Brush Park Historic District Edmund Brush was a successful Detroit entrepreneur who came into possession of his grandparent's farmland--land that had, apparently, been given to his grandfather in appreciation for his service to the country in the Revolutionary War. In the mid-1800s, Edmund saw the potential for developing this land as a neighborhood of fine homes for the city's successful businesspeople. As developer, Brush took the liberty of naming the streets after his friends and relatives: Adelaide was his mother, Alfred his brother, Winder and Watson were the surnames of his friends. Of course, both Edmund and Brush were for Brush himself (from Detroit1701.org). As development moved outward from the city along Woodward Avenue, facilitated at first by streetcars, and then automobiles, new areas superseded Brush Park as the city's prestige address. Boston-Edison, three miles up Woodward, is perhaps the most notable. Brush Park steadily declined during the depression years and deterioration accelerated after WWII. The 1990s, however, saw the beginning of serious efforts to save and renovate the beautiful old homes. More recently, new construction cropped up on the vacant land where homes which were too far gone to save had been removed. 91 Alfred Street In the top photo, the James V. Campbell house as it looked in 1881. The second photo shows the same location in 2011, 130 years later. Due to changes in the street numbering system, this is now 261 Alfred Street. James V. Campbell (1823 - 1890), served as a justice on the Supreme Court of Michigan from 1857 to 1890, and as secretary of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan for two years. He taught at the University of Michigan Law School from 1859 to 1890.