Prime real estate
Glamour of Geneva Lake accessible -- by mailboat
TOM UHLENBROCK St. Louis (Mo.) Post
Article published Apr 8, 2007 found at southbendtribune.com
LAKE GENEVA, Wis. -- Capt. Neill Frame edged the U.S. Mailboat Walworth closer
to a private pier on Geneva Lake. Chrissi Quinn, the "mailgirl" of the
morning, jumped off the boat and sprinted 50 feet to a mailbox into which she
jammed a bundle of letters, racing back and leaping aboard just as the captain
pulled away.
The mailboat holds 120 passengers and regularly is sold out at $22 a ticket. The
ride is a charming anachronism and a great way to see the magnificent mansions
and newer architecture along the 20.2 miles of shoreline around the lake.
Mail delivery by boat began in 1873; roads didn't arrive around the lake until
1910. Some 50 residents still receive their mail via water today, not by
necessity, but by tradition. Frame signals the arrival of the mail each morning
with a toot of the horn, and residents often come down to greet the boat.
Younglands, Prime real estate
also known as Stone Manor, is the largest
mansion on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin. It was built in 1901 by Otto Young, who
once peddled costume jewelry from a pushcart, but became wealthy by buying up
real estate in Chicago after the Great Fire.
Located 10 miles north of the Illinois state line in southeast Wisconsin, the
lake is called Geneva Lake, while the town changed its name long ago to Lake
Geneva to avoid confusion with Geneva, Ill.The Potawatomi originally inhabited
the area and called the lake Kishwauketoe, which translated to "lake of the
clear waters." Because no rivers empty into it -- it is replenished by
springs, snowmelt and rains -- the lake is clear and chilly. It averages 61 feet
deep and is 144 feet at its deepest.
In 1833, when the U.S. government forced the Potawatomi to give up their land
east of the Mississippi River and move west, the Indians put it up for sale for
$1.25 an acre.
Sportsmen from Chicago, 73 miles to the southeast, already were frequenting the
area to hunt and fish when the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad opened a spur
to Lake Geneva on July 6, 1871. Three months later, Chicago burned in the Great
Fire and the crystalline lake surrounded by forest seemed like an oasis to the
rich fleeing the ashes of the city.
Many residents awaited Chicago's rebuilding at Lake Geneva and chose the area
for their lavish summer homes. The half-century from 1870 through 1920 was the
golden age when the Swifts and the Schwinns, the Wrigleys and the Wackers
founded estates that gave the resort its reputation as the "Newport of the
West."Linden Lodge, built by one of the owners of Marshall Field Co., had
37 rooms and 19 fireplaces. Younglands, with seven levels, including a rooftop
terrace that had 30-foot trees in tubs, was built by a real estate investor who
snatched up charred blocks of Chicago that later become the Loop.
Linden Lodge is long gone, but Younglands still stands, although divided into
six luxury condos.
Many of the original mansions have fallen to fire or been razed to make room for
subdivisions. The homes that replaced them may not be as grandiose, but with
property going as high as $30,000 per foot of shoreline, the lake is still the
playground of the well-to-do.
Homeowners on Geneva Lake are required to maintain a walkway at the water's edge
so the public, including vacationing visitors, can hike through their property
around the lake. Many provide stone paths lined by gardens, making for a lovely,
tree-shaded walk.But the mailboat is the easiest way to take in the scenery, and
each delivery is an event.
The town of Lake Geneva has a historic district of brick storefronts and the
only commercial strip on the lake, with several blocks of galleries, boutiques
and restaurants. The stretch of beach next to the Riviera Pier charged $5
admission for adults and was crowded with swimmers and sunbathers.
The pier, where tour boats load, was named for the Riviera, an Italian
Renaissance-style building on the water that originally was a 1930s dance hall
where the Dorsey Brothers, Artie Shaw and Louis Armstrong played. The building
was restored in the 1980s and now houses shops.
Many of the original mansions were built on the lake's north side, which was
said to be the coolest, and are viewed only from the water and the walking path.
That includes the Wrigley complex of estates and Wadsworth Hall, a stately
Georgian mansion billed as the most beautiful of the original surviving
estates.With gleaming white columns and a sweeping lawn graced with tall oaks
and perennial gardens, it got my vote.
Lake Geneva Cruise Line puts out a book, "Discover Lake Geneva," that
serves as a guide to the historic lakefront homes. Or you can take the line's
Lady of the Lake double-decker tour boat and let narrator Ray Ames add a few
tidbits to the storied past.
When we saw the dome of the Yerkes Observatory towering over the treetops, Ames
said it was the largest refracting telescope in the world, built by the
University of Chicago far away from city lights. "The university wants to
sell the land," he said. "It's soon to be a subdivision, but with the
telescope preserved."
He said that Younglands, the largest mansion on the lake, with gold-plated
doorknobs and oil paintings on the ceilings, was built in 1901 by Otto Young,
who once sold costume jewelry from a pushcart.
"In 1968, it sold for $75,000 at a sheriff's sale," he said of the
estate.When Lake Geneva came into view on our return, Ames pointed to the only
high-rise in town, the 10-story Lake Geneva Towers condominiums.
"It's built on the site of a hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, which
was torn down," Ames said. "The city fathers were so (un)impressed
with Lake Geneva Towers, they passed an ordinance saying no future buildings
could be taller than the trees."
If you go For more information,call (800) 345-1020 or visit
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