Martin W. Roberts House

Martin W. Roberts was born in Batavia, New York and moved to Kalamazoo about 1870. Roberts was a prominent builder and architect in late nineteenth-century Kalamazoo. When he arrived in 1870, he constructed this house for his own use. The house itself is significant in that, more than his other designs, it likely reflected many of the architect's design values and personality. The house was originally designed as an Italianate structure. In 1886, Roberts re-made it into a Queen Anne design. Roberts lived here until his death in January, 1910. In the later 20th century, the house was converted into apartments.^[2]

The Martin W. Roberts House is a handsome, two-story, frame, Queen Anne house. It is built in an irregular plan, with a picturesque roof structure consisting of both hip and jerkinhead roofs. The house detailing includes arcaded front and side porches, dentiled cornices, and a number of round-headed windows.^[2]