| 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.
2017 survey recommendation write-up:
Contemporary in style and with limited detailing, this one-story, cement-brick house is comprised of two separate low-pitched, front-gabled units that are connected via an open but covered passageway that includes the home’s entrance. Oriented to the north, the main (west) block features only a pair of symmetrically placed, floor-to-ceiling, tall-and-narrow, plate-glass windows along its first floor, while the gabled peak is comprised entirely of glass. The garage, which includes a replacement overhead door, also features a gabled peak infilled with glass.
Designed by architect John Tilleman of Green Bay, this house was built between 1962 and 1963 for Mrs. Agnes Lenfestey. Agnes (nee Hurlbut) was born in Green Bay in 1875. She married Canadian-born, Dr. James P. Lenfestey in 1902, who died in 1947. Previous to the construction of this house, the Lenfestey family resided at 806 N. Broadway. The house is identified as having been built on property that was once home to the Lenfestey family’s stables, riding ring and practice polo field and Mrs. Lenfestey’s granddaughter, Mrs. Charles Bennett, resided with her family in the home next door at 710 Waubaunaqua Trail (which was originally built for Harold and Suzanne Hecker in 1957). The light grey cement brick used for the construction of the house (as well as the Hecker-Bennett home) was of brick made by the Hurlbut Company, for which Agnes’s son Ted served as president. The home was said to have been designed as “a functional woman’s house,” so that Mrs. Lenfestey herself, who was in her late-80s, could manage it herself. With modern lines, the Contemporary-style home provided for a clean backdrop to Mrs. Lenfestey’s antique collection. The year after the house was completed, it was featured on the Service League’s (then 6th) annual tour of homes (in May 1964). Mrs. Lenfestey was able to only enjoy about one year at the home, as she died just two weeks after the home tour. Among her lifetime activities, she was noted as a charter member of the De Pere Woman’s Club, for which she served as president during both World War I and II. She was also among the early members of the Antiquarian Society, as well as a former director of the Brown County Historical Society and a founding member of the Women’s Auxiliary to the State Historical Society. She, along with her sister Mrs. R.C. Buchanan, was responsible for the acquisition of furnishings for Tank Cottage and the Fort Howard Hospital Museum, which are today part of Heritage Hill State Park.
Also living with Agnes was her widowed daughter, Mrs. Ruth Mark. Ruth married Anson Mark in 1928 and, following his death, she returned to De Pere and resided with her mother in the family home on N. Broadway. A historian and artist (including two years of training at the Chicago Art Institute), Ruth completed additional studies with James Cagle at St. Norbert College and William Prevetti at UW-Green Bay. Ruth was also unable to enjoy the Ridgeway home for long, as she died in 1968. As of 1969, the Richard Burnham family is identified as living in the home, during which time a car went off the road and crashed into the home, causing significant damage. The house was on the market as of March 1971; it was purchased by Dr. Daniel and Ann Shea. They lived in the home until building in 1985 the house next door at 711 N. Webster Avenue, which was also designed by John Tilleman.
Architect John Tilleman was born in Green Bay in 1925. He attended the University of Minnesota, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture (with distinction) in 1951. Prior to establishing his own firm in 1957, he worked as a designer for R. V. McCann in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as well as the well-known Green Bay firm of Foeller, Schober, Berners, Safford and Jahn. He is also noted as having been an architect with the U.S. Government (specifically with the National Park Service). As of 1970, Tilleman appears to have done a fair amount of church-related work, for principal works cited (in the American Architects Directory) in both 1962 and 1970 included the St. Bernard Church complex in Green Bay (1957), St. Paul’s Church in Combined Locks (1965), as well as De Pere’s St. Mary School Addition (1960) and its associated convent (1959). |
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| Bibliographic References: | Citations for 2017 survey information provided below in Additional Comments:
U.S. Federal Census, 1920; “Dr. Lenfesty (sic) Dies Suddenly,” Green Bay Press-Gazette, 14 July 1947, 1/13; “Mrs. Lenfestey Dies. Long Active in Clubs,” Green Bay Press-Gazette, 11 June 1964, 13; “Homes on Parade!” Green Bay Press-Gazette, 17 May 1964, 9, B-2.
“Mrs. Ruth Mark Dies; Well-Known in De Pere,” Green Bay Press-Gazette, 12 November 1968, 25; Photo and caption (re: crash into home), Green Bay Press-Gazette, 14 November 1969, page 8; Sale ad for home, Green Bay Press-Gazette, 29 March 1971, page 53; Article on the 1986 Parade of Homes, Green Bay Press-Gazette on 4 May 1986, Scene-10, includes the Shea home on N. Webster.
American Architects Directory (1962), 705, John F. Gane, ed., American Architects Directory (New York: R.R. Bowker Co., 1970), 919. |
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