The Detroit Yacht Club has created a namesake foundation to help preserve its historic structure on Belle Isle.
The
Detroit Yacht Club is a private sailing club founded in 1868 and its current Mediterranean-villa-style clubhouse was designed by
George Mason (who also designed
Mackinac Island's Grand Hotel and
Detroit's Masonic Temple) and opened in 1923. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places last year.
The Detroit Yacht Club Foundation is a nonprofit that will focus on fundraising and coordinating the preservation of the yacht club's nearly 100-year-old clubhouse. Although the building itself is still sound, the foundation will focus on securing and preserving its envelope features, such as its roof, walls, doors and windows.
"All of these areas are 89 years old," says Mark Lifter, president of the
Detroit Yacht Club Foundation. "With Michigan's freeze-and-thaw cycles, water always finds a way."
The Detroit Yacht Cub Foundation's first order of business is to conduct an engineering study of the building before moving forward with any improvements. In the meantime the foundation is working on raising money and resources from members and people with a connection to the yacht club.
"Over time, there are probably millions of people with a connection or an affinity for the Detroit Yacht Club," Lifter says.
Source: Mark Lifter, president of the Detroit Yacht Club Foundation
Writer: Jon Zemke
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