Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The WHL McCourtie Estate - Concrete Wood Art is located near US Highway 12, Somerset, MI.: McCourtie Park. 2 miles west of US 127, on the north side of US 12 at Jackson Rd. Turn north (right) onto Jackson Road. A few hundred feet you will see the drive that leads to the estate.

From the Michigan Historic Site marker:

The W. H. L. McCourtie Estate, may contain the country's largest collection of 'el trabeio rustico', the Mexican folk tradition of sculpting concrete to look like wood. Around 1930, most likely inspired by work he had seen in Texas, cement tycoon W. H. L. McCourtie hired itinerant Mexican artisans George Cardoso and Ralph Corona to construct seventeen bridges on his property. The artisans formed the bridges with steel rods and then hand sculpted wet concrete to resemble planed lumber, rough logs, thatch and rope. Different species of trees can be identified. Two concrete trees that stand on the property continue to serve as chimneys for the underground rathskeller and garage. The McCourtie estate is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Cindy and I had seen this on Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations and it is listed in RoadsideAmerica.com...
















































































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