Rosa Parks Flat

United States historic place

Parks, Rosa L. (McCauley) and Raymond, Flat

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Interactive map

Location| 3201-3203 Virginia Park St.
Detroit, Michigan
Coordinates| 42°21′52″N 83°6′35″W﻿ / ﻿42.36444°N 83.10972°W﻿ / 42.36444; -83.10972Coordinates: 42°21′52″N 83°6′35″W﻿ / ﻿42.36444°N 83.10972°W﻿ / 42.36444; -83.10972
Built| c. 1917
Architectural style| Craftsman
MPS| The Civil Rights Movement and the African American Experience in 20th Century Detroit MPS
NRHP reference No.| 100006131[1]
Added to NRHP| February 5, 2021

The Rosa L. (McCauley) and Raymond Parks Flat, or simply the Rosa Parks Flat, is a two-story brick duplex located at 3201-3203 Virginia Park Street in Detroit, Michigan. The building is significant as the home of civil rights icon Rosa Parks, who lived in the first floor flat with her husband Raymond from 1961 to 1988. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.[1]

## Contents

* 1 Building History
* 2 Rosa Parks
* 3 Description
* 4 References

## Building History[edit]

The neighborhood around this duplex was being developed in the 1910s, and the duplex itself was likely built in 1917. The first resident of the first floor flat was Frank A. Miller, a patternmaker who lived there with his wife and family. Miller lived there in the early 1930s, and James Mondes, a store clerk, occupied the flat in the late 1930s through about World War II. This also marked a time of transition for the neighborhood, which until this time consisted of white, predominantly blue-collar workers. After World War II, the neighborhood gradually transitioned to majority African American residents.[2]

## Rosa Parks[edit]

After the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955, Rosa Parks and her husband Raymond were the target of harassment in Montgomery. In 1957, they decided to move to Detroit, settling in with Parks's brother. However, couple struggled economically over the next few years, with both finding it difficult to find employment. They moved to a few different addresses, and by 1960 their plight began to draw attention. In early 1961, Raymond Parks found employment at a barber shop and Rosa Parks began work at the Stockton Sewing Company, and the couple were able to afford to move into the ground floor of this duplex.[2]

During her time living in this flat, Rosa Parks continued her civil rights activism. In 1965, newly elected Congressman John Conyers hired her to work in his office. Parks participated in numerous civil rights actions in Detroit and throughout the nation. However, by the 1970s both Rosa Parks and Raymond Parks were experiencing health issues, and Raymond died in 1977. Rosa continued to work for Conyers and live in the flat until 1988, when she retired and moved into a house a dozen blocks north. She lived there until 1994, when she moved to Riverfront Towers.[2]

## Description[edit]

The Rosa Parks Flat is a two-and-one-half story Craftsman style building, sited on a corner lot. The elevations facing the streets are faced with dark red brick, while the remaining elevations are faced with common orange brick. The building has a hipped roof covered with asphalt shingles. A hipped dormer projects from the roof at the front. A full-length front porch runs along the front, with brick piers supporting a second-story open porch above. Two entry doors are placed on each side of the porch, between which is a bay window. All of the windows on the front aredouble-hung, one-over-one wood sash units.[2]

The first floor flat, which was occupied by the Parkses, contains a small front foyer through which doors lead to the dining room and the living room, which contains the three-sided bay window with double-hung sash. From the dining room, a door opens into the front bedroom and a short hallway leads to the kitchen at the rear of the house. A door in the hallway leads to a second bedroom, and another door leads to the bathroom. Other than some replacement doors, the structure appears nearly identical to what it looked like at the time Rosa and Raymond Parks occupied it.[2]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Weekly List 2021 02 05". National Park Service. February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
2. ^ a b c d e Saundra Little, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Parks, Rosa (McCauley) and Raymond, Flat

* v
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National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, Michigan

Historic districts|

* Annapolis Park Historic District
* Arden Park–East Boston Historic District
* Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church
* Belle Isle Park
* Beverly Road Historic District
* Boston–Edison Historic District
* Broadway Avenue Historic District
* Brush Park Historic District
* Capitol Park Historic District
* Cass–Davenport Historic District
* Cass Park Historic District
* Cherry Hill Historic District
* Church of the Transfiguration Historic District
* Corktown Historic District
* Cultural Center Historic District
* Detroit Financial District
* Eastern Market Historic District
* East Ferry Avenue Historic District
* East Grand Boulevard Historic District
* East River Road Historic District
* Eastside Historic Cemetery District
* Fort Wayne
* Grand Circus Park Historic District
* Greektown Historic District
* Grosse Pointe Academy
* Grosse Pointe South High School
* Helen Newberry Nurses Home
* Highland Heights–Stevens' Subdivision Historic District
* Indian Village Historic District
* Jefferson–Chalmers Historic Business District
* Jefferson Intermediate School
* John and Edna Truesdell Fischer Farmstead
* Jos. Campau Historic District
* Louis G. Redstone Residential Historic District
* Lower Woodward Avenue Historic District
* Medbury's–Grove Lawn Subdivisions Historic District
* Midtown Woodward Historic District
* Michigan Avenue Historic Commercial District
* Monroe Avenue Commercial Buildings
* New Amsterdam Historic District
* New Center Commercial Historic District
* Northville Historic District
* Norwayne Historic District
* Palmer Park Apartment Building Historic District
* Palmer Park Boulevard Apartments District
* Palmer Woods Historic District
* Park Avenue Historic District
* Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District
* Randolph Street Commercial Buildings Historic District
* Rosedale Gardens Historic District
* Rosedale Park Historic District
* St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Parish Complex
* St. Florian Church
* Springwells Park Historic District
* Sugar Hill Historic District
* Virginia Park Historic District
* Warren–Prentis Historic District
* Washington Boulevard Historic District
* Wayne State University Buildings
* West Canfield Historic District
* West Vernor–Junction Historic District
* West Vernor–Lawndale Historic District
* West Vernor–Springwells Historic District
* West Village Historic District
* Willis–Selden Historic District
* Woodbridge Historic District
* Woodward East Historic District

Historic properties|

* Albert Kahn House
* Alden Park Towers
* Alexander Chapoton House
* Alexander Chene House
* Alger Theater
* Alpha House
* Amity Lodge No. 335 Temple — Spiritual Israel Church and Its Army Temple
* Antietam Street–Grand Trunk Railroad Bridge
* Architects Building
* Arthur M. Parker House
* Bagley Memorial Fountain
* Barlum Tower
* Belcrest Apartments
* Benjamin and Mary Ann Bradford House
* Bernard Ginsburg House
* Birwood Wall
* Carl E. and Alice Candler Schmidt House
* Carlton D. Wall House
* Cary Building
* Cass Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church
* Cass Motor Sales
* Cathedral Church of St. Paul Complex
* Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament
* Central United Methodist Church
* Central Woodward Christian Church
* Chapel of St. Theresa–the Little Flower
* Chatsworth Apartments
* Century Building and Little Theatre
* Charles G. Curtiss Sr. House
* Charles J. and Ingrid V. (Frendberg) Koebel House
* Charles Lang Freer House
* Charles Trombly House
* Charles Trowbridge House
* Checker Cab Taxi Garage and Office Building
* Chestnut Street–Grand Trunk Railroad Bridge
* Christ Church Chapel
* Christ Church, Detroit
* Col. Frank J. Hecker House
* Commandant's Quarters
* Coronado Apartments
* Croul–Palms House
* Crescent Brass and Pin Company Building
* David and Elizabeth Bell Boldman House
* David Whitney House
* Dearborn City Hall Complex
* Dearborn Inn and Colonial Homes
* Defer Elementary School
* Detroit Club
* Detroit–Columbia Central Office Building
* Detroit Cornice and Slate Company Building
* Detroit Edison Company Willis Avenue Station
* Detroit–Leland Hotel
* Detroit Masonic Temple
* Detroit Naval Armory
* Detroit News Complex
* Detroit Savings Bank Southwest Branch
* Detroit Yacht Club
* Dry Dock Engine Works–Detroit Dry Dock Company Complex
* Duane Doty School
* Dunbar Hospital
* East River Road–North Hickory Canal Bridge
* Eddystone Hotel
* Edmund Atkinson School
* Edwin Denby High School
* Edwin S. George Building
* Edson, Moore and Company Building
* Eighth Precinct Police Station
* Elisha Taylor House
* El Tovar Apartments
* Elwood Bar
* Elizabeth Cleveland Intermediate School
* Engine House No. 11
* Engine House No. 18
* Ephraim and Emma Woodworth Truesdell House
* Farwell Building
* Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Detroit Branch Building
* Ferry Street–Thorofare Canal Bridge
* Fisher and New Center Buildings
* First Baptist Church of Detroit
* First Congregational Church
* First Federal Building
* First Presbyterian Church
* First Unitarian Church of Detroit
* First United Methodist Church
* Ford–Bacon House
* Ford Valve Plant
* Fort Street Presbyterian Church
* Fort Shelby Hotel
* Fort Street–Pleasant Street and Norfolk & Western Railroad Viaduct
* Francis Palms Building & State Theater
* Franklin H. Walker House
* Frederick K. Stearns House
* Frederick Stearns Building
* Frederic M. Sibley Lumber Company Office Building
* Garden Bowl
* Garden Court Apartments
* General Motors Research Laboratory
* George and Mary Pine Smith House
* George P. MacNichol House
* George W. Loomer House
* Gethsemane Evangelical Lutheran Church
* Gibraltar Road–Waterway Canal Bridge
* Globe Tobacco Building
* Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
* Grand Army of the Republic Building
* Grande Ballroom
* Graybar Electric Company Building
* Great Lakes Manor
* Greenfield Union School
* Greenmead Farms
* Griswold Building
* Grosse Pointe Memorial Church
* Grosse Pointe Central Library
* Grosse Pointe War Memorial
* Grosse Pointe Yacht Club
* Hamtramck Stadium
* Harmonie Centre (formerly the Breitmeyer–Tobin Building)
* Henry Ford Hospital
* Henry Ford Square House
* Henry W. Baker House
* Herman Strasburg House
* Hibbard Apartment Building
* Highland Park General Hospital
* Highland Park Presbyterian Church
* Hook and Ladder House No. 5–Detroit Fire Department Repair Shop
* Hotel Stevenson
* Hudson–Evans House
* Hunter House
* Hurlbut Memorial Gate
* Hull's Trace North Huron River Corduroy Segment
* James A. Garfield School
* Jefferson Avenue–Huron River and Harbin Drive–Silver Creek Canal Bridges
* Jefferson Hall
* Jerome H. Remick and Company Building
* John and Eliza Barr Patterson House
* John and Emma Lacey Eberts House
* John Harvey House
* John N. Bagley House
* John T. Woodhouse House
* Joseph Campau House
* Kingston Arms Apartments
* Lancaster and Waumbek Apartments
* Lawyers Building
* L. B. King and Company Building
* League of Catholic Women Building
* Lee Plaza Hotel
* Lewis Cass Technical High School
* Lilley Road–Lower Rouge River Bridge
* Lincoln Park Post Office
* Maccabees Building
* Majestic Theater
* Manchester Apartments
* Mariners' Church
* Marwood Apartments
* Marx House
* McKinley Elementary School
* Mellus Newspapers Building
* Merchants Building
* Metropolitan United Methodist Church
* Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse
* Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument
* Michigan State Fair Riding Coliseum, Dairy Cattle Building, and Agricultural Building
* Moross House
* Mulford T. Hunter House
* Nacirema Club
* Nellie Leland School
* New Bethel Baptist Church
* North Woodward Congregational Church
* Orchestra Hall
* Orrin and Roxanne Fairman Kinyon House
* Orson Everitt House
* Ossian H. Sweet House
* Park Avenue House
* Parke-Davis and Company Pharmaceutical Company Plant
* Parke Lane Road–Thorofare Canal Bridge
* Pasadena Apartments
* Paul Harvey Deming House
* Penn Central Station
* Pere Gabriel Richard Elementary School
* Perry McAdow House
* Philetus W. Norris House
* Phillip and Maria Hasselbach Dingledey House
* Pilgrim and Puritan Apartment Complex
* Ponchartrain Apartments
* Pontchartrain Club/Town House Apartments
* Prentis Building and DeRoy Auditorium Complex
* Professional Plaza Tower
* Redford Theatre Building
* Redford Township District No. 5 School
* River Terrace Apartments
* Robert M. and Matilda (Kitch) Grindley House
* Rosa L. (McCauley) and Raymond Parks Flat
* Sacred Heart Major Seminary
* Sacred Heart Church
* St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church
* Saint Andrew's Memorial Episcopal Church
* Ste. Anne Roman Catholic Church Complex
* St. Bonaventure Monastery
* St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church
* St. Catherine of Siena Roman Catholic Church
* St. James Episcopal Church
* St. John's Episcopal Church
* St. John's–St. Luke's Evangelical Church
* St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church
* St. Joseph's Episcopal Church (1883)
* St. Joseph's Episcopal Church (1926)
* St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church
* Saint Paul Catholic Church Complex
* Saint Paul Manor Apartments
* Saints Peter and Paul Academy
* Saints Peter and Paul Church
* Saint Rita Apartments
* St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Roman Catholic Church
* St. Theresa of Avila Roman Catholic Church
* St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church
* Samuel L. Smith House
* Santa Fe Apartments
* Scarab Club
* Second Baptist Church of Detroit
* Sheldon Inn
* Shrine of the Black Madonna of the Pan African Orthodox Christian Church
* Sibley House
* Sidney D. Miller Junior High and High School
* Somerset Apartments
* South Pointe Drive–Frenchman's Creek Bridge
* S. S. Kresge World Headquarters
* Starkweather School
* State Savings Bank
* Stuber–Stone Building
* Sweetest Heart Of Mary Roman Catholic Church
* Temple Baptist Church – King Solomon Baptist Church
* Temple Beth-El (Bonstelle Theatre)
* Temple Beth-El (Bethel Community Transformation Center)
* The Clay School
* The Harmonie Club
* The Kean
* The Palms
* The Players
* The Wardell
* Third Precinct Police Station
* Thomas and Isabella Moore Clyde House
* Thomas and Maria Blackman Bartlett House
* Thomas A. Parker House
* Thomas M. Cooley High School
* Thomas S. Sprague House
* Thompson Home
* Tiger Stadium
* Tivadar and Dorothy Balogh House
* Trinity Episcopal Church
* Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church Complex
* Trinity United Methodist Church
* Tushiyah United Hebrew School – Scott Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church
* US 12 Bridges
* U.S. Post Office, Court House, and Custom House
* United States Immigration Station
* United States Postal Service Roosevelt Park Station
* Vanity Ballroom Building
* Verona Apartments
* Vinton Building
* Waltz Road–Huron River Bridge
* Warren Motor Car Company Building
* Wayne County Building
* Weil and Company – Gabriel Richard Building
* West Jefferson Avenue–Rouge River Bridge
* West Side Dom Polski
* WGPR-TV Studio
* Whittier Hotel
* William and Margot Kessler House
* William B. and Mary Chase Stratton House
* William C. Boydell House
* William H. Wells House
* William Hawkins Ferry House
* Wilson Barn
* Wilson Theatre
* WJBK-TV Studios Building
* Women's City Club
* Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church
* Wyandotte Odd Fellows Temple

National Historic Landmarks|

* Detroit Industry Murals
* Edsel and Eleanor Ford House (Gaukler Pointe)
* Fair Lane
* Fisher Building
* Ford Piquette Avenue Plant
* Ford River Rouge Complex
* Fox Theatre Building
* Highland Park Ford Plant
* General Motors Building
* Guardian Building
* Mies van der Rohe Residential District, Lafayette Park
* McGregor Memorial Conference Center
* Parke-Davis Research Laboratory
* Pewabic Pottery
* The Henry Ford

Former listings|

* Chateau Frontenac Apartments
* Dodge Mansion
* Grand Riviera Theater
* Harper Hospital
* Lincoln Motor Company Plant
* Columbia (steamboat)
* Ste. Claire (steamboat)
* Woodward Avenue Baptist Church

See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Wayne County, Michigan and List of National Historic Landmarks in Michigan
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