For sale: Frank J. Baker House - Wilmette, IL
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- Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:48 am
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- Posts: 10537
- Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:48 am
Thanks to Eric O'Malley, I have now seen the article, and it confirms my concern about the future of the house. From the looks of it, restoration might cost quite a lot, and $900K seems to be a bit spendy for such a venture. Since this is one of the masterpieces, every opportunity to see that it falls into sensitive hands should be taken advantage of. It will be bad enough to lose the Booth Cottage, but to lose Baker would be tragic.
No need to subscribe...realtor's listing has 40 illustrations.
https://www.estately.com/listings/info/ ... -2#gallery
While the protections they offer are porous, it is a National Register Landmark and a "Wilmette HIstoric Home" according to the listing.
https://www.estately.com/listings/info/ ... -2#gallery
While the protections they offer are porous, it is a National Register Landmark and a "Wilmette HIstoric Home" according to the listing.
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- Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:48 am
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- Location: chicago
its nice to see the house emptied out - Walter Sobel's wife ran an antique store in Wilmette and managed to fill the house with items from the store - it was hard to make out the original building sometimes.
Walter loved the house, but like most homeowners who have been in a place for too long, let it deteriorate slowly. The sons did their best to keep it together, but it needs some pretty basic structural and mechanical improvements. The front window bay is listing to the east due to lack of diagonal reinforcing in the windows combined with a foundation issue below. The LR ceiling/roof has no horizontal ties and the clerestories are all bowing out at the top edge. Not very difficult to fix, but will probably scare the potential buyer. All in all, the repairs are typical for any 100+ year old house, but it will take a buyer with courage, patience and a big bank account, of which there are almost none. I am deeply concerned about the future of this house.
Walter loved the house, but like most homeowners who have been in a place for too long, let it deteriorate slowly. The sons did their best to keep it together, but it needs some pretty basic structural and mechanical improvements. The front window bay is listing to the east due to lack of diagonal reinforcing in the windows combined with a foundation issue below. The LR ceiling/roof has no horizontal ties and the clerestories are all bowing out at the top edge. Not very difficult to fix, but will probably scare the potential buyer. All in all, the repairs are typical for any 100+ year old house, but it will take a buyer with courage, patience and a big bank account, of which there are almost none. I am deeply concerned about the future of this house.
Alice Millard was a dealer in antiques and rare books and used La Miniatura as a showroom; she built some pieces, such as the wrought iron around the fireplace, into the house and grounds. The Lloyd Wright addition was intended from the start as a showroom. She picked the problem lot because it was the only way she could afford to be close to her high-roller clientele.
Wright said in his autobiography that the antiques looked good in the house, but he may have been the last.
Fireplace
Figures 252 and 253 in Hitchcock's In the Nature of Materials and figure 41 in Sweeney's Wright in Hollywood show more.
Wright said in his autobiography that the antiques looked good in the house, but he may have been the last.
Fireplace
Figures 252 and 253 in Hitchcock's In the Nature of Materials and figure 41 in Sweeney's Wright in Hollywood show more.
Prof. Hitchcock was not the kind of man who would cede editorial control to anyone. He worked with Wright amiably, not realizing that Wright, behind his back, made fun of him and Philip Johnson for being gay. In the Nature of Materials is still the best study of Wright, because Hitchcock had an eye for art, and most architectural historians don't.