| 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.
A 'site file' (East Forest Avenue 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, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History.
A large arts and crafts house with bungalow and Georgian Revival references.
Built for Elizabeth Bacon by her daughter (Mrs. C.R. Smith) the home was greatly enlarged when Mrs. Smith moved in with her third husband, matinee idol Orrin Johnson. Johnson was the protege of David Belasco performed with Maude Adams and was an early silent film star.
The house was previously surveyed in 1981 with map code of 6/14. The 2004 map code is 156/14a.
Additional Comments, 2023:
Architecture: The original house was built by Isabel Bacon Smith (Johnson) for her mother Elizabeth Bacon in 1901. It was a two story late Queen Anne style house with a steeply-pitched intersecting gable roof (see library.wisc.edu/digital/AXGZGX7BXHCUWR81), a first story bay window, and a wide wrap-around porch with turned posts and an open patterned balustrade.
The house was significantly altered in 1919 with Arts and Crafts style details. Nothing from the original appearance of the house appears to be extant on the exterior.
The current house is two stories in height and has a long, rectangular form with a low-pitched gable roof covering the main block. A one and one-half story ell projects from the main block on one end and a two-story ell projects from the back of the house. Roofs feature brackets and exposed rafters.
The stucco exterior is punctuated with many and varied openings including tripartite sashes, paired casements, and a patio entrance on the main elevation that features multi-light, narrow, French-style doors flanked with casements. Some casements are filled with leaded glass. At one end of the house is a tall brick course at foundation. A brick chimney rises from this course up the end wall. A similar brick chimney sits next to the entry pavilion.
The main entrance sits in a shallow entry pavilion and consists of a single multi-light door flanked by sidelights and decorated with a full pediment supported by round columns. Extending from one end of the house is a garage ell.
The first floor appears to have plan of several large rooms off of the main foyer including a living room, dining room, library, and sun room. Most of the rooms feature plaster walls and wood paneling. Most of the decoration in the rooms suggest the Classical Revival style with classical moldings and paneling and a fireplace in the living room with a classical surround. The library, though, has Craftsman style details.
History: In 1919, Isabel Bacon Smith Johnson moved into this remodeled house with her third husband Orrin Johnson. Isabel Bacon’s second husband was Charles R. Smith, a wealthy owner of a woodenware factory in Menasha and they lived elsewhere. Isabel spent the time of her second marriage, 1900-1916, as a prominent socialite with a strong interest in theater, spending much time in New York City.
Two years after Charles Smith’s death, Isabel married well-known Broadway actor Orrin Johnson. Isabel had her mother’s house (this house) extensively remodeled in the Arts and Crafts style and moved in with Orrin in 1919. Although a prominent New York actor, Orrin Johnson “aged out” of leading man roles and failed to make a successful career in silent films in Hollywood. He spent most of the time in Neenah as a retired actor and died in 1943. Isabel continued to live in the house and pursued her socialite lifestyle until her death in 1950.
(Carol Cartwright, 2023)
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| Bibliographic References: | A. 1901 Neenah Tax Rolls, p.61.
B. 1919 Neenah Tax Rolls, p.92.
ork Times, 11/25/1943, 25:1.
East Forest Avenue Historic District - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, 2005.
“East Forest Avenue Historic District Preservation Plan.” April 2012. Neenah Wisconsin Landmarks Commission. |
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