Bernard Ginsburg House

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Bernard Ginsburg House is a private two-and-a-half-story home in Midtown Detroit’s Brush Park district, located at 236 Adelaide Street. Built in 1898, it was designed by George W. Nettleton and Albert Kahn in Tudor Revival style and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

The house is important for both its owner and its architect. Bernard Ginsburg was a prominent philanthropist and civic leader who supported Jewish charities and Detroit’s community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Albert Kahn, who later became famous for industrial and commercial buildings, showed early promise with this home’s English Renaissance-inspired design.

Ginsburg was born in 1864 in Columbus, Indiana, to Polish immigrant parents. He and his father started an iron business in Detroit in 1881 called R. L. Ginsburg, which grew wealthy. Bernard served as Public Lighting Commissioner for two years and was a member of the Public Library Board. He was deeply involved in Jewish charities, serving as President of United Jewish Charities, vice president of the National Conference of Jewish Charities, director of the Jewish Orphan Asylum in Cleveland, and President of Temple Beth El from 1918 to 1919.

The house features red brick and stone walls. A carved wood arcade spans the front porch and is supported by statues on stone walls. The window and door openings have limestone frames and quoins.