1210 College Avenue
The house was originally owned by the family that owned and operated the Frank A. Douglass Insurance Agency.
This wood-framed home was built in 1885 for Mary M. (Corbin) Douglass, widow of Frank A. Douglass, founder and manager of the Frank A. Douglass Insurance Agency. Upon his father’s death, son William Corbin Douglass ran the agency which is still in operation today. Ownership of the house transferred to him in 1912 and Mary lived here with W. Corbin, his wife, Grace, and their daughter, Catherine, until her death in 1924.
Designed in the Greek Revival style, the asymmetrical house features sidelights and columns flanking the entry and a large pediment and side pilasters. The left side foundation is of local sandstone; the right is made of cobblestones. The exterior is wood-framed, asymmetric, and displays a hipped roof with a gabled front. A columned portico supports the second story balustered deck. The house is ornate with pilasters, bracketed cornices, circular third floor window, three chimneys, red trim, tri-glyphs detailing its external facade. The interior of the house features a foyer with lovely pine woodwork and a large archway opening up to the stairway to the second floor. A sizeable fireplace, with pine pilasters, creates a central focal point to the impressive dining room.
W. Corbin Douglass lived here until 1962 when the Alpha Chapter of Beta Sigma Theta fraternity bought the property. The fraternity converted the upstairs rooms into bedrooms to accommodate the members. (159 words)
Sources: Walker, R. (2003, Spring) 1210 College Avenue. Report prepared for SS 3515 History of American Architecture at Michigan Technological University; Historic Houghton Walking Tour (c. 2000); Image: Vernacular Architecture Forum. (2024). 1210 College Ave. North of the Northwoods: From Mines to Motels on Michigan’s Lake Superior (p. 60). photograph.