| Additional Information: | A 'site file' 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. 2011- "This sprawling one-story home was executed in the Contemporary style enhanced with tenets of the Prairie style. Generally oriented on an east-west axis, the walls for each facade of this house zig-zag at various angles and are covered with Lannon Stone, pecky cypress siding and significant expanses of glass. These wall segments are outfitted with a variety of plate-glass, casement and corner windows of various sizes. The roof is generally low and is hipped, although a reverse-slope shed roof defines a prominent wall of floor-to-ceiling, plate-glass windows. The right (east) end of the house consists of a split-level, four-car garage with the basement-level doors facing east and the first-floor doors facing south. The rear (north) side of the house features a concrete patio and in-ground swimming pool.
This house was built in 1956 for Dr. Warren and Jean Smirl. It was designed by Russell Barr Williamson, a protege of Frank Lloyd Wright. Smirl was born in Waukesha on 9 January 1921. He went to medical school in New York and served as a physician in the Army from 1946 to 1948. He maintained a practice in Eagle, Wisconsin, and, later, in Waukesha. Smirl died in 2000 and his wife followed in 2010. The house remains in the Smirl family, but it is for sale.
Dr. Warren and Jean Smirl lived on Wilbur Avenue in Waukesha in the early 1950s and completed the subject house in 1956. They hired Russell Barr Williamson to design the house on a parcel they had purchased from Charles M. Ihrig. Williamson was selected for the work based upon the recommendation of Waukesha carpenter Helmut Wolf, who had been hired by Smirl to build the house. Smirl was born on 9 January 1921 in Waukesha to Gerald and Julia (Newman) Smirl. He attended medical school in New York and served a stint as an Army physician between 1946 and 1948. In 1949, he completed a surgical residency in Delaware and then returned to Wisconsin. He married Jean Eales, who was born on 12 February 1931 in Waukesha to Herbert and Bertha Eales. The couple had five children. Smirl originally had a practice in Eagle, Wisconsin, which he then moved to Waukesha. He eventually became Chief of Surgery at Waukesha Hospital. In 1965, the growing family required additional space. As a result, Smirl hired John Bloodgood Schuster of Oostburg, Wisconsin, to design a third bedroom, formal dining room and to switch the original kitchen and the original dining room. Smirl died in 2000 and Jean followed in 2010."
-"Waukesha Bypass: Merrill Hills Rd & STH 59 to Golf Course East Alt.", WisDOT#2788-01-00, Prepared by Heritage Research, Ltd. (Faltinson), 2011. |
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