When Aretha Franklin sought a second metro Detroit home as a creative sanctuary and hub for her famously lavish parties, she found the ideal spot.
In March 1994, she purchased the Rose Estate, a gorgeous Palmer Woods property situated along the ninth hole of the Detroit Golf Club. Once owned by artist and activist Patricia Hill Burnett, the 5,623-square-foot Detroit house became a regal complement to the Queen of Soul’s primary residence in Bloomfield Hills.
But over time — and amid the singer’s worsening health — Franklin abandoned the property, eventually boarding up the windows as the 1927 home fell into increasing decay. When her estate unloaded the house for $300,000 following Franklin’s 2018 death, selling it to a Michigan developer, it was in desperate need of major work.
Enter Detroiter Trevor Thomas and his partner, Brandon Lynum, who proved to be more than up for the demanding project tucked away on a quiet, leafy stretch of Hamilton Road.
A view of the Tudor style Great Hall built in 1927 has 28-foot ceilings in The Rose Estate in Detroit that was once owned by Aretha Franklin as a home where she entertained. (Ryan Garza/USA TODAY)
This summer, the couple unveiled a year’s worth of intensive work on the Rose Estate, the first in a three-stage, multimillion-dollar restoration that promises to return the property to its former glory.
And it has become more than just a home for Thomas and Lynum: While they’ve been careful to maintain the integrity of the original house — down to the smallest fireplace details — they’ve also transformed it into something of an Aretha museum, lining the walls with photos and memorabilia from the singer’s storied life in music and civil rights.
And now the Rose Estate is already quietly emerging as a go-to Detroit destination for non-profit benefit events, school tour groups and other functions, while welcoming Franklin fans to a place that once housed her beloved red piano and pink bedroom set.
“People get emotional here,” Thomas said last week during a tour of the Tudor house, which has been festively outfitted in Christmas decor for the holidays. “If they want to have a moment alone, we let them do that.”
Franklin would have appreciated the holiday trimmings: The Thanksgiving-Christmas period was her favorite time of the year.
One of the folks stirred by a return visit to the restored house is Linda Solomon, a photographer and journalist who was a close friend of both Franklin and…
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