Black Point - Linn, WI
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 42° 33.496 W 088° 30.687
16T E 375924 N 4712869
also known as: Seipp, Conrad and Catherine, Summer House; Die Loreley
Waymark Code: WM10B8B
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Date Posted: 04/06/2019
Views: 0
County of house: Walworth County
Location of house: Southland Rd., on Black Point, Linn
Phone: (262)-248-1888
Architect: Adolph Cudell
Architectural Style: Victorian: Queen Anne
Built: 1888
"In 1888, Conrad and Catherine Seipp, owners of one of Chicago's
most important nineteenth century breweries, selected German born
Adolph Cudell (1850-1910) as architect for their new summer
residence on Lake Geneva's south shore. Several reasons can
account for Seipps' choice of Cudell for this commission as well
as his choice earlier to design their near south side Chicago
home. First, the Seipps were avid supporters of the German-American community in their city and Cudell was a German native
having arrived in 1873 from Herzogenrath.
"Second, Cudell had an established reputation as a designer by the
time Seipps were seeking an architect. Cudell's practice in
Chicago commenced shortly after his arrival and in the wake of
the Chicago fire in 1871, several major commissions came his way. ...
"Black Point is an example of the front gabled, spindlework
subtype of the Queen Anne architectural style. The broad gable
roof dominates the front facade with lesser gables on the sides
above gable wall dormers. The elaborate tower, a defining
feature of Queen Anne residences, ascends to a height of four stories and is placed at the corner of the front gable. The
spindlework seen in the porch and porch balcony balustrades,
porch support posts, gable end treatment, cornice brackets, and
fretwork are typical of this subtype. The Palladian window motif
present on the front facade is a classical detail borrowed from
the Free Classic subtype of the Queen Anne style.
"Black Point's Queen Anne design takes full advantage of the
balloon framing used in its construction of irregular wall planes
through the incorporation of the tower, the recessed balcony on
the front facade, the projecting angular sections of porch, and
the projecting front entrance. The use of fish scale patterned
shingles in the cornice is another common Queen Anne feature
while the scale and use of the spindled and scroll-work brackets
is less common. Historic photographs from the turn-of-the century show Black Point painted in a polychromatic scheme
including the application of contrasting colors to elements of
the millwork.
"The Queen Anne style evident in Black Point's form and design was
used for a number of other lakeshore residences erected during
the 1880s and early 1890s. Few had the rich ornamentation and
classic Queen Anne proportions of Black Point. Today, few intact
Queen Anne designs survive around the lake or in the village of
Williams Bay or the town of Lake Geneva. The relative
significance of Black Point is heightened as a result." ~ NRHP Nomination Form