A Look Inside the Former Mansion of Edsel Ford: Lake St. Clair

It's always quizzical to see how the rich and famous live. Why on earth would a couple like Edsel and Eleanor Ford want a mansion with too many amenities...more than the two of them could handle?

For entertaining the other rich and famous luminaries, that's what.

Located at 1100 Lake Shore Drive on the shore of Lake St. Clair, it started construction in 1926 and wasn't ready to move into until 1928. They needed two years to get all their furnishing and fittings intact:

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1) Antique wood paneling
2) Sterling silver kitchen counters
3) Secret photo darkroom hidden behind a wall panel
4) Eight-car garage (with turntable to rotate the cars so there was no need for backing out)
5) Gate House with apartments
6) Lagoon
7) Power house
8) Playhouse (with electricity and plumbing)
9) Recreation house
10) Squash court
11) Swimming pool
12) Numerous fireplaces

The two lived in this mansion for fifteen years until Edsel kicked off in 1943. Eleanor stood firm and refused to move...she stayed in that house until she passed away in 1976.

Would Eleanor pass this on to her kids? No way. Not one relative was to get their hands on it – it was Eleanor's last wish was for the mansion to be used by the public and it currently gives guided tours.

POSTSCRIPT:
Even though Edsel Ford did design some decent automobiles, he will always be remembered for being the namesake of the automobile industry's biggest boner: “The Edsel”, one of the biggest vehicle blunders ever.

Now have a look inside his former residential palace...