Somerset Apartments

Somerset Apartments was a five-building residential complex with each unit standing four stories tall, stretching back from Jefferson Avenue with limestone and brick facades. The complex housed 80 residential units spread across approximately 45,000 square feet of living space.

Architect C. Howard Crane designed this complex in 1922 using Georgian-style proportions and classical details. It gained National Register of Historic Places status in 1985 before being demolished in 2014.

This residential complex embodied middle-class living standards of the 1920s, when Detroit's automobile industry drove demand for quality apartment housing in the city. The buildings reflected what prosperous residents wanted from urban homes during that era of industrial growth.

The complex was located at 1523 East Jefferson Avenue in the Jefferson Corridor neighborhood, surrounded by other residential buildings and historic structures. Although the building no longer stands, visitors can explore the surrounding area to see other examples of architecture from that era.

The buildings featured symmetrical designs with arched windows on the ground floor and an ornate dentiled cornice with white frieze along the roofline. These classical design elements were characteristic of Georgian architecture and made the complex a notable example of this style in Detroit.