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Property Location
Location (Address)
S42 W31610 DEPOT RD
County
Waukesha
City/Village
Township
Genesee
Unincorporated community
Town
6
Range
18
Direction
E
Section
21
Quarter Section
Quarter Quarter Section
Property Features
Year Built
1915
Additions
1931
Survey Date
1993
Historic Use
Architectural Style
Structural System
Wall Material
Architect
Charles Dornbush
Other Buildings On Site
Demolished
No
Demolished Date
Additional Comments
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, Division of Historic Preservation. Is listed as a NHL.
Ten Chimneys was the country home of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, the long-time “first couple” of American theater. They starred together in more than two dozen Broadway plays, and their commitment to extensive touring helped sustain American theater in the face of competition from films.
Like many wealthy celebrities, the Lunts sought a rural retreat. In the town where Alfred had lived as a boy, they developed an estate between 1915 and 1948. Here, during the summers, Noel Coward and others wrote and honed the plays that the Lunts would perform in the following theater season.
The Lunts sited their buildings in a grove, where hills and trees protected their privacy. Root and Holister landscaped the sixty-acre property in a naturalistic manner, installing stone paths, walls, and statuary, and reserving sections for gardening and livestock. Alfred himself planned much of the estate. His summers spent in Finland and his family’s Swedish background sparked an interest in Scandinavian architecture, so he patterned buildings after Scandinavian precedents. The mansion, a two-story gabled ell with stucco and board-and-batten cladding, imitates a Swedish farmhouse. (Architect Charles Dornbusch of Chicago added a long rear wing in 1938.) A six-pointed Scandinavian star pierces the front-facing gable, just above a ribbon of windows. Otherwise, the mansion’s exterior is plain.
The interior, on the other hand, is anything but. Here, renowned set designer Claggett Wilson created sceneographic murals in the late 1930s, taking visitors into a theatrical fantasyland. In the downstairs reception room, murals depict English gentry feasting on pineapples (the traditional symbol of hospitality), along with poultry, desserts, and wine. A Swedish porcelain stove anchors the space. From here, a staircase with a serpentine railing sweeps visitors upstairs. In the Music Room, a Swedish flat-board ceiling, decorated with cherubs and musical instruments, contrasts with richly painted murals depicting biblical stories (also found on the tiles bordering the fireplace). Wilson even painted the underside of the grand-piano lid with an Edenic scene. Different dramatic effects prevail in the oak-paneled library, with its secret passageway hidden behind the bookshelves.
The paintings in an attic-level hall depict rural pursuits, such as beekeeping, sheep herding, and grain harvesting. Insects, frogs, and other creatures come alive in smaller panels above the doors. The hall leads to three bedrooms, the most striking being Fontanne’s floral-themed chamber.
The estate includes several outbuildings. In the 1920s, Dornbusch designed a cottage for Lunt’s widowed mother--a gabled ell clad in clapboard, again modeled on Swedish farmhouses. The interior features Swedish fireplaces with sloping chimney wings and flat-board ceilings painted in the style of Swedish folk art. Lunt himself executed much of the mural work.
One building, a rehearsal studio, actually came from Sweden. The one-and-one-half-story, hewn-log building was probably a loft house. Squared double-notched joints tie the logs at the corners, and wooden pegs secure the vertical boards that clad the attic room overhanging the entry. A long side-gabled wing was added when the building was reassembled here.
Other buildings include a stone garage and a stone greenhouse-chicken coop, both designed by Dornbusch; a log barn, which likely also came from Sweden; and a little board-and-batten cabana next to the swimming pool. This garden folly incongruously sprouts a bellcast tower, like those found on Renaissance-era Swedish castles.
Covenant/Easement: Expires 7-22-2052. Effective 7-22-2002. A 'covenant file' exists for this property. It may contain additional information such as photos, drawings and correspondence. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office.
Ten Chimneys was the country home of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, the long-time “first couple” of American theater. They starred together in more than two dozen Broadway plays, and their commitment to extensive touring helped sustain American theater in the face of competition from films.
Like many wealthy celebrities, the Lunts sought a rural retreat. In the town where Alfred had lived as a boy, they developed an estate between 1915 and 1948. Here, during the summers, Noel Coward and others wrote and honed the plays that the Lunts would perform in the following theater season.
The Lunts sited their buildings in a grove, where hills and trees protected their privacy. Root and Holister landscaped the sixty-acre property in a naturalistic manner, installing stone paths, walls, and statuary, and reserving sections for gardening and livestock. Alfred himself planned much of the estate. His summers spent in Finland and his family’s Swedish background sparked an interest in Scandinavian architecture, so he patterned buildings after Scandinavian precedents. The mansion, a two-story gabled ell with stucco and board-and-batten cladding, imitates a Swedish farmhouse. (Architect Charles Dornbusch of Chicago added a long rear wing in 1938.) A six-pointed Scandinavian star pierces the front-facing gable, just above a ribbon of windows. Otherwise, the mansion’s exterior is plain.
The interior, on the other hand, is anything but. Here, renowned set designer Claggett Wilson created sceneographic murals in the late 1930s, taking visitors into a theatrical fantasyland. In the downstairs reception room, murals depict English gentry feasting on pineapples (the traditional symbol of hospitality), along with poultry, desserts, and wine. A Swedish porcelain stove anchors the space. From here, a staircase with a serpentine railing sweeps visitors upstairs. In the Music Room, a Swedish flat-board ceiling, decorated with cherubs and musical instruments, contrasts with richly painted murals depicting biblical stories (also found on the tiles bordering the fireplace). Wilson even painted the underside of the grand-piano lid with an Edenic scene. Different dramatic effects prevail in the oak-paneled library, with its secret passageway hidden behind the bookshelves.
The paintings in an attic-level hall depict rural pursuits, such as beekeeping, sheep herding, and grain harvesting. Insects, frogs, and other creatures come alive in smaller panels above the doors. The hall leads to three bedrooms, the most striking being Fontanne’s floral-themed chamber.
The estate includes several outbuildings. In the 1920s, Dornbusch designed a cottage for Lunt’s widowed mother--a gabled ell clad in clapboard, again modeled on Swedish farmhouses. The interior features Swedish fireplaces with sloping chimney wings and flat-board ceilings painted in the style of Swedish folk art. Lunt himself executed much of the mural work.
One building, a rehearsal studio, actually came from Sweden. The one-and-one-half-story, hewn-log building was probably a loft house. Squared double-notched joints tie the logs at the corners, and wooden pegs secure the vertical boards that clad the attic room overhanging the entry. A long side-gabled wing was added when the building was reassembled here.
Other buildings include a stone garage and a stone greenhouse-chicken coop, both designed by Dornbusch; a log barn, which likely also came from Sweden; and a little board-and-batten cabana next to the swimming pool. This garden folly incongruously sprouts a bellcast tower, like those found on Renaissance-era Swedish castles.
Covenant/Easement: Expires 7-22-2052. Effective 7-22-2002. A 'covenant file' exists for this property. It may contain additional information such as photos, drawings and correspondence. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office.
Bibliographic References
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL 7/31/1994.
THE KETTLE MORAINE INDEX-DOUSMAN 5/12/1994.
APPLETON POST-CRESCENT 3/26/1994.
DOUSMAN INDEX 3/17/1994.
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL 11/26/1995.
WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES 11/21/1995.
ANTIGO DAILY JOURNAL 11/20/1995.
DOUSMAN KETTLE MORAINE INDEX 11/23/1995.
CAPITAL TIMES 2/26/1996, P. 3A.
DOUSMAN KETTLE MORAINE INDEX 2/22/1996.
FREDERIC INTER COUNTY LEADER 2/28/1996.
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL 7/30/1996.
WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL 10/21/1996.
Waukesha Freeman 12/11/1996.
Waukesha Freeman 7/2/1997.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, p. 2E, 11/10/1997.
Hartland Lake Country Reporter 1/22/1998.
Waukesha Freeman 5/30/1998.
Eau Claire Leader Telegram 5/9/1998.
Mukwonago Chief 4/29/1998.
Dousman Kettle Moraine Index 4/30/1998.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 4/29/1998.
Fort Atkinson Daily Jefferson County Union 5/1/1998.
Hartland Lake Country Reporter 4/30/1998.
Milwaukee Business Journal 5/8/1998.
New York Times, B1, 9/29/1998.
Oconomowoc Focus 5/22/2003.
Cedarburg Ozaukee County News Graphic 5/22/2003.
Dousman Kettle Moraine Index 5/22/2003.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 8/17/2003.
Madison Capital Times 8/9/2003.
Wisconsin State Journal 5/9/2003.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 5/11/2003.
Oconomowoc Enterprise 5/15/2003.
Mukwonago Chief 5/14/2003.
Waukesha Freeman 3/4/2004.
Waukesha Freeman 5/27/2004.
Oconomowoc Enterprise 6/5/2003.
East Troy News 6/5/2003.
Mequon-Thiensville Courant 5/15/2003.
Columbus Journal 5/17/2003.
Architecture and History Survey. January-October 2002. Prepared by Heritage Research, Ltd.
Building of Wisconsin manuscript.
National And State Register Of Historic Places Listings
National/State Register Listing Name
Ten Chimneys
National Register Listing Date
Feb 23, 1998
State Register Listing Date
Jul 28, 1996
Contributing
Yes
National Historic Landmark Status Granted
Jul 31, 2003
National Historic Landmark Status Granted
Jul 13, 2003
Architecture & History Inventory
The Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory (AHI) is a digital source of information on historic buildings, structures, and objects that have been surveyed by the State Historic Preservation Office in Wisconsin. Each property has a digital record providing basic information about the property and images.
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For a credit line: Wisconsin Historical Society, Creator, Title, Unique Identifier.
The Unique Identifier can be found at the top or bottom of the page for each item. The name of a downloaded file is NOT the unique identifier.
For bibliographic citations please consult the UW-Madison Libraries Citation Research Guide to ensure compliance with appropriate style guidelines.
Access Property Records
Some properties have more materials (correspondence, clippings, historical information, etc.) not in the digital record. If a 'Site File' exists, it's noted in the 'Additional Comments' field. Contact us for an appointment to view these materials.
National or State Regi...
S42 W31610 Depot Rd.
98000076
Located in Town of Genesee, Waukesha County
National or State Regi...
S42 W31610 Depot Road and W314 S4151 State Highway 83
03001042
Located in Town of Genesee, Waukesha County
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