Bennett, Henry, House

Although the Bennett House is indicated on an 1853 map of Ann Arbor a study of the tax rolls indicates that the building was probably completed in 1854. Henry DeWitt Bennett, postmaster of Ann Arbor during most of the 1850s, was the first owner. Bennett was secretary and steward of the University of Michigan in 1869-83, moving in 1886 to California. In 1890 the house was purchased by Reuben Kempf, and locally it is still known as the Kempf House. Kempf and his wife were both musicians, and for years their home was a center for the musical arts. Such figures as Paderewski, Victor Herbert, and Madame Schumann-Heink were guests. Kempf died in 1945 at the age of 86, and Mrs. Kempf passed away in 1953. The property was acquired in 1969 by the City of Ann Arbor. It functions as a historic house museum and is the first historic property to be acquired by the city. Several other properties are under consideration for acquisition, and a local historic district ordinance which includes the Bennett House has recently been submitted to the Ann Arbor City Council.

The Bennett House is a frame, one and one-half story, temple style Greek Revival building on a brick foundation. Its facade is the most notable feature, with four, massive, squared Doric columns, three frieze windows with iron anthemion-patterned grilles, and a graceful tympanum. A row of dentils surrounds the house beneath the architrave. The building is painted white with green shutters. The house originally measured fifty-four feet by twenty-three feet, and had four rooms and a pantry on the first floor, with three bedrooms and an open hall above. A small, two-room kitchen addition was built on the rear in the 1890s. There are now six rooms and bath on the first floor, three bedrooms and one and one-half baths on the second. The interior is quite plain except for the parlor, featuring tapered door and window frames with heavy lintels, reminiscent of the Egyptian Revival style. An embossed plaster ceiling moulding is also in the parlor.