The John N. Bagley House is a private residence located at 2921 East Jefferson Avenue

East Jefferson Avenue Residential TR

The East Jefferson Avenue Residential District in Detroit, Michigan includes the Thematic Resource in the multiple property submission to the National Register of Historic Places which was approved on October 9, 1985. The structures are single-family and multiple-unit residential buildings with...

 in Detroit, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1985.

Architecture

The Bagley House is a two-and-one-half-story French Renaissance Revival mansion built of dark brick and brown stone. 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

Bagley Memorial Fountain

The Bagley Memorial Fountain is a historic fountain in Detroit. It has recently been moved from its long-time location in Campus Martius Park to a new location in just down the street in Cadillac Square Park. The fountain was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a...

. 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 conical-roofed tower with conical roof. The entrance is set into a round arch and the roof dormer features a bay window. The facade contains multiple surface and window treatment, including sculptural elements by Julius Melchers around the entrance.

Significance

The house, built in 1889 for John N. Bagley, son of former Michigan governor John J. Bagley

John J. Bagley

John Judson Bagley was a politician from the US state of Michigan, as well as its 16th Governor.-Early life in New York and Michigan:...

. is among the oldest surviving nineteenth century French Renaissance Revival mansions in Detroit. The Bagley family commissioned the Bagley Memorial Fountain

Bagley Memorial Fountain

The Bagley Memorial Fountain is a historic fountain in Detroit. It has recently been moved from its long-time location in Campus Martius Park to a new location in just down the street in Cadillac Square Park. The fountain was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a...

, designed in Romanesque Revival architecture

Romanesque Revival architecture

Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...

, the only remaining work by Henry Hobson Richardson

Henry Hobson Richardson

Henry Hobson Richardson was a prominent American architect who designed buildings in Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and other cities. The style he popularized is named for him: Richardsonian Romanesque...

in the Detroit area. This house is still one of the finest of Detroit's Richardsonian Romanesque houses.