Property Record
770 S LAKE SHORE DR
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | GLEN ARDEN |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | Trudehurst |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 68508 |
| Location (Address): | 770 S LAKE SHORE DR |
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| County: | Walworth |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | Linn |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | 1 |
| Range: | 17 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 11 |
| Quarter Section: | SW |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: | NE |
| Year Built: | 1892 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Queen Anne |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Clapboard |
| Architect: | SAMUEL FOREST |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | Yes |
| Demolished Date: | 2004 |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | Description: Glen Arden is a lovely, intact Queen Anne L-shaped house. A narrow polygonal two and one half story tower with a conical roof enhances the east wing of the house. The facade is asymmetrical. A prominent gable to the east is balanced by two gabled dormers on the west wing, the hipped portion of the roof. The full front open porch includes paired round columns. A cut out trefoil design decorates the gables. A long, private road from South Lake Shore Drive ends in a circular drive with porte cochere on the west side of the house. The house is intact, and in excellent condition. Architectural/Enginerrign Significance: Glen Arden has been maintained to reflect the original high standards when the Queen Anne house was built in 1892. The house is one of several fine Queen Anne designed in the Geneva Lake survey area. It is particularly signifiicant as a later version of style, restrained and elegant. Historical Background: Glen Arden was built by Mary Hawes Wilmarth, widow of Henry M. Wilmarth, in 1892. Mrs. Wilmarth was one of the Chicago Women active in the social reform movement during the last quarter of the 19th century and early 20th century. After Mrs. Wilmarth died in 1919, her daughter Anna kept the estate until 1922. [A]. The new owner in 1922 was cartoonist Sidney Smith, who had created the first comic strip for the Chicago Tribune in 1917. Smith's cartoon character, Andy Gump, was so popular that he was the object of a tongue-in cheek "Gump for President" campaign in 1924. At that time he was placed at the gates of the estate, which Smith has renamed Trudehurst. [B]. Garnet W. McKee, head of the Eclipse Engineering Company, owned the estate during the 1930s and 1940s There have been other owners since that time, but the house and grounds immediately around it have remained intact. [A]. The building was demolished in 2004. Portions of the building, including the top story of a turret for incorporation into a replica structure constructed on the site. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. Gage, Mary Burns and Anne Wolfmeyer, "Lake Geneva Newport of the West," 1976, pp. 146-48. B. "Gump" pamphlet file in Lake Geneva Public Library. C. LAKE GENEVA HERALD 11/25/1892. D. Walk, Talk and Gawk: A map and guide of the Lake Geneva shore path. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |