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Leonard Willeke House
Leonard Willeke, architect
1100 Berkshire, Grosse Pointe Park
Leonard Willeke called the style of his new home Modern
English. He was influenced by English architect Sir Edwin
Lutyns and American architect Harrie T. Linberg. The U-
shaped floor plan is compact and convenient and pro-
vides light and air circulation throughout the house. To
insure a pleasant view of the garden from all rooms, the
driveway, garage court, laundry yard, and children’s play
area were all located at the north end of the property.
The interior rooms are filled with walnut detail. The main
hall and living room have barrel vaulted ceilings to accent
the rectangular shape of the rooms. Pewabic tiles are
used throughout the house. Floral and animal motifs in
the paneling and plaster wall trim are designed by Willeke
and typical of his work.
Willeke said he incorporated so many special features
because it was to be his final home. “I have used the best
and most artistic designs that I have found in my many
years of study and travel abroad as an architect in this
house,” he wrote.
Henry Sherrard House
Unknown architect, believed to be Albert Kahn or
Mason & Rice
59 Lake Shore Rd.
Built in 1892 by Joseph Berry for his daughter, Charlotte
and her husband Henry Sherrard, this home is one of the
oldest surviving year-round houses in Grosse Pointe. The
architecture is primarily a combination of 19th Century
Shingle and Romanesque Revival styles.
The asymmetrical design of the house features projec-
tions for rooms of varying shapes, including a tower with
a conical roof, a rather Victorian touch. For a time, the
first floor of the tower was the office Joseph Sherrard,
who lived in the house all his life, marrying late, at 55. A
bedroom occupies the second floor of the office. The mas-
ter bedroom, with a fireplace, faces east and offers a view
of Lake Shore Rd. from an alcove with eight rectangular
windows with lead glass panes.
The house was owned by the Sherrard family until
approximately 1983. It was the setting for several works
by author Jack Kerouac and there are stories of a ghost in
the attic.
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