This house at 236 Adelaide St. was built in 1898 and is significant as an early work of famed Detroit architect Albert Kahn, and also as the home of Bernard Ginsburg, an important Detroit figure in the late 19th and early 20th century who is best remembered for his philanthropy and civic leadership.

Born in Indiana in 1864, Ginsburg moved to Detroit as a child, later becoming vice president and general manager of Detroit Auto Specialty Co. He served on the Public Lighting Commission (1903-06) and the Board of Library Commissioners (1909-15), where his service led to the naming of the short-lived Ginsburg Branch Library in 1917.

As president of United Jewish Charities (1904–08), Ginsburg helped establish the Hannah Schloss Memorial, also designed by Kahn, and later expanded with a Ginsburg-funded addition known as the Jewish Institute. He also served as president of Temple Beth El.