Saturday, March 6, 2010

Vanished Rochester: The Haven

In the summer of 1926, industrialist Fred Marvin Shinnick began construction of a large country estate in Avon Township (now Rochester Hills), just west of the village of Rochester. Shinnick, who was born in Detroit in 1877, was secretary-treasurer of the Briggs Manufacturing Company, which during the period between the world wars was the nation's largest independent producer of automobile bodies. He also owned and operated the Rochester Dairy during the twenties.

Shinnick and his wife, the former Lillian Graham, located their new home on the former Manwaring farm on the north side of Walton Boulevard near Old Perch Road, and named it “The Haven.” The Rochester Era described the property for its readers in 1928:
The very handsome home completed a year a half ago stands back a full quarter of a mile from the road and is reached by a winding driveway. Built of red brick in old English style, it stands in spacious grounds containing 70 acres in all. At the back of the house is a lovely rock-garden and the ground slopes down to a fine natural pool with delightful woods and a ravine yet farther on. In front of the landscaping is still incomplete, although most attractive even in its present stage. Mr. and Mrs. Shinnick and their children lately returned from their respective schools, are all at home at present to enjoy their lovely surroundings.
The Clarion called The Haven “palatial,” and estimated that the cost of its construction exceeded $250,000. The home was lavishly appointed and even featured a two-manual Skinner pipe organ specifically designed for the space. (Pipe organ fans can click here to read the specs for the Shinnick instrument, Skinner op.599).

In 1932, according to Fred Shinnick's obituary, he and his wife Lillian decided to convert their home into a private psychiatric hospital. Their reasons were not stated, but the economic realities of the Great Depression were more than likely a major factor. Large estates were costly to operate and many passed out of private hands or were converted to other uses during the difficult Depression years.

Shinnick operated The Haven Sanitarium until his retirement in 1938, at which time his son, Graham, took over as hospital administrator. The Haven was known for treating well-to-do patients whose identities and privacy were carefully guarded. Rumors swirled that some of Hollywood's famous stars were numbered among its patients over the years.

There was an air of mystery surrounding The Haven, and children were spooked by it. Occasional news stories, such as this one from the Rochester Era in March, 1938, only served to increase the interest:
On Sunday, Sam Howlett was called to The Haven, west of Rochester on the Pontiac road, to participate in a hunt for a lunatic, who had escaped and fled across the fields fifteen minutes previously. Shortly after the call, police found the broken bonds which the prisoner had apparently cut with a hedge clipper in a garage back of the sanitorium and had vanished. While Chief Howlett was searching the section a report was phoned in to Deputy Ted Gunn that the fugitive was entering Rochester in the vicinity of Woodward street. Gunn immediately rushed to that street and seized him. Officials of The Haven conducted the patient to Receiving Hospital, Detroit, believing him too dangerous to keep at the sanitorium.
Notice the vocabulary that was used in those days: the individual is referred to as a “lunatic,” a “prisoner” and a “fugitive,” but not until the end of the article is he called a “patient.” No wonder the local kids were spooked by The Haven!

Not all of The Haven's publicity was negative, however. In 1949, Rochester made the magazine section of newspapers throughout the country when a feature appeared describing the “Rochester Plan,” a partnership between the school district and The Haven to provide mental health services to local students. The article by Robert Goldman, entitled “Rochester Counsels Its Children,” reported in its lead paragraph that the claim to fame for the quiet little village of Rochester, Michigan was that “it is the smallest town in the United States boasting a full-fledged psychological counseling program.”

The Haven operated as a psychiatric hospital for thirty-six years, but closed in 1968 due to declining occupancy and rising operating costs. The once grand Shinnick home sat vacant thereafter, and owing to its location so far off the main road, became a magnet for squatters, vandals and teens looking for a place to party. The caretaker and the Oakland County Sheriff's Department fought an ongoing battle to run the intruders off the property, but despite their efforts the old house was torn apart piece by piece.

Late in the evening of November 2, 1973, the Rochester Fire Department was called to a fire at The Haven. They found numerous problems in fighting the blaze and sounded two more alarms, answered by the Brooklands and Avondale departments. Fire department historian William A. Cahill recorded that the nearest hydrant was on the south side of Walton, so fire fighters had to lay 1,200 feet of hose to reach the house, and cars on Walton hampered their efforts by running over the hose line. Further, the heavy slate roof on the Tudor-revival house created an oven effect in the building. A large crowd of gawkers and onlookers added to the difficulties.

The end of The Haven came when the fire chewed away the roof supports and sent the heavy slate crashing down. Near dawn on November 3, after 40,000 gallons of water had been poured onto the blaze, the house was nothing but a smoldering ruin.

A few years after the fire, the property was redeveloped and became the Grosse Pines subdivision, but one reminder of The Haven still stands in testimony to the property's former use. The ledge rock wall and gates that adorned the Walton Boulevard frontage of The Haven property are yet visible among the tall pines at the entrance to the subdivision.

This postcard view of The Haven shows the ledge rock wall that is still visible today along Walton Boulevard.

31 comments:

  1. And I remember the day it burned... my dad had a police scanner and overheard the conversation whether to let it burn "a little longer" or knock the fire down - knowing that the last few years of its life, it was nothing but a teen party hangout...

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  2. I remember the Haven. I lived in Tienken Manor -the Sub next to it. We used to go there through the woods. The placed creeped us out. It's cool to find out a little about it's actual history. We even saw a padded room in there for the violent types.

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  3. the haven was a cool spot. i partyed there when I was a teen. had it not burned the developer was going to use the building as a community center for the new sub.

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  4. Well, I have to say how thrilled I was to open up this month's 'Remembering Rochester' and find an article on the Haven! I have been fascinated by this place since I was a young boy in the late '60s. Being a major fan of 'The Hardy Boys' mystery series for boys back then, you can well imagine all the 'mysteries' my friends and I concocted while 'visiting' the abandoned mansion numerous times during summer vacations. I remember the sad day when my mother told me it had burned down.

    I only have two photos of the place, the one posted here and another one from one of the Rochester history books. If anyone has others, especially in its abandoned years, I would love to see them. My e-mail is below.

    Submitted by John Mohr, jamohr2@yahoo.com

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  5. My dad was a biology teacher at RHS. I can remember when he would occasionally tutor students at the haven. One of the students used to make model airplanes, the kind tethered by a wire and that would fly around and around. He would spend hours making the plane then crash it on it's maiden flight. It was such a beautiful building and grounds that I hated to see it deteriorate when abandonded. Lee Rogers

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    1. I am pretty sure I was that boy. I was at the Haven for about a year in the early 50s. The plane was never a success. The Haven was a wonderful place that I still have fond memories of at age 80

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  6. My mother, Josephine Palmer, worked at The Haven as a beautician back in the late 1930s. She provided on-site, beauty salon services, including manicures and facials, to the well-to-do patients there.

    Ray Henry

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  7. I remember when the Haven burned, as well. Lived across the street on Wimpole and it was always a mysterious place to me. Learned more in this blog than I ever knew growing up so close to it.

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  8. MY COUSIN ALEX A. KING WORKED FOR THE HAVEN FOR A SHORT ERIOD OF TIME AND ONE DAY HE WAS PLAYING POOL WITH ONE OF THE RESIDENTS AND EVERYTHING WAS FINE...ARRIVED THE NEXT DAY TO FIND THE RESIDENT HAD GONE BESERK AND TORE UP THE REC ROOM....NOT THE SAFEST JOB AROUND.

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  9. Wow, am I glad to find this post. I moved to Rochester in 1972 when I was 10. Several times that summer and the following we would walk to Perry Drug store for candy and pass by the Haven and talk about it. A couple of times we mustered the courage to walk through it. I still remember the smell of mildew, slate tiles strewn about, and the generally advanced state of disrepair the place had fallen into by then. On one occasion when we mustered the courage to enter straightaway through the front, a couple of wild dogs ran towards us and chased us up one of the few trees in the giant field in front. Very scary moment and a lasting memory. Other times we snuck in through the back to explore the place. I've always wondered about its history beyond its reputation as a dilapidated "mental institution". Would love to see other photos too if any exist (jimkamp@yahoo.com).

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  10. I grew up in Rochester and I am thrilled to find this article. I went into the Haven with a few friends around 1968. It was cool but pretty spooky. The pool table was still there and I remember a beautiful living room (huge). Up stairs was creepy with medical equipment still around. I am glad we went in. It was a place of mystery to us kids and gave us something to remember. A nice piece of Rochester history.

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  11. In 1966 there was a horrific murder at a Southfield synagogue. A guy named Richard Wishnetsky shot and killed Rabbi Adler in front of his congregation,then turned the gun on himself. The incident made global news and, eventually, a book was written on the incident - "Murder in the Synagogue" by T.V. LoCicero, 1970, Prentice Hall, Inc.

    Get this: Wishnetsky was a patient at the Haven in 1965, shortly before he murdered Rabbi Adler. A chapter in the book details the Haven Sanitariium, the types of patients housed there (definitely more of hospital for the mentally ill vs. a Betty Ford-type rehab clinic). It housed up to 50 patients at a time.

    It's pretty wild to think that when we were little kids a hospital, just a few hundred feet from Oakstone/Fieldstone/Sandstone and I'm sure once referred to as an 'insane asylum,' housed someone(s) with the capacity to kill like Wishnetsky. What's even more unnerving is how the book documents him escaping at least once.

    Pat Schutte

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  12. Very interesting! Thanks for the additional information.

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  13. We moved to Rochester in 1970 and we lived off of Shagbark. I use to ride my motocross bike from my house down Walton blvd (under construction then) to the haven several of us built a track in there with a jump. Brings back some memories

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  14. I live in Grosse Pines where The Haven use to be. Passing the stone entrance each day gives me the chills. Does anyone have photos or scary memories of this place?

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  15. I knew Graham Shinnick after he retired from the Haven as director and never heard any of these stories. I was roommates with his daughter at college. He was such a gentle quiet intelligent man who appreciated the Arts. What a history.

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  16. I was a patient there about 1950-51 (age ~17). I recall the staff with great affection: I recall Graham Shinnick who built a photographic darkroom for me in a nook under the stairs. I recall two very nice nurses (Crawford & McCarthy). Don Krupp, a member of the yard staff, taught me how to fish. I may be the patient described above who flew (unsuccessfully) gas model airplanes.
    Without their structure and kindly forbearance, my teenage years would not have ended well.

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  17. So cool to see this--i went to the haven with my friends and i used to live off Shagbark (Tienken Manor) right next to this building. We went to see it we were just kids, and to have fun--scare ourselves-- and it was empty by then. but we lived near it when it was open in the 60's --something about the history and the abondoned remains...

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  18. ATTN REMEMBERING ROCHESTER AUTHOR/ADMIN:

    I am a contributing author on The Haven Sanitarium, a book about the the Haven. I would love to talk to you. 248 752 1103, klamb21@gmail.com. My name is Kevin.

    Also, anyone else with leads, stories, etc. feel free to comment/reach out!

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  19. This post is directed to "Anonymous" who shared his story with this blog on May 2, 2011, by briefly describing his experiences there while a young patient in the early 1950s. All I can say is, "Hat's off to you, Anonymous!" What a joyous, happy story is yours! You present an awesome degree of personal strength through your positive description of your experiences, when others in a similar situation (myself included, I suspect), could not muster such kind or happy words about their own experiences and memories. What also makes me happy is that, from what you say, it appears your life over the past 60 years has been relatively okay. You very charitably give credit in part to the "structure and kindly forbearance" (your words) which the many staff you encountered at the Haven provided to you. But in my mind, it is clear to me that you alone possess a highly admirable degree of character – one that allowed you to persevere and conquer whatever nightmares might have plagued you during those highly sensitive, formative years.

    Not to be redundant, but I feel it's necessary in this instance: so I repeat, HATS OFF TO YOU! ANYNOMOUS!

    John Mohr

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  20. Ken, I received an e-mail from Wendy shortly after I received your request. I know I said it in my repsonses, but I just have to say it here: I can't tell you how thrilled I am about the project you are undertaking. It's almost as if I'm dreaming this! You would think that, after 37 years, I would grow out of my fascination with the Haven, but it just seems to becomming more intensified. I would be happy to assist your team in whatever capacity you feel fit. My price can't be beat (I'm free), and my PR spin is: don't mention my name! Just the knowledge that I finally contributed to something historical in nature is enough so that I can go to my grave a happy man.

    John Mohr

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  21. I remember the Haven, I used to live on Wimpole drive 1960 to 83 . from 1972 until it burned a few of us would go to the Haven after school "West Jr High". That adventure was so intense and thrilling my memories are still so vivid it's like they happend yesterday. Steve T. Roger M. Mike K. my brother Matt ,Madonna C. and Paula C.Plus a few kids from other subs would make the hike that felt like a mile across the front yard . On several occations the caretaker would spot us and chase us with his car Baja style across the front yard wich used to be grass and had grown up like a field. His bumper would be right behind us as we ran as fast as we could. If we tripped and fell he would have run us over . Our plan before reaching the property was to split up and run in differant directions if the caretaker saw us .When we reached the house undetected we entered thru the front door at the turret. Next was the foyer and stright ahead the spiral stairs leading to the scond floor. to the right of the foyer was a chappel with blue carpeting past that the "Great room" wood floor and vaulted ceiling and big dark beams. A large fireplace was at the far end "East"A large organ pit on the left side as you enterd the room just about in the middle of the wall . The pit was about 8 feet deep and approx 8x8 beautiful double doors opened to a patio wich would be on the south side and visable from Walton.To the left was offices nurse desk and behind that the kitchen area. I also remember a small balcony in the great room that was accessed thru a small door on the second floor. One time the caretaker came in and snuck up the stairs and screamed "WHAT ARE YOU KIDS DOING HERE"the only way off the balcony was to run past him or drop to the floor below , I chose to jump! In the far corner of the great room was a side room with a clear view of the caretakers house . We would go in the basement past the big boilers and crawl thru the tunnels that were for plumbing and heat ect.I remember walking on the slate roof from the second story window by the turret. Green moss in spots and very steep and slippery . There was I.V stands rubber hoseses beds and other medical equipment around. Yes there was a padded room or two.Yellow paint peeling on the second floor . Around 1970 ish a group of young people "college students" I think filmed a movie there. A man came to our house and sat at the kitchen table with my mom and went over the script. We wanted to be in the movie but there was a nude scene and my mother would have no part of that. P.S We met the movie crew at the Haven one day and thats how we came to know about it.I think I could draw a floor plan from memory.On the thrid floor there was a bunch of little rooms, thats where the padded rooms were. Sometimes the care taker would fire a gun as he enterd the house and screemed What are you kids doing here ? GET OUT! We would scream like little girls bumping into each other not knowing wich way to run and running in circles like the little rascals .It was bail time, out windows thru doors or hide in a closet until he was gone. I remember the dogs but never had much trouble with them.As kids we were not distructive we would run up and down the stairs down the halls and screem "The caretaker" even if he wasnt around just to scare everybody and watch them run .I remember we called the caretaker a name like Barney Fife or something like that.The day it burned was very sad ,but I have wonderful memorys . We were kids in a much simpler time expolring ,discovering and just being kids.I would like to thank all for sareing your Haven memorys. Chris Doliber chrisdoliber@yahoo.com

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    1. Wow i thought i was only one who saw the padded rooms or the little doors or stairways that led to nowhere, i wanted to come back and check out the basement but it burned down before i could sneek out of West Jr. High again.-Jay

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  22. Hi Chris I remember you--your name from Rochester--this is Jill Ballantyne --you might remember me. i thought the padded rooms were in the basements?? either way, yes the haven was one of the most memorable "explorations" we had as kids. not to mentions the farms and exploring all the sub developments during building. I was in Rochester recently and it is so built up with so little room to breathe. Few land areas of and comforts of farms at all now. We were lucky kids to get t grow up in Rochester before it grew out of proportion--take care --Jill

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  23. Hello Jill, I remember you as well. I have not kept in touch with anyone from those day's so if you do tell them hello for me.Yes we were lucky to grow up in Rochester in that time. The farms,The barn's , Arts and apples ,The Floatable Boatable race, Ice skateing on the pond in back of the Police station, The subs under construction, And the Haven I'm so glad I did'nt have video games, A cell phone,I tunes, A computer, or any other distractions. I dont remember the padded room in the basement, but there may have been one there to. I remember a mechanics room and storage down there. The padded room I remember had a window up high like a sky light.email me if you would like to chat. My best to you, Chris

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  24. yes I so agree with you on all... in hindsight it was the best! Appreciation of it came later I suppose. No I don not talk with anyone from there, lost track of them or them me long ago. here is my email address creatingthevision@gmail.com
    I was just in Rochester last week, and it may be my last visit for, who knows, but a long time i think, it is too cold for me there :) I am in Florida, where are you now?
    love to talk,
    Jill

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  25. i went through this place shortly befor it burned down..... my friend and i, mike powell, finally got enough courage to go there , and i remember how exciting and scary it was approching the front entrace, and once inside, we explored a bit, but kept getting freaked out by creepy noises coming from everywhere..... we ended up running out of there like a demon was chasing us , never to return..... tom schulert

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  26. I also grew up in Rochester. I lived in Spring Hill off of Walton and Adams. I used to ride my bike over to my friends house on Texas Ave. The neighborhood kids and I would go there and tell ghost stories, scaring ourselves, lol I remember the caretaker chasing us once. lol It was a beautiful home at one time. I remember the padded walls. Scary to think that there were escapes as we lived in homes right in the "neighborhood."

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  27. I also grew up in Rochester on Clair Hill by West Jr. High. I always felt it was creepy when my parents would drive by. I heard Judy Garland was in the Haven for a time when it was used for rehab. I have to wonder if this place was part of the MKULTRA experiments that were used at this time. So many secrets. What determined the fire? Was it arson or electrical?

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  28. As I remember it was a Friday night and there were people there partying when the fire started. The power was not on there ,so I don't think it was electrical.

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  29. Actually I work at the Haven in 1959. It was my summer job after my freshman year in College. The nursing staff was terrific, most of the patients were under 30, and some were sent there because their parents "couldn't deal with them. It was hard to tell the staff from the clients - based on their behavior. But I was able to see positive changes taking place in some very "confused" young people.

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