 |
firm active: 1907-1921 minneapolis, minnesota :: chicago, illinois |
Navigation :: Home :: Commission List :: Parabiographies
Mrs. T. B. Keith residence, alterations and furniture
Purcell, Feick and Elmslie
Eau Claire, Wisconsin 910
Text by William Gray Purcell
Parabiographies entry, Volume for 1910
Job Date (in Parabiographies): January 1, 1910
T. B. KEITH, Eau Claire, Wis.
This was a remodeling operation, quite extensive, for a sort of spoiled child of a young wife with a flock of small children. She didn't know what she wanted but remodeling was good entertainment and next best to a new home entirely.
She and I broke about even on good ideas and bad ideas. We saved her a number of times our fee in preventing her from tearing her old house all to pieces and in getting her final wishes done in a simpler way. She, in turn, kept me from making a fool of myself, by refusing to approve my worst ideas--some were pretty wild from the everyday living viewpoint of conventional Americans.
Dining Room Furniture March 21, 1911
We designed from very good furniture along the lines of the Bonnie Hunter-Wishard-Powers types, and it was very badly made by a concern in Chicago who offered the lowest bid. Nothing to be done--she was furious, but got over it--or partly over. They ended up by approving of us as architects when they thought about it and what we'd done for the money, and disapproving of us in their feelings--mostly because they hadn't built a new house. They couldn't do that because her wealthy dad had given her the house. I never recall seeing anything of the husband except his signature on the checks.
Collection: William Gray Purcell Papers, Northwest Architectural Archives, University of Minnesota [AR:B4d1.4]
research courtesy mark hammons