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Colorful Boston-Edison home comes with history and $596K price tag

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The Georgian Revival home was built in 1920 for retailer Otto Kern

Exterior of a three-story brick home with three dormer windows and a portico entrance. Exterior photos by Klocktower Media / Interior by Marty Medvedik

The Kern’s department store “once rivaled Hudson’s in its popularity and quality of service,” writes the Detroit Historical Society. The downtown retailer that closed in 1959, but the famous Kern’s clock still sits outside the One Campus Martius building.

The home of Otto Kern, the son of department store’s founder, is also still around. And it’s for sale.

On Chicago Boulevard in Boston-Edison, the home is listed with Gaye Butler of Robinson Realty & Management Group for $596,000.

Built in 1920, the 5,155-square-foot Georgian Revival has a beautiful brick exterior with three dormers, window shutters, and a columned portico around the front entrance.

The foyer welcomes you into the colorful home with wide french doors to both the living and dining rooms. The former is centered around a marble fireplace and is adjacent to a music room which, according to the realtor, is a tribute to Dr. Nellie Ebersole, co-founder of the Art Center Music School and who lived in the home for 40 years.

The kitchen has some unique metal cabinetry and an island with a metal countertop, as well as a breakfast nook and enormous butler’s pantry. We also like the billiards room in the basement, the covered side porch, and nicely landscaped back yard with a tiny bridge.

The home also has six bedrooms, three full and two half bathrooms, and a two-car garage that comes with some extra space.

The foyer has hardwood floors and two french doors leading to the living and dining rooms. Straight ahead are stairs to the second floor.
The living room has a white couch and two red chairs on opposite sides of a marble fireplace. There’s also a black grand piano.
The music room is strewn about with instruments and black checkered seats.
A little side porch with wicker chairs, brick walls, and screens.
The kitchen has metal cabinets and an island with metal countertop. There’s a little breakfast nook on the opposite side.
A long butler’s pantry ending in a sink with granite countertops and glass cabinets.
A billiards room with a covered pool table, brick walls, and two-dimensional sailboats hanging on the wall.
Master bedroom has a bed frame with beams for hanging drapes and a wood armoire in the corner.
The backyard has lillies and a bridge leading to a seating area.