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About the historian:

Daniel Coe

The way my research of Bradford Lee Gilbert started was through a required project in my History of Architecture course at college.  The professor assigned us to research and create a report on a historic building in the area where we lived.  I was always quite fond of a railroad station on Potter Street in the East side of downtown Saginaw, in Michigan. 

Within weeks of  the time the assignment was given, the station was involved in an unfortunate arson fire.  There was a lot of speculation reported in the news that the city was considering demolition.  The non-profit organization that purchased the building several months before the fire, insisted that the station was structurally sound and should be saved.  As a result, the city of Saginaw and the Saginaw Depot Preservation Corporation (SDPC) had many battles in court.

During this phase, I contacted the SDPC to gather any historic information I could of the building.  At the time, it was believed that a local architect had designed the building, but there was no proof.  I knew the building was built in 1881 because of the date set in stone of the dormers.  So, I began spending  countless hours at a local library researching through microfilm starting with January 1881.  It wasn't until I finally came across an article dated October 25, 1881 that I found who designed the station.  The article started with: "Through the courtesy of B. L. Gilbert, of New York, the architect who made the designs for the new Flint & Pere Marquette Passenger depot in this city."

From that point, my research took a tangent into two directions.  Not only researching the history of the train station, but also of who this B. L. Gilbert was.  When I turned in my report, it was a three inch three ring binder with information of the depot and of Bradford Lee Gilbert.  The professor was very pleased with the amount of information, and I ended up getting an A+.  But my research and commitment didn't stop there.  I later joined the efforts of the SDPC to preserve this historic icon, and served on the Board of Directors as Secretary/Historian for 14 years.

With the amount of information I gathered on Mr. Gilbert's achievements, I decided to post it on the internet for anyone who might be interested in knowing more of him.  I've been researching him since 1992, and I feel I've only scratched the surface of what there is to know of him.  The information shared on this site is mostly of his achievements.  Unfortunately, at this time, I know very little of his personal life.

I hope you enjoy viewing the information as much as I have researching and providing it here for all to see.  If you see any information lacking or incorrect, please feel free to email me.