A hundred years ago, the Masonic Lodge (23715 Farmington Road) doubled as Farmington Township Hall. It also hosted talent shows, lectures, Eastern Star dances, political meetings, and basketball games—although some council members thought the games shouldn’t be allowed, as the basketball sometimes crashed into the electric lights. In summer, a band played on the lawn every Saturday night.
Check out the then-and-now slider here.
Historic photo from the Farmington Community Library Heritage Room. Contemporary photo by Maria Taylor.
VINTAGE POINT is Preservation Farmington’s photo column, featuring an exclusive focus on Farmington history: a look at our city through the lens of time. Look for Vintage Point every other week in the Farmington Observer and Farmington Voice and on our Facebook and Twitter pages. We also keep an archive of all past issues on our website under the Vintage Point tab.
Maybe you love old houses—restoring them, living in them, touring them, photographing them. Or maybe you’ve walked through the Farmington Historic District so many times that you can identify the houses by color: the blue one on Warner, at the end of Oakland, or the orange one on Grand River, across from the Warner Mansion.
Just like clothing, architectural styles change according to tastes, the political climate, and new expressions of creativity. Speaker Jena Stacey will give a virtual tour of the neighborhoods, showing photos of local Farmington/Farmington Hills architecture—both well-known and obscure—to illustrate how building styles have changed since the 1800s and created the community we know today.
PRESERVATION FARMINGTON 