John N. Bagley House

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.