wausau stewart house

WAUSAU STEWART HOUSE
This splendid property is an ideal choice for those with a passion for historic Arts and Crafts preservation
who want to live in an extraordinary setting. See pages 4 through 8 for interior photos.
History
The Stewart House gets its name from Hiram C. Stewart, who in the early 1900s was an officer of the
Barker Stewart Lumber Company. Like several other wealthy Wausau residents of the time, Mr. Stewart
engaged a prominent Chicago architect, Geo. W. Maher, to design a Prairie Style house for his family.
Hiram, his wife Irene, and their children Helen and John moved into the new house in December, 1906.
They lived here until moving to Pasadena, California in 1914, turning the house over to Louis Desert, a
wealthy businessman from the Wausau area. Mr. Desert gave the use of the house to his daughter
Louise Desert, who resided in the unchanged house until her death in 1962. Since then, the house has
had owners sensitive to its historical value, including the current owners Jane and Paul Welter.
In 1974, the Stewart House became the first property in Wausau to be placed on the National Register
of Historic Places. The house is considered one of the most intact of Maher’s several hundred
residential designs, including original art glass windows and doors, light fixtures, fireplaces, built-ins,
woodwork, and hardware. The house is well-documented with original blueprints of approval and
construction drawings (embossed with Geo. W. Maher’s stamp), typed specifications for masonry,
plaster, and carpentry work, and a lengthy millwork list. In July, 2015 the owners commissioned a
detailed inventory and evaluation of 60 decorative art objects the architect designed for the house.
Jane and Paul bought the property in August, 2001 and adapted it for use as a bed and breakfast,
opening for guests in May, 2002. They designed the business to be operated by the two of them
without employees and to have fun. In 2005 the Stewart Inn was accepted as a member of Select
Registry, Distinguished Inns of North America, whose high standards set the property apart from other
Wausau lodging and justified the highest daily rate in the area. At this price point the clientele tend to
be knowledgeable people willing to pay for a high-quality lodging experience. The owners retired from
innkeeping in 2012 and continue to enjoy living in the house.
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Property and Grounds
The Stewart House is a Prairie Style mansion located in Wausau’s Andrew Warren Historic District. The
three-story, 9000-square foot (including basement) building and its matching two-story carriage house
sit on a 0.40-acre parcel on the south side of Grant Street. The buildings are extremely well-constructed
of durable materials, have robust mechanical systems, and are complemented by native plants and
beautiful landscaping. Porches, a veranda, and a large patio with fountain encourage outdoor
relaxation. There is ample off-street guest parking on the property.
The mansion itself is an Arts and Crafts masterpiece, considered one of the best existing examples of the
architect’s “motif-rhythm” theory in which a geometric shape and a local plant were selected as
inspiration for a building’s architectural details. The Stewart House motifs are the tripartite arch and the
tulip. This building was among the first of Maher's designs to have the main entrance on one end,
eliminating the central hallway and allowing the social rooms on the first floor (reception room, drawing
room, dining room, foyer, and library) to be open to each other. The architectural details in this part of
the house are absolutely stunning, a tribute to Maher’s design and the craftspeople who carried it out in
glass, wood, metal, stone, brick, and ceramic.
Five of the bedrooms are on the second floor, accessed from an L-shaped hallway that also serves as an
art gallery. The layout of each room is completely natural. It’s almost as if Maher placed a walk-in
closet or linen storage room (with a window) in the spot where a bathroom would be many years in the
future. Although each room is unique, all have the comfort and convenience features of a fine hotel,
including private baths with original sinks and modern steam spas.
The servants’ side of the house includes a third-floor suit with private outdoor deck, a first floor kitchen
and butler’s pantry, and a basement laundry room, all connected by a private staircase. The 1500square foot suite is sunny and spacious with views of downtown, Rib Mountain, and East Hill. It has an
eat-in kitchen with cabinets like others in the house; a large living/dining area with fireplace and the
original ballroom piano; a king-size bedroom including walk-in closet, built-in bookshelves, cabinets and
vanity; and a bathroom with adjacent dressing area.
The carriage house is 24 by 30 feet and has the same external finish as the mansion, coarse gray stucco
over metal lath. The first floor, now used as a garage and to store yard equipment, once housed two
horses and a pair of carriages. The second floor contains the old chauffer’s quarters. On the north wall
of the carriage house, a ten-foot tripartite arch window with tulip-capped columns repeats the motifs of
the mansion.
Some furnishings that were custom-made for the house are available for purchase along with the house.
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About Wausau
Wausau, Wisconsin is a city of about 40,000 residents in the center of the state. Known as Big Bull Falls
in the mid-1800s, the town prospered initially because a 40-foot drop in the Wisconsin River here
allowed sawmills to process the vast lumber resources in the area. Since about 1900 the local economy
has diversified with leading employers being in health care, manufacturing, paper, agriculture,
education, finance, and insurance. Wausau is at the intersection of a major east/west highway from
Minneapolis to Green Bay and Door County, and a major north/south highway from Chicago to Bayfield,
the Apostle Islands and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The Stewart House is located in the historical
downtown River District with many excellent restaurants, cultural venues, boutique and chain shops,
and the nation’s only competition white-water kayak course in an urban setting. Rib Mountain State
Park and Granite Peak Ski Resort are five miles from the house.
Stewart House Photos
The following pages display interior photographs of the Stewart House.
Stewart House Page 3
Dining Room
Foyer
Drawing Room
Library
Reception Room
East Porch
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Bedroom 1
Bedroom 2
Bedroom 3
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Bedroom 4
Bedroom 5
Bedroom 2 Bath
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Bedroom 1 Bath
Bedroom 4 Bath
Bedroom 3 Bath
Bedroom 5 Bath
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Basement Laundry Room
Basement Linen Storage Area
Main Floor Kitchen & Butler’s Pantry
Suite Living Room
Suite Bedroom
Suite Bathroom
Suite Kitchen
Suite Deck
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