Historic Resource Survey
South Eton Road
Birmingham, Michigan
Completed 2025*
Katie and Cassandra completed a historic resource survey of South Eton Road between 14 and 15 Mile Roads in the fall of 2024. Katie and Cassandra previously worked with the City of Birmingham completing their city-wide historic district design guidelines. Suburbanization literally drove development of the area in the early-twentieth century as Woodward Avenue was widened to accommodate the explosion of automobile traffic coming into and out of Detroit. Housing construction did not take off until the post-war era when several Detroit-area builders speculatively constructed modest Minimal Traditional and Colonial Revival style houses from stock plans and constructed them in alternating patterns to avoid a monotonous streetscape.
Katie and Cassandra conducted extensive research using sources like historic maps, newspaper articles, and City permit information to develop robust historic contexts within which to understand the survey area’s significance. A geographic information system (GIS) was developed to illustrate the patterns of housing construction along the road and create maps of the survey findings.

*completed while employed at Kraemer Design Group