Wilson was the widow of auto pioneer John Dodge and a second husband, lumber baron Alfred G. Wilson. In 1957, she donated the 88,000-sf Tudor-revival style mansion, complete with vast collections of original art and furnishings, their 1,500-acre Meadow Brook estate, and $2 million to establish Oakland University.
The 110-room mansion has served as a museum and banquet hall. It recently has had annual deficits of $1.5 million.
"As the hall celebrates its 75th anniversary, this gift assures that it will be around for the next 75 years," says Meadow Brook director Sally Victor.
The money will pay for specialist artisans to restore original tile work, wall hangings and hand-carved plaster work, Victor says.
"This will fix everything that really needs fixing, and so now we can start to build an endowment--with contributions from people of $5 on up--so that we're here for the next 75 years," she says.
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