Egyptomania in Detroit

NINTH DAY AWAY GUIDED BUS AND WALKING TOUR
Saturday, May 20, 9am - 5pm (Registration and Coffee at 8:30am)
Day began at Cranbrook Institute of Science
$135 (includes a $50 tax-deductible donation benefiting the Cranbrook Center)

PRESENTED BY THE CRANBROOK CENTER FOR COLLECTIONS AND RESEARCH IN COLLABORATION WITH CRANBROOK INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

EXPERTS INCLUDED:
Cameron Wood, Curator of Collections and Anthropology Educator, Cranbrook Institute of Science
Rob Moore, Head Docent, Detroit Masonic Temple
Kevin Adkisson, Collections Fellow, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
Stephen Pagnani, Director of Annual Giving Programs and Media Relations, Cranbrook Institute of Science

HOSTED BY:
Gregory Wittkopp, Director, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research

Presented in conjunction with Cranbrook Institute of Science and their royally-popular exhibition, Tutankhamun: "Wonderful Things" from the Pharaoh's Tomb (on view through September 3), the Center's spring 2017 trip explored the impact and legacy of Egyptian design in Detroit.
While the craze for all things Egyptian - Egyptomania - started in the 19th century following Napoleon's conquest of Egypt, it again became a national obsession in the 20th century immediately after Howard Carter's discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922.

The Day Away began with a behind-the-scenes tour of the Institute's Tutankhamun exhibition—a dazzling collection of 113 reproductions from the richest archaeological find of all time—led by the exhibition's venue curator, Cameron Wood. A focus of the tour was the Sacred Burial chamber, where we learned more about the Egyptian funeral rituals that many wealthy Americans emulated through the opulence of their own mausoleums. 

After Cranbrook, we traveled by motor coach to Detroit's Masonic Temple—the largest building of its kind in the world. Construction began on "The Masonic" in 1920 and was completed in 1926, just four years after the opening of Tutankhamun's sealed tomb. Even if participants toured The Masonic, chances they had not seen the magnificent Egyptian Lodge Room, which is closed to all regular visitors and tours of the building. Designed by Detroit architect George Mason (1856 - 1948), whose earlier works with Zachariah Price include the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island and the Detroit homes of James E. Scripps and George and Ellen Booth, The Masonic's design included three theaters, a Shrine building, the Chapel, eight lodge rooms, a 17,500 square foot drill hall, two ballrooms, office space, a cafeteria, dining rooms, a barber shop, 16 bowling lanes, as well as a powerhouse that generated all electricity for the complex. While we weren't able to see all 1037 rooms in The Masonic (yes, 1037!), we explored some of the most notable spaces, including the Egyptian Lodge Room.

By this time, we were ready for lunch (not to mention a glass of wine or beer) - always a highlight of the Center's Day Away trips. Located in Detroit's former Chinatown neighborhood, just a few blocks north of The Masonic, The Peterboro is the newest addition to the Detroit Optimist Society's collection of dining and drinking establishments, which started with The Sugar House on Michigan Avenue. While Egypt may not be the inspiration for The Peterboro's contemporary American Chinese dishes (HOUR Detroit calls them "masterful"), the starters, entrees, and desserts formed a meal worthy of a Pharaoh.

The Peterboro

Our last stop was the storied Woodlawn Cemetery, just south of 8 Mile Road. Established in 1895, Woodward Lawn Cemetery, as it originally was called, immediately attracted some of Detroit's most notable families. While our trip focused on five private Egyptian-revival mausoleums, including the stunning sphinx-guarded Dodge Brothers mausoleum (the resting place of Horace Elgin and John Francis of Dodge Motors fame), our bus and walking tour included the Heckler mausoleum, commissioned by railroad car baron Colonel Frank Hecker and designed by world-renowned American architect Stanford White, as well as the James Couzens mausoleum, designed by Albert Kahn, among others.

ITINERARY
8:30 - 9:00am
Registration and Coffee
Cranbrook Institute of Science
39221 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304

9:00 - 9:45am
Guided Tour of Tutankhamun: "Wonderful Things" from the Pharaoh's Tomb
Cameron Wood, Curator of Collections and Anthropology Educator, Cranbrook Institute of Science

10:00am
Bus Departed from Cranbrook Institute of Science

10:45am - 12:45pm
Guided Tour of the Masonic Temple
Rob Moore, Head Docent, Detroit Masonic Temple
500 Temple Street, Detroit

1:00 - 2:30pm
Private Lunch at The Peterboro
420 Peterboro Street, Detroit

3:00 - 4:30pm
Guided Tour of Woodlawn Cemetery
Kevin Adkisson, Collections Fellow, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
Stephen Pagnani, Director of Annual Giving Programs and Media Relations, Cranbrook Institute of Science
19975 Woodward Avenue, Detroit

5:00pm
Bus Returned to Cranbrook Institute of Science

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The cost of this all-inclusive guided tour was $135 per person, which included a $50 tax-deductible gift to the Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research. 

photo credits 

Dodge Brothers Mausoleum, Woodlawn Cemetery, Detroit; Photography Courtesy Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research.
The Peterboro, Detroit; Photography Courtesy The Peterboro and the Detroit Optimist Society.