ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A historic home will be moved across the University of Michigan’s campus this weekend.
The house where World War II hero Raoul Wallenberg lived while he was a student at the university in the 1930s is set to be moved on Saturday, Nov. 22, prompting some street closures.
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In May, the university’s Board of Regents approved a plan to relocate Wallenberg’s former home from 308 E. Madison Street to the corner of Jefferson and Division streets.
In its new location, the Wallenberg house will sit next to the former home of another notable UM alumnus, playwright Arthur Miller, at 439 South Division Street.
The following areas will be fully closed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, as crews move the house:
- South Division Street between East Madison Street and East Jefferson Street
- East Jefferson Street between Hamilton Place and Thompson Street
- Packard Street between South Fifth Avenue and Thompson Street
- East Madison Street between South Fifth Avenue and Thompson Street
For more information about detours and other travel impacts, click here.
According to the university, crews began digging the foundation on South Division Street earlier this fall.
The house relocation is part of preparation for the new Central Campus Residential Development project, which will add more than 2,300 beds for students.
In 1931, Wallenberg, who came from a prominent Swedish family, moved to Ann Arbor and lived in the house on Madison Street during his freshman year.
He studied architecture, and in 1935, he graduated with high grades and then moved back home to Sweden.
During World War II, Wallenberg created thousands of protective passports that kept Hungarian Jews from being deported and set up safe houses under Swedish diplomatic protection.
He’s credited with saving about 70,000 people during the war.
In January 1945, Wallenberg was taken by Soviet troops and later died in their custody.
The relocation of the house comes after the university established the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, which opened in the fall of 2024.
The mission of the institute is “to study hatred directed against religious and ethnic communities, foster cross-cultural understanding and elevate civic discourse,” according to the university.