William Muschenheim Residence, 1911

This house was the one-time residence of William Muschenheim, semi-known architect of the early to mid-20th century. He did not build the house himself--its style is considerably different from his own. Muschenheim was one of the first American modernist architects, drawing inspiration from European styles of design and utilizing color theory in the creation of his buildings.

Some of his most notable achievements were the bath houses he designed on Long Island in the 1930s. The buildings were constructed from lead and asbestos. (This was, of course, before the health risks of such materials were widely known.) Muschenheim also designed buildings to hold the collection from the Guggenheim Museum in 1939 and 1947.

Later in his life, from 1950 through 1972, Muschenheim taught architecture and design at the University of Michigan.