49800 Joy Road was built in 1958 and completed in 1959. This award winning mid-century design was built by long-time Plymouth resident and architect Tividar Balogh. This masterpiece design can be found nestled away in a deeply wooded lot that gives you the feeling of being far away from the hustle and bustle of a big city, yet is just down the road from our beloved downtown Plymouth and easily accessible to major highways. The thought of growing up here is simply charming. This was home to Tivadar, wife Dorothy (Bleismeister) and their 2 daughters.
Tividar was born in Detroit to Hungarian immigrants in 1926 and has a long list of accomplishments. He was also a Navy Veteran that served during WWII and then re-enlisted during the Korean war. Tiv worked for a number of the best known architectural firms in SE Michigan. Tividar also served as a professor at the University of Michigan and was awarded the Sol King award for teaching excellence in 1973. The only modification done to this home was when Tivadar decided to enclosed the carport on the bottom level of the home and transformed it into an office for his architectural firm. He retired in 1997 and passed away in 2006 and his beloved wife Dorothy passed in August of 2019.
In 2013 this home was added to the National Register of Historic Places. You can easily find additional information on this home and Tivadar by searching “Tivadar Balogh” on any major search engines. Here is the link to one of our favorite internet postings: MichiganModern
Interesting fact: You can think of Tivadar every time you drive into Plymouth Township and see one the welcome signs with the “Seal of Plymouth Township” which was one of his many designs. Inside this home you can also find that it has some of Tivadar’s own artwork displayed on the walls. Over 150 of Tiv’s 200+ projects can be found in Michigan, Illinois, and Arizona.
Below: Tivadar stands in front of one of his many home designs built near Plymouth in 1981.
Photo: Ann Arbor News 1984
HIGH HOPES: As the Tivadar and Dorothy Balogh home will soon be on the real estate market, we hope that this home will be purchased by someone who has a great appreciation for this Mid-Century Modern Masterpiece. Being that this home is on the National Register of Historic places we can at least hope that this home will be “protected” and will be around for many years to come and continue to be a Plymouth treasure.
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