Do You Watch The Gilded Age?
Because I may have found your next house.
https://www.flexmls.com/3432-N-Lake-Dr-Milwaukee-WI-53211
Picture New York and the Hamptons meeting the Third Coast, right here in Milwaukee.
And yes, I am aware that sounds dramatic.
Look at the house.
This is the Samuel Field Mansion, built in 1890, and it has the kind of old money, lakeside, wildly detailed architecture that makes you want to start wearing velvet smoking jackets and referring to dinner as “supper.”
But the really crazy part is not even how it looks.
In 1926, the house was going to be demolished.
So the owner took it apart.
Piece by piece.
Numbered everything.
Moved it three miles north.
And put it back together.
I am sorry, WHAT?
That is how much somebody loved this house almost 100 years ago, and once you start looking through the photos, you completely understand why.
The woodwork alone is ridiculous. There is leaded glass, carved trim, coffered ceilings, marble, massive windows, beautiful old hardware, and approximately 47 fireplaces.
Okay, I made up 47.
But seriously, I lost count.
This was apparently built during the era when every room needed its own fireplace because one simply could not be expected to walk into another room to warm up.
Then there is the setting.
The estate now sits on more than 3.5 acres with 259 feet of Lake Michigan frontage. There are mature trees everywhere, terraces tucked into the landscaping, huge lawns by the water, and views that feel much more Newport than Milwaukee.
The current owners took over stewardship of the property in 2014, and in 2015 they purchased the property immediately to the north, land that had once been part of the original estate, and folded it back into the grounds.
And because this house apparently refuses to stop being cool, there is also a lower level room with heavy beams, stone walls, another fireplace, and a very convincing old English pub vibe.
Plus a wine cellar.
Naturally.
This is one of those houses where the word “unique” actually applies.
So, my friend, if you have been waiting for your Gilded Age moment without leaving Milwaukee, I would like to formally suggest that we go look at this house immediately.
And if you have always pictured that moment happening somewhere in New England, I am just saying, Milwaukee may surprise you. We have the lake, the architecture, and a food and arts scene that can absolutely hold its own.
I will even let you choose which fireplace we sit by first.