191 Warrington Drive Sherwood Forest, Detroit | House | Documented source · photo |
| 32 | Detroit Golf Club subdivision residence 1937. | 18135 Hamilton Road Detroit | House | Reported · photo |
| 33 | Clemons–Knight–Menard house Rosedale Park. 1924. | 15064 Warwick Street Rosedale Park, Detroit | House | Reported · photo |
| 34 | Clemons–Knight–Menard house Rosedale Park. 1924. | 15150 Warwick Street Rosedale Park, Detroit | House | Reported source · photo |
| 35 | M. Woolsey Campau House 1921. | 1267 Balfour Road Grosse Pointe Park | House | Documented source · photo |
| 36 | George Beck House 1921. | 16641 East Jefferson Avenue Grosse Pointe Park | House | Documented source · photo |
| 37 | Alfred F. Steiner House 1923. | 905 Balfour Road Grosse Pointe Park | House | Documented source · photo |
| 38 | T. Powers House 1923. | 899 Westchester Road Grosse Pointe Park | House | Documented source · photo |
| 39 | Residence at 1009 Three Mile 1926. | 1009 Three Mile Drive Grosse Pointe Park | House | Documented source · photo |
| 40 | Dr. Robert D. MacKenzie House 1927. | 1246 Devonshire Road Grosse Pointe Park | House | Documented source · photo |
| 41 | C. B. Bohn House 1933. | 740 Whittier Road Grosse Pointe Park | House | Documented source · photo |
| 42 | William F. Demske House 1935. | 1108 Whittier Road Grosse Pointe Park | House | Documented source · photo |
| 43 | H. Murray Northrup House 1936. | 824 Three Mile Drive Grosse Pointe Park | House | Documented source · photo |
| 44 | Dr. J. Edgar Norris House 1938. | 607 Lakepointe Street Grosse Pointe Park | House | Documented source · photo |
| 45 | Roger S. Buchanan House A 1928 architectural journal independently credits Marr with the Buchanan house. | 445 University Place Grosse Pointe | House | Reported source · photo |
| 46 | Harry Stormfeltz House / Adams Castle Bloomfield Hills mailing address. Identified in the township library’s John Marshall historic-home inventory. | 900 Adams Castle Drive Bloomfield Township | House | Documented source · photo |
| 47 | Devonshire Downs residence 1928. | 70 Devon Road Bloomfield Township | House | Reported source · photo |
| 48 | Devonshire Downs residence 1928. The home has been enlarged over time. | 75 Devon Road Bloomfield Township | House | Reported · photo |
| 49 | Devonshire Downs model home 1929. | 80 Devon Road Bloomfield Township | House | Reported source · photo |
| 50 | English Terraces Townhouses Full unit-address range remains unresolved. The complex contains multiple units and is counted as one inventory entry. | East Jefferson Avenue between Rivard Boulevard and Roosevelt Place Grosse Pointe | Townhouse complex | Documented source · photo |
| 51 | Fairway Apartments Historical intersection: Palmer Park Boulevard and Twelfth Street. 1923. Demolished in the 1990s. Exact street number remains unresolved. | West McNichols Road at Rosa Parks Boulevard Highland Park | Apartment building | Documented source |
| 52 | Douglas Apartments Demolished in the 1990s. Exact street number remains unresolved. | West McNichols Road, east of Georgian Apartments Highland Park | Apartment building | Documented source · photo |
| 53 | Detroit Athletic Club modernization Marr’s work was primarily interior modernization, circa 1945–1946. Albert Kahn designed the original building. | 241 Madison Avenue Detroit | Renovation / modernization | Documented source · photo |
| 54 | Jefferson Hall Apartment Hotel Credited to Marr & Harley. | 1404 East Jefferson Avenue Detroit | Apartment hotel | Reported · photo |
Many of these are private homes. Please enjoy them from the street. Entry 53 is a renovation: Albert Kahn designed the Detroit Athletic Club; Marr modernized its interiors around 1945–46. Research by the family, from Historic Detroit, the City of Detroit’s historic district reports, the Palmer Woods, Sherwood Forest and Boston–Edison associations, the Grosse Pointe Historical Society and the Michigan Society of Architects Bulletin.