jews d

on the cover

in
the

Doreen Hermelin reflects on 42
extraordinary years as she prepares
to sell her Bingham Farms home.

House Of
Memories

ROBIN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRETT MOUNTAIN

A

party full of pomp and circumstance for
the president of the United States, eve-
nings under the stars, dinners for hun-
dreds of guests, the sounds of children splashing
in the pool, musical performances, community
fundraisers and private family moments — both
painful and carefree — echo in the rooms and
halls of Doreen Hermelin’s Bingham Farms
home.
The 17,500-square-foot mansion on 15.5
wooded acres where she and her late husband,

David, raised their five children and graciously
hosted lawmakers, leaders, performers, family
members, friends and even total strangers, is up
for sale after 42 years. The asking price is $8.2
million, but the memories and the magnitude of
what the space means to Metro Detroit’s Jewish
community are priceless.
“I’ve enjoyed it and I’ve used it,” Hermelin says,
seated on a comfortable chair in a room that
was the site of many community events. “But it’s
a lot of house.”
Thinking back to 1975, Doreen remem-
bers trying to talk David out of moving to the
Bingham Farms estate in the first place. She
was worried about the children and didn’t want
them to be too far away from their neighbors
and friends. The house, with its eight bedrooms,
seven full bathrooms and four powder rooms
(plus two more full baths in the pool house
outside), stone walls, fireplaces, skylights and
towering built-in bookshelves, was about a third
smaller at the time.
Ultimately, the family did move and David, a
larger-than-life real estate developer, philanthro-
pist and entrepreneur who served as U.S. ambas-
sador to Norway, had endless ideas.
“He loved projects,” Doreen says. “He loved to
build. Every time he wanted to build something
— he’d do it.”
When they first bought the house, they had to
convert space upstairs into bedrooms to accom-
modate their five children; they also added a
staircase near the center of the house.

continued on page 14

12

October 12 • 2017

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ABOVE & BOTTOM RIGHT: Sculptures by
local, national and international artists
can be found inside and on the
grounds of the estate.
BOTTOM FACING PAGE: A sculptural
balancing act. A clever chair made from
a guitar neck and drumsticks.