POP/ROCK - April 9, 1990

Anita Baker to Wreck Home: Preservationists in Detroit are upset with singer Anita Baker because of her plans to demolish the historic Chene mansion on the city’s east side. The building was built in 1850 by Alexander Chene, whose family had owned the land since 1707 under a grant from the king of France. Baker hasn’t revealed what she intends to build on the site after razing it. Baker and her husband, Walter Bridgeforth Jr., bought the mansion after the February closure of Little Harry’s restaurant, which had been housed there since 1958. Preservationists said they can’t understand why Baker would want to tear down the only surviving example of that type of house in the city.