Benjamin Siegel, born in Germany and educated in the elementary
and secondary schools of Mannheim, came to the United States in 1876. He
began his employment
by working in or managing a merchandise store in Selma, Alabama. He later did
similar work in retail trade in Arkansas, but he was much ahead of the wave
with regard to South to North migration. He arrived in rapidly growing Detroit
in 1881. He first managed the women’s apparel department in a Woodward
Avenue store. His talents let him prosper. He purchased the store and changed
the name to B. Siegel Company. By 1904, he located his store at Woodward and
State, selling upscale women’s, misses and children’s clothes and
furs to the silk stocking trade. Some young people toda, may not realize that
downtown Detroit, for the first half of the Twentieth Century, offered elegant
shopping similar to what you might now find in Park Avenue, New York or Michigan
Avenue in Chicago. After World War II, at least seven B. Siegel stores operated
in the metropolitan area, selling expensive women’s clothes. The firm
entered bankruptcy in 1981 and disappeared.
When it came to his choice of a residence, Benjamin Siegel was not modest. Albert
Kahn designed an Italianate villa of 13,000 square feet. It compliments very
well the impressive white S. S. Kresge home located next door built about
one year earlier.This Benjamin Siegel should not be confused with another Detroit resident of
the same name, the nationally known Bugsy Siegel who was, apparently, deeply
involved in the crime and violence of the city during prohibition.
Architect: Albert Kahn
Date of Construction: 1915
Architectural Style: Italianate mansion
Use in 2007:
City of Detroit Local Historic District: This home is located within the Boston-Edison
Historic District. This is a City of Detroit Designated Historic District and
is includedi n the State of Michigan and federal registers of historic places.
Description: Prepared in February, 2007
Photo: Andrew Chandler, July, 2004