Martin and Helena Noll House, 1888

921 West Huron Street

Martin and Helena Noll House, 1888

A winning lottery ticket from Germany provided the source of funds for this magnificent Queen Anne house. Martin Noll, a shoe repairman who had emigrated from Germany, used his winnings to buy a lot on the west side of town and build this house in the current high fashion of the late 1880s. Unfortunately Noll died the next year, but his wife and children occupied the house until 1913. The Canadian family of Wilson Sherk purchased it and sold it in 1975 to the present owners, who effected a true restoration of its Victorian character.

Barbara White and Richard Green undertook what proved to be a monumental task. Not only have they restored the exterior trim and clapboard siding in an authentic three-color paint scheme, but many interior elements as well. Fishscale shingles, diagonals, and Chinese Chippendale porch railings enliven the exterior while glowing woodwork with bullseye corner blocks fill the interior. The owners set high standards, having broken or missing elements remilled, and restoring even small details such as shutter hinges. In 1985 the Ann Arbor Historic District Commission presented them with a restoration award, to acknowledge and applaud their fine work. The house was also featured in a 1986 calendar of historic houses published by the Washtenaw County Historical Society.