Charles R. Perry House, Glencoe, IL

[272Sylvan]

I took many photos of the interior and exterior of the Charles R. Perry house yesterday while I was waiting for the locksmith. I'll post a few of them here if someone could enlighten me as to how you post an image directly in a message. I'm happy to post as many images as you would like to see of the current condition of the house. As you might have already figured out, I am the new owner of the house.

Here are some photos uploaded to flickr for those of you who are interested in perusing them:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/272sylvan/

[pharding]

Congratulations! Wright's Prairie Houses are great houses to live in.

[Paul Ringstrom]

272Sylvan,

Congratulations on your purchase.

Please share with us your plans for the house. Do you plan to live there full time? Where did you previously live and how did you find out that the house was for sale?

[272Sylvan]

Paul,
I do plan to live in the house. I currently own and live in a 6-unit apartment building built in 1913 in the Austin-Schock Historic district on the far west side of Chicago. Prior to that I owned a small Victorian-era 2-flat in Oak Park. I have been looking for a place here on the north shore closer to my office and kind of stumbled into this. As you know from previous discussions on this list, the house needs a significant amount of work.
Maggie

[peterm]

Congratulations, Maggie! What a treat to live in a great house in a fine neighborhood filled with other Wright houses. As for the work needed, it looks like the bones are intact, and it just needs some attention here and there. Probably not much more than most Wright houses that hit the market...

Best of luck, and please let us know what your plans are.

[SDR]

Thanks for the photos, Maggie. Interesting front door, isn't it. That couldn't possibly be the original door . . . ?

I can coach you on picture posting, once you have a web host. But access to your flickr set(s) is good enough for most of us, I expect. Viewers should be encouraged to look at your photoset in the Slideshow mode, for the most impressive and informative experience.

Thanks for joining, and sharing ! Welcome, welcome.

SDR

[Oak Park Jogger]

Love the photos--thanks for posting them!

Does anyone know where you can purchase light fixtures like the ones in photos 1883-1884? It's a relatively simple socket, but I haven't found a vendor for them.

[sjnorris]

The Brass Light Gallery http://www.brasslight.com/ made similar lights for the Burnham house in Milwaukee WI,

The lights can be viewed here http://www.wrightinmilwaukee.com/TheHom ... fault.aspx

[pharding]

Love the photos--thanks for posting them!

Does anyone know where you can purchase light fixtures like the ones in photos 1883-1884? It's a relatively simple socket, but I haven't found a vendor for them.

We are in the process of having similar fixture custom fabricated for the Davenport House. It may be possible to increase the order. Contact me if interested.

[272Sylvan]

I have purchased numerous light fixtures from Arroyo Craftsman for my current place (a 1913 Arts & Crafts style apartment building) and have been very pleased with the quality. They don't have anything in their catalog exactly like the fixtures in the Perry house, so I appreciate the suggestions for other sources. There are only few of those square fixtures in the house. I need to take the wood covers off of the other fixtures and post photos of what is underneath the covers - they are entirely different. I'll try to do that later this week.

[272Sylvan]

peterm is correct that the bones of the house are intact. Much of the work needed will be in between the walls and not visible - electrical, plumbing, a/c, insulation, etc. There is a distinctive mold/mildew/old house odor when you walk in the front door. The exterior stucco is in fairly good shape, but there is a lot of damage and deferred maintenance in the exterior woodwork. The roofing over the carport and storage area needs to be replaced so that it drains correctly. Obviously the upstairs bathroom needs to be gutted. In the original plans for the house, that bathroom had a door that went out onto the balcony. That must have been removed to allow the installation of the large countertop. That will be restored to the original plan. Likely the sleeping room will become a master bath. The enclosed porch needs to have a more appropriate style of window installed, possibly with back (south) side opened up with doors out to the back yard. I'd love to remove all of the trees and shrubs in front of the house. Glencoe requires a permit for tree removal, so I'll have to see what they will allow me to do. There is string and duct tape holding many of the windows shut. It just goes on and on . . .

[pharding]

272Sylvan, My wife and I would would be delighted to have you over to see our restored master bath and kitchen on the Davenport House here in River Forest.

[272Sylvan]

Mr. Harding, thank you for your kind and generous offer. I will definitely take you up on it. You are welcome to see my completely not restored kitchen and bathroom if you are interested in seeing it before we start work. I'll drop a note to you via snail-mail so you know how to get in touch with me.
Maggie

[pharding]

Mr. Harding, thank you for your kind and generous offer. I will definitely take you up on it. You are welcome to see my completely not restored kitchen and bathroom if you are interested in seeing it before we start work. I'll drop a note to you via snail-mail so you know how to get in touch with me.
Maggie

Actually I would enjoy seeing it before you start work. info at harding dot com (one word) is a quicker way to reach me.

[John]

I upload my photos to Photobucket.com, then copy the IMG file here.