[2] His parents soon emigrated to London, Ontario, and five years later moved to Detroit, where Boydell attended school.

In 1867 William and his older brother John began their own firm, the Boydell Brothers White Lead and Color Company, with William as vice-president.

[3] In 1895, William Boydell constructed this double house, designed by Almon Clother Varney as his home.

[2] The William C. Boydell House is a three-story brick and limestone Beaux-Arts double house with a hip roof, built to resemble a single-family home.

[4] The front façade is lined with a pair of rock-faced terraces, and the front of the two units are unified in appearance by a brick frieze running under the eaves and banded limestone at the first story.