08-20-2009, 09:59 PM
Just found Wauktalk after old forum, where I was a frequent lurker. I distantly know who purchased this house (they are of the artistic ilk), and I did visit a few times while on the market. I couldn't help it. It was a DIZZYING experience! We have dubbed it "The Fun House". The moment my mother walked in (to the room in the photo posted!), she looked around and instantly lost her balance - literally, I mean she almost fell down! Her boyfriend got motion sick and couldn't continue. There are no words. It's like a 1960's House on the Rock.
There was outdoor landscaping rocks in the "basement" (in the rear of the house). You can see where a tree used to grow from the outside, up through the house in the rear where it's on stilts. The house was ultra high-tech in its day, in the original kitchen there was a built-in wall toaster, and drawer warmers for food, and an intercom system throughout. All those switches at one point controlled movie screens, very specialized lighting (indoors and out), window blinds, and who knows what else. There is another room that was like a second kitchen, where there appears to be a bar of sorts - except behind it is only a hole in the floor with a narrow circular staircase going down to aforementioned "basement"/lovenest, with a bathroom. You have to climb a few feet from there into a little room to access one of the doors to get outside (!!!). From the highest level in the rear, there's a room with bubble windows and controls to the lights that lit up the "lagoon" in the backyard, as well as a bathroom with no privacy area around the toilet. The "Tube" has a staircase leading...literally, to nowhere.
The lot is unbelievable, the question is if this house can be brought back up to code. When I visited last winter, some of those large windows were broken, though I don't know if it was vandalism or structural issues. I know there was A LOT of open air accessible through that tube though, and rotten floors to avoid. When you stood in most parts of the house on stilts, it was clearly tilted downward to the point you wouldn't walk to the edges of the room (let alone take a bath next to the floor to ceiling windows, slanting MANY degrees downward).
I know the new owners contacted the original architect, still in Waukegan, to consult on renovations. They are going to need the help! The neighborhood is stunning. It is so unique, it would be wonderful if someone COULD restore it's integrity, and add it to the list of Waukegan one-of-a-finds. I think most others, however, would just take that wonderful lot and start from scratch, though.
There was outdoor landscaping rocks in the "basement" (in the rear of the house). You can see where a tree used to grow from the outside, up through the house in the rear where it's on stilts. The house was ultra high-tech in its day, in the original kitchen there was a built-in wall toaster, and drawer warmers for food, and an intercom system throughout. All those switches at one point controlled movie screens, very specialized lighting (indoors and out), window blinds, and who knows what else. There is another room that was like a second kitchen, where there appears to be a bar of sorts - except behind it is only a hole in the floor with a narrow circular staircase going down to aforementioned "basement"/lovenest, with a bathroom. You have to climb a few feet from there into a little room to access one of the doors to get outside (!!!). From the highest level in the rear, there's a room with bubble windows and controls to the lights that lit up the "lagoon" in the backyard, as well as a bathroom with no privacy area around the toilet. The "Tube" has a staircase leading...literally, to nowhere.
The lot is unbelievable, the question is if this house can be brought back up to code. When I visited last winter, some of those large windows were broken, though I don't know if it was vandalism or structural issues. I know there was A LOT of open air accessible through that tube though, and rotten floors to avoid. When you stood in most parts of the house on stilts, it was clearly tilted downward to the point you wouldn't walk to the edges of the room (let alone take a bath next to the floor to ceiling windows, slanting MANY degrees downward).
I know the new owners contacted the original architect, still in Waukegan, to consult on renovations. They are going to need the help! The neighborhood is stunning. It is so unique, it would be wonderful if someone COULD restore it's integrity, and add it to the list of Waukegan one-of-a-finds. I think most others, however, would just take that wonderful lot and start from scratch, though.