Once upon a time in Lake Zurich, there were two lovely kit houses sitting side-by-side, fronting the picturesque lake. The lake houses were built in the 1920's, and for decades families enjoyed the scenic views, boating, and summer fireworks.
The idyllic days are over. One of the houses was summarily razed in 2021, and the other one is in danger of being torn down as well.
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| The two houses on Old Rand Road. 2020 photo from Realtor site. |
The Sears Rembrandt
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| 474 N. Old Rand Road, Lake Zurich. Photo from Realtor site. |
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| The Sears Rembrandt from the 1926 Modern Homes catalog. |
The Rembrandt is an "unusually well arranged Dutch Colonial house", according to the Sears catalog copy. The one in Lake Zurich was built in 1928, and over 90 years, only two families owned the house.
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| The Rembrandt had a family room addition that was not visible from the street. The property backed up to the Lake Zurich Golf Course. The property line extends into the lake. Photo from Realtor site. |
Leroy and Josephine Loomis turned to Sears Roebuck to get financing to purchase the house. Leroy was a sales manager for a sand and gravel company, while Josephine was a teacher. They moved out around 1940, and the Wesner family owned the house until 2021.
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| Josephine Loomis. Public photo from Ancestry.com. |
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| Leroy Loomis. Public photo from Ancestry.com. |
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| Josephine (left) and her two children (pedestals) in front of the Rembrandt. Public photo from Legacy.com. |
The Rembrandt was torn down in May 2021.
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| The new house sits on the same footprint. Capture from Google Streetview. |
The Lewis Alpine
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| 504 N. Old Rand Road, Lake Zurich. Photo from Realtor site. |
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| The Alpine from the Lewis Manufacturing Company of Bay City, Michigan. |
The Alpine was sold as a teardown in 2023. According to the real estate listing: "One the remaining original lake cottages southwest facing on Lake Zurich over one acre in total. This cottage has been owned by the same family for decades used as their weekend lake home, where they had many family get togethers and made tons of memories."
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| Photo from Realtor site. |
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| Photo from Realtor site. |
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| Photo from Realtor site. |
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| Photo from Realtor site. |
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| Photo from Realtor site. |
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| This home has its own private pier on Lake Zurich. Photo from Realtor site. |
Will the Alpine be spared from destruction? Stay tuned.
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1 comment:
If the Alpine was sold as a teardown, I'm guessing that means some sort of major structural issues not visible in the realtor's photos. I hope the buyer has the means and the knowledge to save this home.
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