1950 time capsule house with 7 vintage bathrooms — Grosse Point Park, Mich.

An email tip from reader Anne led us to this stunning time capsule house in time capsule house in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, which is listed for sale by Kay Agney from Higbie Maxon Agney Realtors. (Trivia: GPP is yet another city where Pam has lived.) This stately house is a stunner indeed. And if you were in disbelief at our recent Portland, Oregon, house with five vintage pastel bathroom, well, hold on to your hat, because this Michigan beauty counts seven — yes, that’s seven — vintage pastel tiled bathrooms. (The listing says it has six because they can not technically count the bath in the basement, we are told.) Other exciting details in the house are a garden entryway with an amazing vintage tile fountain and coordinating patterned tile on the walls and floors, a curved staircase and several fantastic retro rec rooms. Thanks to Matti from Mixed Media, we have both wonderful photos of this property and a very extensive video tour (link now gone) to drool over, too. Not only does this house have unique details — but it also has an interesting history — involving a possible secret passage.

From the listing:

• Price: $849,000
• Year built: 1950
• Square footage: 7,481
• Bedrooms: 5
• Bathrooms: 7

This fabulous and lovingly maintained Georgian Colonial features an interesting history! The updated kitchen will delight any chef, the spacious bedrooms have private baths, and the 2nd floor family room offers a wet bar and bath! Paneled library, garden room with a fountain, and beautiful grounds are only the beginning! Finished lower level with wine cellar, rec room, 2nd kitchen and 6th full bath! Extensive use of Italian marble and custom tile! Located on a Boulevard one block from elementary school!

I asked Kay for more information about the “interesting history of the house.” It turns out that the first owner in the 1950s was said to have a prominent position in Detroit organized crime, and rumor has it that there is a tunnel from this house to the one next door, where another member of the syndicate lived. It’s believed that the entrance to the secret passage is now walled off by a rebuilt cinder block wall just outside the basement entrance of the home.

A subsequent owner reportedly lost his wealth on Black Monday 1987, and sold off valuable original pieces of the original house — including a Rosenthal chandelier from the dining room and lion statues from the front entrance. It’s also believed that he much of the home’s woodwork in the fireplace for heat. The house ultimately was purchased by investors, who renovated to restore the house to its former glory. The current owners are the fifth owners of the home — and over the years, they also have continued to restore and maintain this beautiful property.

We are pretty darn sure in our guess that the tile and fixtures in all the bathrooms are original. Look closely — three of the bathrooms have tile covering not just the walls and floor, but also the ceiling.

The pink bathroom has a shower, tub and a dressing area.

The profile of the mirror/medicine cabinet in this white and burgundy bath is awesome — and the tile so nicely edges the room’s windows and floor.

Here’s a combination we don’t see every day — a vintage maroon and grey tiled bathroom where maroon is the main color. The hex tile floor with flower motif is so charming.

By the time we get to the 7th bathroom — all the colors must have been used up. Even though it is only white on white — the basket weave tile floor adds interest. We’ll hazard a guess — housekeeper’s bathroom?

If the seven vintage ceramic tile bathrooms didn’t impress you — this tile entryway — dubbed “the garden room” sure will. Detroit is home to the famous Pewabic Tile company. We wonder if this is Pewabic.

Just look at the beautiful pattern on the walls and floor — and then there is tile work on the fountain — amazing.

Also of note — this game room with inset linoleum flooring in a fun argyle like pattern. The warm fall colors are a wonderful complement to the wood paneling on the walls — we’re ready for a Ping Pong tournament, for sure!

Just when you thought the surprises were over — check out this vintage yellow steel kitchen in the basement. Pam calls these as: American Brand cabinets — if you squinch your eyes, you can see the hold in the center of the base cabinet doors where the cabinet pull went. 52PnB, do you agree?

Mega thanks to Kay Agney from Higbie Maxon Agney Realtors for allowing us to feature this wonderful property… to Matti from Mixed Media for allowing us to feature his photos and video of this truly beautiful time capsule house… and to reader Anne for the time capsule tip. Honestly, readers, you are just the greatest with all these tips — keep them coming! ?

The 411:

• If you are interested in learning more about this property, contact Kay Agney: office (888) 886-4060 or email her at kay@higbiemaxon.com.
• See the complete listing here.

To see more, larger pictures — view the slide show below. Tips to view slide show: Click on first image… it will enlarge and you can also read my captions… move forward or back via arrows below the photo… you can start or stop at any image: