The expense was understandable because the donor for the building, Delos A. Blodgett, was unusually generous. At the ceremony his son John Wood Blodgett said, “Always attracted to the helpless, it was but natural that the sympathies of the father should go out to the orphan . . . He designed to give to this city a home for children that fire could not destroy, and of such sanitary construction that disease could be lessened and controlled.”

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Unfortunately Delos A. Blodgett died before the building was completed. But the realization of his plans was carried out in every detail by the tireless effort of his wife, Daisy Peck Blodgett. She determined the paint colors on the walls, the style of the furniture, and the design of the dishes used by the children at meal times.

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This distinctive home functioned as an orphanage and became a national leader in the field of child welfare. First in the nation to begin placing children in the community through the practice of foster care, the D.A. Blodgett Home also developed Camp Blodgett on Lake Michigan to afford orphans and other underprivileged children a summer camp experience.

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A clinic and residential care for children with orthopedic problems led to a combined program with the Mary Free Bed Guild. When foster care replaced orphanages, and the polio epidemic created a need for long-term medical residential care for children, a transition was made.

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In 1949 the Blodgett heirs donated the building to the Mary Free Bed Guild and it became known as the Mary Free Bed Hospital. Despite removing the pillared porch and expanding the building with a large addition on the front, the hospital outgrew the facility and moved to a newer, larger site in 1976.

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For eighteen years the building was only partially occupied by a variety of tenants. Completely empty and deteriorating for twelve years, it was close to demolition when ICCF purchased the building.

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ICCF, a non-profit organization established in 1974, purposed to restore and use the building in its original appearance. With historic preservation and other tax credits and tremendous community support, ICCF hired Rockford Construction to oversee the building restoration.

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After removing the 34,000 square foot additions built in the 1950s, ICCF moved forward to replace the original pillared porch, to strip and refinish the original woodwork, and to restore all the exterior terra cotta trim. The 22 month process has resulted in a remarkable architectural icon, an embodiment of ICCF’s commitment to revitalize communities and restore hope. ICCF has functioned in the building since September 4, 2007.

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