Western House - Brighton Hotel - Brighton, Michigan
Posted by: 
GT.US
N 42° 31.760 W 083° 47.112
17T E 271249 N 4712310
The Western House Building sits at 500 W. Main street, which is at the western end of the old Brighton Main street.
Waymark Code: WM8791
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 02/13/2010
Views: 4
The Michigan Preservation website at (
visit link) tells us:
The Western House is a three-story, Italianate, brick structure which retains many original detailings. A simple cornice still graces the former hotel, the tallest building in the surrounding streetscape of downtown Brighton. The remarkable building continues to display the original arrangement of doors and windows on the public facades. Simple brick pilasters accentuate the corners and frame the central bay of the five bay front. A wide brick frieze and bracketed metal cornice crown the building. The doors and windows possess the characteristic curves of the commercial Italianate style. The first floor features fully arched windows and fanlights above the doors. A belt course separates the first and second floors on the more elaborate sides.
The high degree of architectural integrity still present in the Western House constitutes an important part of the brick Italianate structure's significance. Another central component is the building's ability to illustrate a major period of expansion for the City of Brighton. The railroad's arrival at a critical point in 1871 precipitated a time of prosperity and building for both the community and the state that was cut short by the economic reversals which began in 1873. The boom resulting from the 1871 arrival of the railroad brought Brighton its first bank, first newspaper since 1843, and a two-fold increase in population. To take advantage of the railroad trade and transient population, the Western House was built in 1873 on Main Street next to the tracks and near the Detroit, Lansing and Northern Railroad depot. The building was erected by Asa Rounsifer, a local farmer who lost both the hotel and most of his farm land by 1875, probably due to the widespread bank failures and deflation of late 1873. The Rounsifer House, as it was first known, was purchased by Johannah and A.W. Smith who rechristened the building the Western House. The rise in popularity of the automobile, which resulted in traffic focused on Grand River rather than Main Street and the decline in passenger railroad service led to the hotel's decline after 1900. Today, after interior and exterior renovation, the Western House provides office space on the ground level but still maintains the upper floors as rooms for rent."