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The John N. Bagley House is an outstanding example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture and is significant for its connection with the Bagley family. The house was built in 1889 for John N. Bagley, son of a former governor of Michigan. The Bagley family was responsible for some of Detroit's finest Romanesque Revival architecture, and most notably for its H.H. Richardson commissions: the Bagley Memorial Foundation, constructed in 1887, and the Bagley Memorial Armory, constructed in 1886.
The house at 2921 East Jefferson Avenue was designed after Richardson's death in 1886. As it is assumed that John N. Bagley would have chosen Richardson to design his house, some suggest that the design may be that of the successor firm, Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, which had worked in Richardson's office and had participated in the completion of several of Richardson's unfinished works.
Regardless of the origin of its design, the Bagley house remains as one of the finest of Detroit's Richardsonian Romanesque houses. It now serves as the administration building for the University of Detroit Dental School.
Built in the Queen Anne style, the Bagley House is a two-and-one-half-story structure with a massive gable roof and facades of dark brick and brownstone. The chief architectural features include an engaged tower with conical roof; a round-arched entrance (with detailing carved by Detroit sculptor Julius Melchers); sharply pointed dormer with bay window; and a variety of facade-surface and window treatments. The interior contains an oak-finished living room and a dining room finished in Santo Domingo mahogany. Fireplace mantels also were carved by Julius Melchers.
Rogers and MacFarlane (possibly designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge)
NRHP Ref# 85002934 • Data from National Park Service • Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0
A historic building with a turret and unique architectural details.
Public Domain (Michigan filing for National Register of Historic Places)
The John N. Bagley House, also known as Bagley Mansion, was built as a private residence in 1889. The mansion is located at 2921 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. As of 2022, the house is used as a commercial office building, maintaining its historic features and character.The Bagley House is a two-and-one-half-story French Renaissance Revival mansion built of red sandstone brick. Evidence has revealed that the house was designed in the French Renaissance Revival style by the Detroit firm Rogers and MacFarlane, while it was previously believed to have been designed by Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge of the Richardson firm since the family had hired Richardson to design the Bagley Memorial Fountain. The French Renaissance Revival style house has some similar application of materials of H. H. Richardsonian Romanesque. It has a massive gable roof and a tower with conical roof. The entrance is set into a round arch and the roof dormer features a bay window. The façade contains multiple hand-carved fireplaces, original stained glass window treatments including sculptural elements by famous turn-of-the-century American sculptor Julius Melchers.The house, built in 1889 for John N. Bagley, son of former Michigan governor John J. Bagley, is among the oldest surviving nineteenth-century French Renaissance Revival mansions in Detroit. The Bagley family commissioned the Bagley Memorial Fountain, designed in Romanesque Revival architecture, the only remaining work by Henry Hobson Richardson in the Detroit area. This house is still one of the finest of Detroit's Richardsonian Romanesque houses.The house became a commercial building when many other mansions on Detroit's main artery, E Jefferson Ave, began to convert away from private residences. The building has been home to the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry Administrative Building and Real Estate One. The building became somewhat derelict for several decades and was purchased by Vallery Hyduk and Keasha Rigsby, owners of Beautiful Bridal, who opened a high-end bridal shop and ran an event venue in the location from 2016 - 2022. Post Covid, the owners closed the event venue and pivoted the building to the leasing of office space.• Bagley MansionSee also: Architecture of metropolitan Detroit
Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0