Images

Drawings	Archival Images (b&w interior and exterior, 1913-1915)	Exterior Images (ca. 1950s, and post-restoration
Interior Images (post-restoration)	Glimpses of the restoration process (1986-1994)	Working drawings: Set of 12 sheets

Additional Images

"Chicago River Albert Fleury, artist ca. 1900s	Catherine Garns Gray and Edna Summy Purcell, 1915 Lumière autochrome	Catherine Garns Gray and Edna Summy Purcell, 1915 Detail
Fireplace, ca. 1950s	Illustration of this building appears in the catalog for the "Purcell & Elmslie, Architects" exhibition at the Walker Art Center in 1953

Correspondence

UNDER CONSTRUCTION.  Because of the sad circumstances of the death of George Elmslie's wife Bonnie in 1912 and his subsequent return to Chicago to open a second P&E office, there exists a substantial correspondence about the design and furnishing of Lake Place.  His sorrowful misfortune is our reluctant benefit, as it is possible to follow the entire process from initial sketch through construction and later enrichment in the commission of artworks.  The letters, telegrams, notes, and postcards are shown in chronological order.  A general description of the document stream is being accumulated.

• 1912-1913: Design and construction
• 1914-1919: Artist Commissions and Sale of the House
• Later years

Additional Documentation

UNDER CONSTRUCTION.  A variety of interesting documents support the understanding of this design, from specifications to a publication regarding the theory of fresh air circulation that resulted in a highly complex and powerful heating and air exchange system for Lake Place.  The house also had a built-in central vacuum cleaner.

• Landscape designer Harry Franklin Baker did the landscaping for this house

Other References

• Illustration in "Forward Looking Salesmanship in Forest Products," by William Gray Purcell (page 10)

Curiosa

The remains of the original dictionary stand

First version of the dictionary stand reproduced for the Lake Place restoration

Other Resources

• Minneapolis Institute of Art "Purcell-Cutts" exhibit

The museum provides a nicely crafted web exhibit called Unified Vision: The Architecture and Design of the Prairie School, which contains didactic panels for Lake Place.

research courtesy mark hammons