Palmer Log Cabin Porch Restoration(Pro Bono) October 25, 2016 | PALMER PARK, DETROIT
The Palmer Log Cabin was built in 1885. The architects were George D. Mason and Zachariah Rice who later mentored famed Detroit Architect Albert Kahn. The cabin is basically a balloon framed Victorian house wrapped in a log veneer. The cabin's original porch greeted many important guests while senator Palmer lived there. The original porch had fallen into decay and was removed during the 1980's. The absence of the porch made it difficult to safely enter the cabin and it also allowed the remaining porch roof to sag nearly to its breaking point. When the City of Detroit committed to stabilize the cabin against further decay in 2016, it was decided that the reconstruction of the porch was necessary to fully stabilize the roof so that new cedar shingles could be applied. Since the budget for stabilization was very tight, our firm committed to design a new porch pro bono. Our firm is committed to performing at least one such community service project annually. Given the close proximity and importance of Palmer Park to the neighborhood in which we live and work, we hope to help out with future park renovations in the future.