Kempf House

Cast iron grilles in an ancient Greek floral motif highlight the frieze of this temple-front Greek Revival house. Built in 1853 for Henry D. Bennett, secretary and steward of the University of Michigan, it became the home and studio of local musicians Reuben H. and Pauline Widenmann Kempf in 1890. Trained in Germany, Mr. Kempf (1859-1945) taught piano and organ. Mrs. Kempf (1860-1953), a graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory, taught voice. The city of Ann Arbor purchased the house in 1969, and in 1983 it became the Kempf House Center of Local History.