Detroit-based home rehabilitator Nicole Curtis is opening the Detroit Ransom Gillis House to the public for the first time in over a decade.
On Sunday, June 7, people interested in viewing the Gilded Age mansion in Brush Park can line up outside of it from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a tour, according to her Instagram and email newsletter.
The Venetian Gothic home, located at 205 Alfred St. in Detroit’s Historic Brush Park, was originally built in 1876. The property had been vacant since the late 1960s before its transformation in 2015, as documented on Curtis’ former HGTV show, “Rehab Addict.”
“Rehab Addict” was removed from HGTV in February after a clip of Curtis saying the n-word on set went viral. She has since said the clip was from 2022 and publicly apologized for saying the word, which she has said was released as blackmail against her.
This will be the last time the house is open to the public, according to an Instagram post by Curtis on May 31. Originally, the open house was planned for Saturday, June 6, and was postponed to Sunday due to rain in the forecast.
About the Ransom Gillis House
The historic home has two units and is framed by contemporary townhomes with a turret at the front-left corner. According to previous Free Press reporting, one available condo up for sale in 2024 spanned 4,000 square feet across three levels. It hit the market for $2.5 million.
The house was built for Ransom Gillis, a wholesale dry goods merchant, between 1876 and 1878. It was designed by Henry T. Brush and his assistant George D. Mason, who would go on to become a prolific Detroit architect, according to Historic Detroit.
Gillis sold the property shortly after it was built, and eventually, the main structure was turned into a rooming house. Its carriage house, originally built to store horse-drawn carriages, became a pottery, an auto repair shop, a battery service shop and a filling station over the years before being turned into a restaurant from 1935 until the 1960s, according to Historic Detroit. The building was torn down in the 2000s.
In the 1970s, 1980s and mid-2000s, various attempts were made to restore the main structure.
In March 2015, Nicole Curtis announced she would renovate the Gillis House, which was owned by Quicken Loans when she rehabbed it. In November 2015, thousands people waited in a long line to see the house. That is the last time it has been open to the public.
The renovation process was aired on HGTV. There are six hours worth of episodes that combine over 2,000 hours that Curtis said she dedicated to the Ransom Gillis House, spending every night from August to November 2015 there, according to an Instagram post by Curtis in 2024 on the ninth anniversary of her opening the house to the public.
“In 2015, I did this house for a few reasons 1. To save it from being like what the rest of Brush Park had turned into — big blobs of architectural nothingness 2. To save this house it was not a financial gain for me, it was not enjoyable, it was Hell, but I was there to do right by that house,” according to the post on Nov. 2, 2024.
Episodes of “Rehab Addict” are no longer on streaming platforms as of Curtis’ removal from HGTV in February.
How to see the Ransom Gillis House this weekend
According to Curtis’ newsletter, everyone lined up by 1 p.m. will be able to enter the house, though she said in an Instagram post on Thursday, June 4, “I will have a naughty list and anyone who’s been a jerk —you’re on it, photo and all (not kidding).”
The line will begin at 10:30 a.m. To enter the property, people will need an ID and to sign a release. Children under 18 will need to have their release signed by a parent or guardian.
It will cost $15 cash to enter. The event is a fundraiser for “a local Detroit family that needs our help,” according to Curtis’s newsletter sent Friday morning.
A Free Press inquiry for more information about the event and the fundraiser received no immediate response.
It will be first-come, first-served, though people with limited mobility and young children can join the VIP line. Everyone in line by 1 p.m. will get the chance to go in.
Contact Natalie Davies at ndavies@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Nicole Curtis to open historic Detroit mansion to public for last time
Reporting by Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Natalie Davies, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
