History

The Ranney Building constructed this red sandstone building in 1890 and for more than 50 years was occupied by Doctors. The building exemplifies many characteristics of American Romanesque style of architecture. It has been converted for retail use and loft-living.

The Ranney Building was constructed in 1890 on Block 115 of the Original Plant of the City of Lansing. In 1883, with his purchase of Lot 17, Dr. George E. Ranney became the first private landholder there, opening a doctor’s office. He constructed the present three-story red sandstone building on that lot in 1890. The site was dedicated to doctors’ offices for nearly 50 years - doctors who were involved in local, state, regional and national advances in medicine and public health.

George E. Ranney

Dr. Ranney (1839 to 1915) came to Lansing in 1866. At 27-years old, he was already a Civil War hero and had won the Congressional Medal of Honor as a surgeon with the Second Michigan Calvary. He saw action as a surgeon at Atlanta, Chickamauga and other battles. He treated survivors of the Confederacy’s infamous Andersonville Prison.

Dr. Ranney was instrumental in Lansing's field of public health, including documenting the associations of bad water with typhoid fever, a major breakthrough for public health. He was also a founder of the Michigan State Medical Society. Dr. Ranney served as medical director of City Hospital, organized by Edward W Sparrow, his brother-in-law.

Dr. Ranney passed away in 1915, having just days earlier left behind what is now Ranney Park to the City of Lansing.

Architecture

The Ranney Building exemplifies the characteristics of the late 19th-Century American Romanesque style. The Ranney Building is in Lake Superior red sandstone. Many of the building’s distinctive features have survived to the present day. Darius Moon, Lansing most prolific architect designed the building.