| Additional Information: | A 'site file' titled "Menlo Park Historic District" exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. "In September 1910, Wisconsin-born John Solon Walbridge wed Evelyn Niedecken, the sister of interior architect George Mann Niedecken. Three years previous, Walbridge and Mr. Niedecken had partnered to form the Niedecken-Walbridge Company, a firm that specialized in high-class, interior decorating and home furnishing. The Walbridges resided at the home until 1919.
Despite significant research efforts by many--including the current homeowners--the architect of the house remains unknown. Because of the Niedecken's fifteen-year association with Frank Lloyd Wright, Wright's name continues to be mentioned as a possibility. Although no records verify the supposition, Niedecken was invariably responsible for the home's original interior finish.
The home's Prairie-style attributes are clearly evident through its box-like shape, the horizontal banding of patterned art-glass windows, as well as wide overhanging eaves. The interior includes requisite Prairie features such as a low-lying Roman brick fireplace and wooden built-ins, some with patterned art-glass doors. The current (and fifth) homeowners are responsible for its painstaking restoration, both inside and out. Indeed, after three years of removing the eleven layers of exterior paint they achieved the existing brown and yellow-gold stain, thereby matching the home's original 1910 colors. Inside, paneling was removed in the dining room to reveal the home's original walls, leaded glass doors (found in the basement) were restored to the entryway and dining room and reproduction, period-appropriate furniture--much of it designed by a local craftsman--is located throughout." Wright and Like 2011: Milwaukee Originals June 10th Through 12th, Frank Lloyd Wright Wisconsin, Inc., Madison, WI, 2011. |
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