You’d
be easily forgiven for thinking that America’s grand Gatsby-esque
estates are only found in places like Newport, Rhode Island or Long
Island’s Gold Coast. That’s where Hollywood made them famous. Yet as the
Gilded Age exploded in America and industry expanded westward, the
country’s wealthiest families took their fortunes with them and built
ever-more opulent primary and summer homes in places that you’ve
probably never heard of. I’m a bit of an underdog myself so I can’t help
but have a soft spot for the dark horses of real estate that defy the
cliches. Here are three Midwest Gilded Age estates that epitomize the
American Dream.
Courtesy of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty
Stone Manor (Lake Geneva, Wisconsin)
Courtesy of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty
The grand Renaissance Revival built in 1901 by Otto Young stands on
the eastern shore of Lake Geneva more like a Roman monument than a home.
Young was Prussian born, immigrated to the United States, and amassed
his wealth in retail and real estate. Like many of his émigré business
contemporaries, Young built an empire from scratch in less time than it
takes to pay off a modern day mortgage.
Courtesy of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty
One of the most envy-inducing characteristics of many Gilded Age
mansions was that they were only occupied for a few months a year. They
were ‘summer cottages’ designed for throwing Titanic-style parties.
Young’s 50-room limestone
Stone Manor
estate was no exception, and was outfitted with the finest finishes
available at the time typically seen only in art museums and public
government buildings.
Five years after Stone Manor’s completion, Young died unexpectedly.
Since then, the estate has been operated as an all girls’ school and as a
French restaurant. Eventually the mansion was divided up into five
separate residential units. But don’t mistake this for an apartment
building.
Courtesy of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty
The current owners are selling their first floor unit, which totals
12,000 square feet, after a fourteen-year restoration. The original
crystal chandeliers and gold plated fixtures still adorn the ceilings
and walls, and the exquisite inlaid floors in the grand ballroom await
the next black-tie waltz. Outside, there’s 160’ glassed-in veranda, an
in-ground pool, a boat slip, and 450’ of private beach. Young’s original
steamboat
Polaris is also available to rent for cocktail cruises on Lake Geneva.
Courtesy of Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty
The best part of this real estate story is the coming full circle.
The current owners immigrated to the United States themselves in the
1960s and both became successful surgeons. One summer night they ate
dinner at Stone Manor while it was still operating as a French
restaurant. Years later they heard that Stone Manor was up for sale and
that owner at the time was going to chop up and auction off all of the
interior finishes. They bought the home a few months later and began
their fourteen-year restoration. Otto would be proud.
The first floor unit of
Stone Manor is currently listed for $5,995,000 by Timothy Salm of Jameson Sotheby’s
International Realty.
Southways (Orono, Minnesota)
Courtesy of Coldwell Banker Burnett
Compared with modern tech start-ups like Uber and VRBO, today’s
best and brightest probably wouldn’t be rushing to vest themselves in
overall-clad Gilded Age empires like rubber (the Firestones),
agricultural machinery (the Deerings and McCormicks), or paper pulp (the
Curtis family). But wealth can come from the most unexpected places.
You can add dough (pun intended) to that list as well.
Southways was built in 1918 as the summer home of John and Eleanor Pillsbury (of Doughboy fame), and is the
Hearst Castle equivalent on Minnesota’s
Lake Minnetonka.
The name was conceived by Mrs. Pillsbury herself during construction
because guests had to go “south a ways” on Bracketts Point to get there.
How beautifully unpretentious.
Courtesy of Coldwell Banker Burnett
When Eleanor Pillsbury died in 1992 at 104, Southways was bought by
hedge fund manager and former Minnesota Vikings owner, Jim Jundt and his
wife Joann, both of whom had long dreamt of living there. Over the next
few years, the couple spent millions winterizing and carefully
restoring the property to their modern tastes.
Courtesy of Coldwell Banker Burnett
The
32,000 square foot mansion still includes the original intricately
carved moldings, soaring hallways, and formal dining and living rooms
that could host the entire U.S. Congress. The Jundts’ modern updates
feature an indoor jacuzzi with hand-carved frescos, and a home gym
vertically linked to the master suite by a private elevator that was
created by combining two bedrooms and features an adjoining sitting area
and his and hers closets. The “his” side epitomizes the masculine vibe
befitting a man who once owned an NFL team including leather floors.
Courtesy of Coldwell Banker Burnett
Old money families like the Pillsburys spared nothing on location
when building their summer homes. Southways is just fifteen minutes from
downtown Minneapolis yet is surrounded by water on all sides lending it
the feeling of being cradled within its own national park
with thirteen acres of rolling lawns and 1700’ of private shoreline.
The
out buildings including a separate carriage house, greenhouse, beach
cottage, tennis house, and a private dock would make the most modern,
luxurious Midwest resort blush with envy.
This iconic Midwest Grand Dame is patiently awaiting its next custodian and is listed for $24,000,000 by
Meredith Howell Group of Coldwell Banker Burnett.
Schweppe Estate (Lake Forest, Illinois)
Photo courtesy of James Caulfield
If you get a masters degree in architecture in Chicago you’ll very
likely learn about the Schweppe Estate a.k.a Mayflower Place in school.
Designed by Frederick Wainwright Perkins in 1917, Mayflower Place is as
iconic as Midwest mansions get, and is considered to be one of the most
architecturally significant English Renaissance structures ever built in
America.
Photo courtesy of Morrison Waud III
I got a Tiffany crystal decanter from my in-laws when my husband and I
were married. Mayflower Place was given as a wedding gift to Laura
Shedd, the daughter of Marshall Field & Co. chairman John Shedd,
when she married Charles H. Schweppe. During its heyday ,
Mayflower Place
hosted a who’s who guest list of American and European society all
summer long, including King Edward, the Duke of Windsor, as well as
American industrial tycoons like the McCormicks and Armours
(interestingly both ancestors of my husband).
Photo courtesy of James Caulfield
Laura (Shedd) Schweppe died of a heart attack at the young age of 58
in 1937 and left her husband Charles only $200,000 of her $10 million
dollar estate. Loneliness, grief, and the overwhelming financial burden
of maintaining
Mayflower Place
eventually took its toll on Charles, who committed suicide in 1941.
After Charles’s death, this grand home remained in the Schweppe family
literally untouched and uninhabited for more than four decades until the
late 1980s when the property was finally sold. The new owners embarked
on a two-year stem-to-stern renovation to bring Mayflower back to its
former glory, which among many modern upgrades also required more than
seventy master craftsmen including Italian artisans and Bavarian
stonecrafters to restore the one-of-a-kind original architectural
details.
Photo courtesy of Morrison Waud III
Today, Mayflower Place represents 25,000 square feet of Gilded Age
magnificence with 400’ of Lake Michigan beachfront and over five acres
of lush landscaping, stone terraces, fountains and formal gardens.
Twelve bedrooms, sixteen full bathrooms, and impeccably restored
original details like hand-carved wood millwork, moldings, limestone
plastered walls, eleven fireplaces, and exquisite marble mantles will
assure that you’ll be more than comfortable when you pour that after
work Schweppe’s Gin and Tonic.
Estimated to cost $70-80 million dollars to be re-built today,
Mayflower Place is currently listed for $9,995,000 by Ann LaSalle Lyon of the Lyon Martini Group with
Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B +% HomeServices KoenigRubloff Realty Group.
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