Today I have a then and now for you that’s going to blow you away…
Behind the new facade of the Janisse Brothers Funeral Home….
… You will find the Leo Page Mansion. (Photo from the Virtual Motor City Project)
A trip around back reveals the truth about what lies behind that modern brick facade.
Original detailing remains on the chimney.
A view from the side shows where old and new meet.
A picture of the Page house from the Border Cities Star in 1924. Leo Page started out as the postmaster of the settlement known as Ojibwa (before being renamed Ojibway in 1913), he also ran a general store in conjunction with the Post Office.
Sometime around 1913, he teamed up with Albert F. Healy and Alberie Chappus to form the Healy-Page-Chappus Real Estate Company. They cashed in on the boom and speculation surrounding the new steel city of Ojibway and sold tons of property in and adjacent to the town. While the metropolis of Ojibway never came to be, the three gentlemen apparently made out alright, judging from the size of Mr. Page’s house.
Of all the subdivisions they carved up, only one remains today as it was laid out. They were responsible for the establishment of Brighton Beach on the Wright Farm. They purchased the farm in 1913 for a reported $225,000, the equivalent of about $4.3 million in today’s dollars.
Today the Healy-Page-Chappus company lives on at least for a little while longer, in the street names of Brighton Beach.