Inside the LARGEST Mega Mansion in Detroit, Michigan 

The Latin inscription above the fireplace reads, "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever else you do, do it for the glory of God."

I've been in this house just after it was renovated in the 80's. John Salley used to live here. He once said, "there are rooms in here I ain't never been in." It is huge.

I work in Belvedere Mansion in Galena, Illinois. Not nearly this size. But in 1800's, the wealthy built the homes very solid. The walls were built 2-3 bricks on inside walls....4 bricks on outside walls....no lumber. The room off kitchen would have been main dining room....that gold on ceiling would have been gold leaf, not gold paint. The characters on fireplace with sheep were religious figures or saints. The multiple safes were not all used for monies! Shelving would have been in some to hold the sterling silver, candlelobras, silver serving pieces. Most of the light fixtures were old. Some of the bookcases standing were saved, thank goodness... probably torn away from walls or other rooms. Magnificent woodworks, staircases and matble or stone fireplaces! The 3rd floor was often for servants quarters, nanny and children bedrooms, playroom for children. Sometimes a open ballroom. Even if wealthy, this is so massive, very expensive to restore and then to maintain! Would be a beautiful boutique hotel...a step back in time and luxury!

The two openings on either side of the walls in the entry weee for radiant heaters and likely covered with an ornate screen. The metal boxes sitting in there are modern replacements.

There is no better way of showing you have no style or taste than a modern kitchen. People should be embarrassed to ruin a classic aesthetic like that.

There should be historic preservation laws against destroying these architectural treasures. The fact that it was some firm from LA makes it that much worse. Whatever this house sells for will be nothing compared to the cost to restore this house to period design. Hopefully the modernization will be recersed.

This is not a restoration, it's a remodeling, or more precisely, a remuddling. The new work is frighteningly bad and by notion of the renderings, it's promises to only get worse. Whomever the architect is that came up with this redesign should be ashamed of themselves. I hope whoever buys this property has the incite to start over with a firm that possess the proper qualifications.

The house itself is exceptional. However the modernization of the kitchen and the carriage house are despicable. When one buys a house such as this, it is to preserve the history, not destroy it. I have looked at my share of houses ( my husband’s family likes to move every 2 years) and this one is very special and should be given great care. I wonder if there are pictures in an archive somewhere to show what it looked like back in the day.

The figures represented on the fireplace are The 4 Evangelists- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Symbolically represented- Matthew with the winged man or angel, Mark with the lion, Luke with an ox or bull and John with the eagle. Also linked to the 4 fixed signs of the zodiac- Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, Scorpio.

This was basically a private hotel, built as such for the archdiocese of Detroit. Yes, the bishop lived there, but would have been used to host other bishops, priests and diginataries from around the country and the world. The kitchen would have been a full commercial kitchen as they existed in 1929, with large bullt in refrigerator and freezer.

quite the cool house. The Dodge brothers built this house in the 1900s for the Archbishop. Palmer woods is one of 4 or 5 historic areas in Detroit. Palmer Woods was built as the industrialists wanted to get a bit further out of the city but still be close. For those interested, the Palmer woods historic home tours are usually during the 1st week of December. The tickets sell out fast so a person needs to grab them within a day or two when they are posted. The other Detroit historic areas are Boston-Edison, Indian Village, the university district and possibly one or two I am forgetting. The city of Detroit was afraid of losing these historic homes so gave folks who bought these homes a substantial cut on their property taxes to entire more folks to buy them.

The current owners gutted too much and is the reason why the Mansion couldn't sell when it was listed. A lot of the original charm is lost for ever!

As a bit of construction criticism I'd suggest you edit the video more before publishing. The first 8 minutes of the exterior could've been condensed down to a minute or two. It makes the video more watchable.

I wish people would understand the difference between restoration and remodeling. Restoring something puts it back the way it was..remodeling makes it new or different. The absolute best restoration is achieved when repairing /restoring with the original types of materials done with the original skills and techniques. Many, many amazing chateaux in France and English manor houses are being saved in this manner. This estate might never recover from the vicious assault that has been wrought upon it!

Blown away by this house and great job showing every aspect of this mansion. Thanks for the tour.

These so called renovations are happening all over Detroit. Ruining all these beautiful old houses. Makes me sick. My old house had the butler’s pantry torn out. Crown molding gone etc. This mansion you’re in was so beautiful.

Hi Paul, i have always loved Detroit. I tried not once but 3xs to run a way back in the 80s, lol . I still hope to make my way and retire in Detroit. I always say I'd rather by a house built between 1850s - early 1970s. Those 🏡 were built to last. Time, patience, much consideration for what the future would be like went into those 🏡 My father built his 🏡 for my mom and family in the 1950s and it still standing with much of the original raptors in the attic and 4x4s in the walls. Unfortunately, he lost the kitchen, bath, and dining room to a 🔥 in 2011 and b4 his 🏡 was restored he passed in 2015.. miss my pops.😢

I normally don't comment on videos but i was in this house after john sally left Detroit a bunch of designers each took a room and decorated it i believe john still owned the house they did a showing after there work was completed the odd shaped room after the primary bedroom was a special area for the priest before he went into the chapel what i remember is beautiful hand made oak drawers there might of been somewhere for the preist to sit i remember red carpet its sad to see that just disgarded when i got to the chaple it was 100 percent complete with johns big screen tv at the alter imagen that all the spaces they took out on the second floor were just a bunch of small rooms thanks for taking me through there to bring back a great memory 😊

The Latin, “Sive Manducatis sive Bibiris Sive Iliud Quid Facitis Omnia In gloriam Dei Facite” translates in English to: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever else you do, do everything for the glory of God” and is from the New Testament, ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭31‬.

I was there working when they shut it down. I did a lot of brick and block work. Plumbing was all done in the old Boiler room. I wish we could have finished it.

Someone absolutely ruined this house 😢

Thanks for this video tour. It's so good. Most of us locals know this house as an icon but have no idea what it looks like inside. It's quite the relic. The amount of work it needs is terrifying. Looks like it would make a good commerical property of some sort, depending on what Palmer Woods allows. Right off Woodward--one of the best public transporation routes in Metro Detroit. Easy for workers to get to. I think anyone buying this house to live in would have to be both filthy rich and unconventional. There are many very good, bad, and ugly things that go on in the bordering neighborhoods of Palmer Woods.

Vandals didn't come in and screw it up but construction Crews did

OMG, I love this house!!! I wish I had the money to buy it and renovate it.

What a gem. I hate the renderings for the kitchen and I wish the original was still in tact. I would put in a period correct kitchen with modern appliances that match. There would have been another kitchen in the basement. I believe the openings in the entrance would have been radiators. The chapel is the jewel of the house and the sweet swan mural being covered hurts. I am a purist and would completely renovate the entire home to it's original condition. Detroit has some glorious old homes. Thank you for showing this historic masterpiece to us.

This is very very cool. Thank you for doing this .

I’ve been in the house it’s is beautiful. I used to live in that neighborhood in the 90s. I hope someone buys it and makes it whole again right again. I was there in the 90s at an estate sale . Mostly baskets shoes.

I remember some of the over the top blowouts that "Spider" used to have there, back in the day. The celebration he had for the '89 championship was something that I will always remember. Way cooler than anything that Davidson, or his ilk, ever put on. It's sad to see the place in the condition that it's currently in. Hopefully, the new owners, can stick with the current plans, and keep both the workmanship, and the finances in line, to complete the project to its planned finish. Regarding a lot of those "hidden rooms". Most of those were service access ways. Nothing worse than someone seeing the servantry using the same grand staircase as the Lord's of the Estate. How Tacky!!!😂

I grew up right around the block. In the late 70s and early 80s there was a caretaker family that lived there...the Wilkinsons (sp?). George and Eugene were the sons; I forget the daughter's name.

Thank you for your insightful tour. My family owned the house next door to the Bishop's house for more than 50 years and I never had the opportunity to go inside. I have done limited renovation work on two modern 2,000 SF apartments that I have owned and the cost was always into six figures. I shudder to imagine what it will cost to restore the Bishop's house to its former grandeur, considering the starting point is the first phase of a gut renovation. I suspect that the real estate investors who purchased the property have elected to put the property up for auction because they realized that the cost of a full renovation would be at a level that would make it difficult to earn an appropriate return on investment. Moreover, the nature of the wealthy buyers of such homes is such that they may have different views as to how they would prefer for the renovation to be done. For the sake of posterity, I hope that the buyer preserves the historical character of the home.

Looks like the detroit arch diasis lived there before and thats why the chapel was there. Love seeing the house.

That ceiling is the bomb!

That was so fun! Thank you for taking us through. Clearly the bishops that lived there back in the day didn’t take the vow of poverty. I’m excited to see how it all turns out and like you, I’d love for them to keep some of the integrity of the original home.

Since the main stair goes to the third floor in all its glory, I think the ballroom was there, as mentioned when looking at the intercom. There would have been a men's and ladies' lounge, each with a bathroom. The animal border was probably a leftover if the Salleys used it as a nursery/playroom. The room with a half bath in the angled wing at the end of the first floor was most likely the bishop's office. The finished room at the bottom of the main stair in the basement might have been a billiard room. The white painted brick room was probably the laundry room. It isn't unusual for store rooms like those in the basement to be connected, in addition to a door from the hall.

designed in the Tudor Revival-style by the Boston architectural firm of McGinnis and Walsh. Construction began by the Fisher Brothers in 1925 and didn’t finish until 1928. Many of the materials for the home were shipped over from Europe, including marble pillars from Sicily and wood from the Black Forest in Germany.

This is a great tour. I would have felt the same way going around this awsome home. Unbelievable! I had no idea!❤

The Latin phrase on the other fireplace is Corinthians 10:31- sive ergo manducatis sive bibitis vel aliud quid facitis omnia in gloriam Dei facite. Translation: So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

This place is so beautiful. It would be awesome to renovate it and restore all the beautiful features and turn it in to an apartment complex. You would have the most amazing apartments for people to live in. I would love to live there. Definitely worth investing in this place. 😊😊😊

Detroit MI!! Perfect for Veterans!

The room next to the elevator should hold the mechanism for the elevator. The metal pipe sticking up thru the floor are electrical conduits.

Good thing the "renovations" stopped before they destroyed anything else smh. Im sure that original kitchen was glorious. What in the fcuk were they doing in that space that was all framed up that had the mural covered up? Hopefully someone with some deep pockets and respect for history buys it and it doesnt end up being demolished. Its too massive and seems like its only chance is to be converted something like wedding events/ bed and breakfast/ split condos/ if these are even an option in that neighborhood....

Probably a "silver vault" which many mansions had to lock up the silver cutlery, candelabras, bowls, etc.

The place would make a great museum/ hotel. The basement would be perfect for a kitchen live in staff quarters, wine cellar,storage the first floor dining rooms, for inside and outside dining. library , bar the second floor hotel rooms and the third floor would be a great owners apartments.

This is a STUNNING home. Even though it requires a lot of work and money to complete this home has what they call "good bones". Any money spent on bringing it to completion will be money well spent. This will be a home that is highly desired by anyone with the money and taste to acquire it.

Awesome!!!

Thanks VERY much for doing just a quiet little tour through a house without having some majestic dirge playing in the background. I hate when other people do that. This is much better.

I remember 3 years ago delivering machinery to there and the sheer size of it was amazing

Part of the basement was a summer kitchen. Where the servants would cook in the summer because it was cooler.

Beautiful. I want it.

The mansion was once a home where monks lived and worked in the basement was when someone would visit would stay only one night and take a meal and every room that has multiple doors in a room was parked as a sign of wealth ❤❤❤👍👍👍😊😊😊

The basement room with pipes I believe are refrigerator rooms all of the tiled rooms have to do with the kitchen. Main kitchen back in the day would be multiple rooms each doing different task IE: meat cutter, cheese and dairy, bakery etc…

I lived near that mansion in the 60’s and 70’s. I remember in the late 60’s hippies camped out on the lawn in protest. In high school I used to park in the drive way and pretend this was my house to impress the girls from the suburbs. I love that neighborhood it’s in.

It's a beautiful house. I would love to see it renovated. l

Nicely preserved

Now THAT'S a lot of House would fit into my plan very well

Brother Michigan have Great potential in any sector of businesses if the world going to move the right Directions! Thanks BRO.

Ok, I watch a lot of house tours .. I have never had an internal physical reaction of desire until I watched this. It's amazing. Sad that I'm poor and it's on a different continent 😞🕊️

John Salley's house. I remember touring it. Must have been the 90s.

Thank you 🙏

According to The Hearld-Lalladium May 20, 1970 the house was built in 1910 by Fred E. Lee. He was a banker and chairman of the board of Round Oak Furnace company. In 1918 the mansion was donated to the Sisters of Mercy of Dubuque, Iowa. They ran it as a hospital. The Western-Electric inter-phone was private phone system can call up to 12 rooms. They started selling them in 1913.

What a beautiful old mansion. Glad it wasn't torn down. It would make a great hotel

I went inside 1 time back in 2003 when I use to Film Church services for Bishop at Great Faith

The big recessed room in the basement, I think, would have been for the boiler/ hot water tanks. To supply enough hot water for the entire house would require substantial sized tanks.

Meadow Brook Hall is 88,000 square foot built by Matilda Dodge Wilson, widow of automobile pioneer John Dodge.

31,192 Sq. Ft. Architectural Masterpiece • 12 Bed, 11 Bath • 2,057 Sq. Ft. Guest House is Move-In Ready • Comes with Complete Set of Engineering Plans Ready to Finish • External Utility Features Recently Upscaled • Endless Opportunities to Finish the Mansion to Your Liking • Own an Iconic Piece of Detroit History already been sold at auction ended 5/10/24

We have some huge houses like this in the UK too. In the 1800s when people had 10 children at least and loads of servants and lots of guests you needed a lot of space. This one is a bit too big for my liking. It might need perhaps to be a base for someone with a business working from home where a few people could come to work if zoning/planning law allowed but it would be lovely ilf it could also retain some family home element to it too.

Love love love ❤️

I did the windows in the house and carriage house i have a giant blue print n book on the fixtures n stuff some cool very cool building

In the 1970s this place was beautiful perfect inside spotless outside beautiful too..

What a massive place. That was enjoyable. Appreciate the walk through. The historic appeal is enough, unfortunately it will not be original form. Still magnificent either way. Thank you!

Love brick, windows. It’s a nice mansion!

Originally the basement safe would have likely held the sterling silver and alcohol backstock. Upper safes would have been owners safe plus a guest safe for any valuables guests staying the night would have wanted secured.

The 2 small closets that are fluting the main entryway to the home are coat checks from long ago. For large events and gatherings people would enter the home to have their coat/belongings checked by a valet attendants that were sitting down on chairs inside of the closet until the gathering was over!

It kinda looks like "Stately Wayne Manor" from the 1960's tv show Batman.

I see this as a luxury B&B. I couldn't even imagine it as a residential home. However, I don't know about the zoning in that area if that would be allowed to have anything commercial. But I see it as like a restaurant downstairs, a spa and just gorgeous bedroom suites upstairs for a B&B.

This was make an awesome B & B

Nice Infrastructure. Several options I see a bed and breakfast resort, Apartments, Or family home. Facilities for addiction rehabilitation.

It reminds me of Rose Red❤

Love it

Would make a great bed and breakfast. The location is great for visitors who want to see the sites in and around Detroit.

The room in the basement was used for an ice room and delivery of the milk 🥛,you called the room a secret room ❤❤❤👍👍👍😊😊😊

"What do we have here?" Reads note on trim... "Leave alone" 😂😂😂😂

I luv these brick buildings

I think it would be helpful to research and communicate basic historical info on the house. Knowledge of architectural terms applied to interiors would help your channel. Research on original floor plan would be helpful. Thanks for the tour!

When u said hidden rooms ! I would hope so in place so nice 😅

If you google bishops mansion Detroit floor plans…..you can find the floor plan of the place.

@lilithknight8607 31 seconds ago The area in the basement that you said you didnt understand was probably a food storage area ie (fruit, veggies, etc). They usually would make a lower area in the basement for it where it would be good and cold.. There was the door right next to it that went outside probably for deliveries and a dumbwaiter was near and the kitchen above it. Ive seen this in a few old mansions. This mansion is beautiful....thanks for the tour

so beautiful

I believe it's the Bishop's Mansion, home of the Catholic diocese Bishop. Palmer woods is a beautiful place.

I love the carriage house!

The new design was to complete a total of 5 bedroom suites. Too bad it cannot be a hotel where it is located.

there use to be a bowling alley in that house my friend lived across the street when the Bishop resided there in the early 80z

Those window like openings would have had decorative vent covers to help air out and dry your damp coats and shoes. Probably a his and hers side or one for owners and the other for guests.

Mike Morse or Dan Gilbert needs to buy this.

The writing on the wall “SIVE MANDUCATIS” etc. are bible verses from 1Corinthians 10:31. “Even when thou art employed in eating and drinking, and business of life, thou shalt not design thy bodily profit”. There is more to that. Verse, but you get the idea. Each word grouping is different verse.

These could be made into upper scaled apartments! Who wouldn't want to live in a piece of history!

Auction... man I was off by one or two numbers for that 1+ Billion dollars lottery... I would get something like this... 12 people lives are changed to become distinguished people from childhood to adulthood.... that is the academy... and we keep pumping out good people... hopefully they stay good... LOL

All these chateau had priest hides, were some of the hidden rooms and their own chapel. Imagine elegant ladies and gentlemen, dripping with jewels and servants and lots if bowing. Unreal but a joy to view and envision.

Please come back when the place is auctioned off and let us know what the purchase price was!

A little research before you made this video would have made this much more interesting.