So, the house was custom built in 1913 for a local physician and his wife. It was designed by two architects, Charles Chromaster and Zeno Speer. Chromaster went on to a successful career in Fort Worth, Texas; Speer moved down to Milwaukee in the twenties and went into banking. The physician lived in the house until the mid-thirties, and willed it to his son, a dentist. That family lived in the house until 1972, when they sold it to a couple who owned it until last year when we purchased it. So, we're the fourth owners. Not bad for a 95-year-old home. As I stated in my last post, we have the original plans, and they are a lot of fun to peruse. What we call the "small bedroom" was labeled as the "Maid's Room," the basement bedroom was originally Dr. Wahl's office and the basement bathroom was labeled "Laboratory". Mark and I had so much fun with that the first few days. "Take this down to the laboratory." she said in a haunting voice...
The house has undergone a few very minor changes. A wall dividing the "Reception Room" from the "Living Room" was removed, so it is now one large room. A second entrance into the living room was also removed. A window in the dining room was covered on the inside, but left intact on the exterior. The previous owners took great care that nothing was done to spoil the integrity of the exterior. What was a covered porch off of the living room was turned into an enclosed sunporch sometime during the 1970's. But when this was done, it was kept completely in character with the home.
