Riverbend (estate) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Riverbend Estate
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Riverbend Estate
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 Location in Wisconsin
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| Location | 1161 W. Lower Falls Road Kohler, Wisconsin  United States |
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| Built | 1922–1923 |
| Architect | Richard Philipp |
| NRHP reference No. | 80000197 |
The Kohler Riverbend Estate is a very old and important house in Kohler, Wisconsin. It was built between 1922 and 1923 by Walter J. Kohler Sr.. He was the governor of Wisconsin and also led the Kohler Company. Building this grand home cost more than $1,000,000 at the time, which was a huge amount of money!
Discovering Riverbend's Past
How Riverbend Estate Was Designed
Walter Kohler asked Richard Philipp, a famous architect from Milwaukee, to design his home. Philipp had already designed a house for Walter's father, John Michael Kohler. He also helped design many buildings in the Kohler Village from 1916 to the mid-1920s. For the gardens, Walter Kohler hired the Olmsted Brothers. This team was famous for designing Central Park in New York City, along with the grounds of Harvard and Stanford universities.
European Inspiration for the Estate
The gardens at Riverbend were planned in an English style. This design highlighted the natural beauty of the land. Walter and his wife, Charlotte, loved the spot. They got ideas for the house and gardens during their trips to Great Britain and other parts of Europe.
Riverbend: A Place for Gatherings
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Riverbend was a popular spot for parties and events. Walter and Charlotte Kohler loved to host many guests in their beautiful home.
The Kohler Family's Legacy at Riverbend
Walter Kohler passed away in 1940, and Charlotte died in 1947. In 1948, their son, John Michael Kohler III, and his wife Julilly House Kohler bought the property. They continued the family tradition of hosting events and even opening the house to the public. John Kohler died in 1968, and Julilly passed away in 1976.
Riverbend Becomes a Historic Landmark
In 1980, Riverbend Estate was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This means it is recognized as an important historical site. Later, the National Trust for Historic Preservation bought the house from Walter's family. The Kohler Co. then bought Riverbend from the Trust in 1985.
Riverbend's New Life as a Club
The house was empty for about 15 years. Then, in March 2000, work began to restore and update it. A new four-story section was added to the east side. In 2001, Riverbend opened as a special private club for members.
Today, the house has 31 guest rooms. It also features two dining rooms, a sunny solarium, a living room, and a Rathskeller (a German-style basement room). There are meeting rooms, a spa with treatment areas, a steam room, a sauna, a whirlpool, and a unique indoor-outdoor swimming pool that is open all year.
The Architecture of Riverbend Estate
The House's Unique Design
The Riverbend house is a great example of Tudor Revival architecture. This style brings back the look of old English Tudor homes. The house was so special that it was featured in a book called Great Houses of America. It was listed alongside 29 other famous homes like Monticello and Biltmore. What made Riverbend stand out was its old-world feel inside. Unlike many homes built then, it used traditional materials and craftsmanship.
The original house had three stories and about 50 rooms. It did not have a simple, straight floor plan. The outside of the house is a mix of different roof shapes, like gables, dormers, and turrets. It has brick walls with cut stone around corners and windows. Some parts under the gables were covered in smooth, light stucco. The open solarium on the south side had four-centred archways supporting the floors above. Many windows were divided into three sections by stone mullions.
Inside Riverbend: Old-World Charm
The inside of the house used many natural materials. You can see stone and wood timbers. Other design features included tiled floors, carved stone fireplaces, and colorful stained glass in the windows.
The main door led into a large room called the great hall. This room was 20 by 42 feet. It had Vermont granite floors, a wooden ceiling with oak beams, and white stucco walls. There were many four-centred arch openings. The most striking feature was a huge fireplace made of carved Madison sandstone.
Many rooms had vaulted ceilings, which are curved like an arch. The hallways often had different combinations of intersecting vaults. An interesting octagonal (eight-sided) circular staircase connects the second and third floors.
The house was filled with many antique items. These included Kurdistan rugs, William and Mary high-back chairs, and Flemish tapestries. There was also a Queen Anne bookcase from around 1719 and a Chippendale chest from about 1780. Most of these antiques were brought in from other countries.
In the 1920s, homes often had heavy curtains and dark wall hangings. Furniture was usually made of dark woods like oak and walnut. After John and Julilly Kohler bought the house in the late 1940s, they made changes to make it brighter. They used lighter curtains, painted first-floor walls and ceilings white, and used pastel colors or wallpaper in bedrooms. They replaced heavy fabrics with lighter ones.
The original house had over 28,000 square feet of space. The addition built in 2000–2001 added more than 10,000 square feet. The new part was designed to match the original house as closely as possible. It has four floors, making it taller than the first house. Workers carefully repaired the original plaster, matching many detailed designs. About 80% of the original ceiling details were saved. Outside, much of the old stucco on the gables was replaced with a modern material called EIFS. This new material matched the old textures and colors.
The Beautiful Gardens and Landscape
The gardens around Riverbend have rustic stone walls, rock gardens, and sunken lawns. There is also an allée of evergreen trees, formal flower beds, and a bowling green.
A special part of the landscape was a very unusual box-elder tree. Its branches spread out over 100 feet. The longest lower branches dipped to the ground and rooted themselves. Charlotte Kohler painted this tree in a work called Earthbound. Her painting was shown in a Wisconsin art display in 1930. The tree began to die in the 1970s and is now gone.
Images for kids
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Riverbend Estate
