Eye Candy of the Week: July 27

“Eye Candy of the Week” is our look at some of the nicer properties in Lansing. It rotates with Eyesore of the Week and Eye for Design. If you have a suggestion, please e-mail eye@lansingcitypulse.com or call Berl Schwartz at 999-5061.

Eye Candy of the Week: July 27

119 West Maple St.
Lansing, MI (517) 420-3848

119 West Maple St., Lansing 

Overgrown trees and shrubbery encroach on the structure’s footprint and patches of missing paint dot its wooden siding. But the 19th-century home in Old Town is stubbornly good-looking.  

Triangular window pediments mimic the high pitch of the roof on the right façade, while subtle cream and teal frames are used throughout. What draws the attention most, though, is the slab of roof crawling over the front of the peak. Valerie Marvin, the Capitol historian and curator, offered this perspective: “I see a funny visual play there, in that the jerkinhead makes the front gable seem a bit more diminutive, almost as though it is tipping its hat.”  

Updated windows suggest that this home might be on the rebound. If so, future occupants can feel good about inhabiting a space that not only has architectural character but has also been home to many interesting residents dating back to the late 1800s. Former occupants include Helen Huston, a widow for 35 years involved in the fight for women’s suffrage, Ida Huston, an 1886 Lansing High School grad and groundbreaking female in public education, and Mrs. Harry Robinson, an inventor who had a patent pending in the 1950s for a curtain hanging device. The current owner is interested in selling it. He referred calls to real estate agent Katrina Hoyt at (517) 420-3848.