John J. and Agnes Shea House

Council Bluffs, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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Heritage registerNational Register of Historic Places↗

Located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the John J. and Agnes Shea House is a distinctive Queen Anne residence built in 1888 by local contractor George Monroe, with masonry by the Wickham Brothers and carpentry by J.H. Murphy. The only brick Queen Anne house in the city to feature a corner tower crowned by a witch's cap, the 2½-story structure displays the style's hallmark complexity: an asymmetrical plan, elaborate roofline, corbelled chimneys, gables, bays, and porches, along with decorative beveled, rounded, and stained glass windows. Built for attorney John Joseph Shea, his wife Agnes Mary Fenlon Shea, and their six children, the house later passed to local banker Timothy G. Turner in 1900 before the Sheas relocated to Indian Territory. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.