MI Dream Home: Boston-Edison estate once owned by Kresge family Detroit — Secret passageways, a vault room and a "butler's stairway" give evidence that a wealthy family lived in this mansion in Detroit's Boston-Edison Historic District. Not just any wealthy family, but that of S.S. Kresge, the founder of Kresge stores, aka Kmart. The three-story mansion with two carriage houses and a playhouse for children at 70 W. Boston Blvd. is listed for $2.5 million. It's been on the market since 2022. Roland Radinski, founder of software manufacturing company Radley Corp., bought the home in 1993 and has spent the last three decades as a "guardian of history," he said. The home, a 16,000-square-foot mansion, was built in 1914 and "we had to restore the whole thing," Radinski said. "It was unfurnished, too, so I spent the first two years of living here going to auctions to buy stuff to furnish it, and there's a story behind every piece." The home has 14 bedrooms and eight bathrooms. He found rare antiques that are placed throughout the mansion such as wardrobes; a 1916 Chickering piano with iron keys; a Tiffany grandfather clock; black walnut dressers from 1860 placed in its 75-yard central hallway; 700-pound marble statues from the Four Seasons in its vestibule; Victorian furniture; a 1916 pool table in the game room; Waterford crystal chandelier accompanying a Limoges China set and a table and chairs from the Fisher Mansion in its formal dining room; and multiple pieces of furniture from John Salley's Palmer Woods estate sale. Radinski is offering the home completely furnished. Many features of the home have their original integrity from when the Kresges occupied it, like oakwood cabinets found in the kitchen as well as its original refrigerator, now used for storage in a powder room with its original toilet, and ice storage space. Sensor lights were added throughout the house. In the basement, there's a gardener's root cellar, a walk-in bank vault room with the original door and combination lock for storage of monies, a large dog kennel, and a dumbwaiter for the staff to send the silverware to the main floor. The Kresges built space for staff in the home. There's a telephone booth and small dining area near the butler's pantry, which has updated marble countertops. The stairway nearby is the only one that leads to the third floor where there are multiple bedrooms, storage and lounge space. "There's no shortage of room," he said. The third floor also has windows on the ceiling, a cedar storage room and a "secret" room accessible behind a large dresser. On the second floor, all of the bedrooms are connected. For example, from the primary en suite — which has a "sleeping porch" designed for warmer months — a doorway leads to another bedroom that has a doorway that leads to a bathroom, which has a doorway that leads to another bedroom, and so on. Radinski said he believes the rooms were made this way in case of emergency, anyone in any bedroom could get to primary en suite. For fun indoors, the owner did archery in the long hallway and outside on the home's 4 acres, Radinski planted bamboo, Siberian squills and constructed koi ponds. The garden often sees pheasants, bunnies, cooper's hawks and other wildlife. "(I have) my own private park," Radinski said. "In California, this would be like $50 million." The carriage houses, built originally for the home's full-time gardener and the other for coal stokers, are used as apartments rented out to people looking for a residence with two bedrooms, a full kitchen, living room and basement. "Perfect house with someone with a car collection," Radinski said, noting the three-car garage and the two-car garages that are attached to the carriage houses can house up to nine cars. It has easy access to I-75, I-94, and US 10, and Detroit Metro Airport is about a 30-minute drive. See the listing here. For other listings, go here. mjohnson@detroitnews.com @_myeshajohnson This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: MI Dream Home: Boston-Edison estate once owned by Kresge family

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