Sprague, Thomas S., House

The Thomas S. Sprague House is significant primarily in terms of its design and association with architect William Scott. Both a civil engineer and architect, the English-born William Scott constructed railways, factories, and an occasional lighthouse. Until 1889, he was in partnership with his sons Arthur and John. Together, they constructed fashionable residences in Detroit, including several National Register properties located on East Ferry. After 1889, John Scott and Company designed numerous other buildings, including the Italian Renaissance styled Wayne County Building (1896-1902), located at the eastern end of Cadillac Square in downtown Detroit. The Sprague House is important, secondly, as an example of a fashionable upper-class house built in the late-19th century. When the house was built in 1884, it was surrounded by little residential let alone commercial or institutional development. Although the residence remained in private residential use until purchased by Wayne State University in 1977 and, therefore, is not in itself an ideal example of the historic transformation of the University-Cultural Center, the Sprague House nevertheless serves as a clear reminder of the semi-rural or suburban-like quality of the area in the late 19th century.

The Thomas Sprague House, a two-and-one-half story structure of mixed Queen Anne and Stick Style design, is a remarkable and distinctive composition designed by architect William Scott. Built in 1884, the Sprague House exudes a decidedly Northern European romantic flavor and a highly stylized character in its interior and exterior design that may very well reflect the English heritage and Parisian architectural training of its designer. The presence of a variety of materials and asymmetrical design motifs indicate the ingenuity, skill, and imagination of its architect, William Scott. The projecting and receding elements of the exterior of the structure combined with a variety of surface materials and ornamentation create a composition of considerable movement and rich texture. The exterior of the house combines a variety of materials: slate roofing, pressed metal on the second story, brick masonry on the first level, and a rusticated fieldstone foundation. The elaborate exterior ornamentation includes densely-carved terra cotta blocks below the second-story bay window on the right side, as well as over-sized carved wood garlands, vines, and flowers on the roof gable faces. This basically squarish structure features numerous projecting gables and bays as well as an octagonal turret at the southwest corner. A one-story porch begins at the center entrance and wraps around the turret and southwest corner of the house. The porch is covered with a hipped roof supported by heavy carved timbers. A pediment in the porch roof over the staircase displays a turned lattice triangular grill. To the right of the front entrance is a triple window surmounted by a segmental arch of stained glass (now removed).