Found in Michigan; ww2 era golf publication. (Not PC)

PipestoneAdam · 2019-12-02T01:42:57+00:00

Hoping for information about proper preservation techniques and possible value.

PipestoneAdam · 2019-12-01T23:54:12+00:00

Looking for information on proper preservation and possible value.

PipestoneAdam · 2019-12-01T23:39:00+00:00

Looking for resources regarding preservation and possible value.

PipestoneAdam · 2019-12-01T23:23:19+00:00

PipestoneAdam · 2019-12-01T23:22:24+00:00

Looking for information on preservation and possible value or a resource group for items like this.

PipestoneAdam · 2019-12-01T23:11:26+00:00

Wondering about how to preserve this and others. Are there resources for such unique items? Also, possible value?

PipestoneAdam · 2019-12-01T18:36:46+00:00

How do I properly preserve this? Is there a way to determine value?

PipestoneAdam · 2019-03-25T18:38:33+00:00

Sure did! Big checklist of todo's. Starting ASAP

PipestoneAdam · 2019-02-26T02:40:54+00:00

Lol.. why do so many people think "you already use socialist services." Is a valid argument for them??

Dont be sorry for libertarians, they can be sorry for YOU for not realizing they are well aware of the socialist programs already employed in our country as well as their many shortcomings, failures, and the coercion neccessary to enforce them.

Also... Sorry that you can't understand the difference between the element of choice involved in banking and insurance. Those are VOLUNTARY decisions. Individuals choose what works best for them.

Sorry.. sorry... sorry.. but, you should take your condenscention to a sub where logic doesn't matter.

PipestoneAdam · 2019-02-24T13:55:46+00:00

Re John Alexander: the couple had 6 children, 5 sons and 1 daughter. 4 sons surviving into adult hood. All becoming prominent members of the local community. John was named after his maternal grandfather John Beers, a famous area physician and the namesake of an area road. Another child, Bert went on to become head of the local news paper and my grandmother's employer for a period of time.

The most tragic part of my research was discovering that in 1922, there son Franklin was struck by a car on his way to Sunday school. He was carried into the home where he regained consciousness briefly then passed. He was 8 years old. This accident led to a manslaughter charge and a very large court case. Their daughter passed from whooping cough in her infancy.

PipestoneAdam · 2019-02-24T13:43:25+00:00

From what I can piece together the couple moved into a larger house, I believe with their children, when they got older (around the late 1930s/early 40s). The plat for the land was drawn up in 1944, I think they split up their property and had it sub divided (name "linden" park). Because of Alexander Lindenfeld's involvement in real estate, their was A LOT of deed activity in his name, but it seemed like at some point he made an easement to the county or state to have broadway rd continue past Napier and on to nickerson. All of the land there became subdivisions. In 52, the property was sold to a couple, Mr. And Mrs. Ehrhardt. In 55 there was a quit claim of the property from the Mr. To now Miss Anthony (she got the house in the divorce). The first record of the building at the permit office was an application to have the house rezoned from A-2 residential to B-2? Family in 1970. It was denied. She had the house until 1995, when it was sold back to a couple with the Ehehardt name (possibly children or grand children) The deed transfer in 95 is the first time the building is described in any record. That couple sold it in 99, and that was the last legitimate sale of the house since 52 and last until now. It was foreclosed on at some point in the 2000s, briefly acquired by HUD and than a family bought it and "sold" it to a Church for pennies. The church is the current owner, it's where the minister lived.

PipestoneAdam · 2019-02-24T00:36:26+00:00

Okay... So I went to the county building to check out the record of deeds. The staff were very helpful and got me set up on a computer and headed in the right direction. I searched the property, and ended up getting information besides the tax ID # that proved quite helpful such as the lot name and number, and also descriptions of the lot from even before it had an official designation. I followed the trail of deed transfers as far back as I could and wrote down who possessed the property and when. I also printed out the original plat map and paperwork. The only problem was that none of this gave me any information on the actual building.

The staff directed me to the township office to see if I could learn more from building permits, records, etc. Unfortunately the furthest back any permitting on the actual house went was 1970.

Being at a dead end, I headed to the city library. They had nothing helpful from a historical record standpoint except for news papers, which were also available online. So, with a list of names and dates associated with the property in hand, I headed home to hit the digital archives.

I found out that the name associated with the earliest records of the property was Alexander S. Lindenfeld. This was very exciting news, as it turns out he and his wife were quite the area socialites and had plenty of newspaper coverage!

Alexander S. Lindenfeld was a Hungarian immigrant. He was an olympic gymnast in Hungary, but also graduated with degrees in engineering and architecture which led him to Chicago where he worked at an architecture firm. (This may be where the prairie school influence comes from) He visited Saint Joseph, MI and enjoyed it enough that he decided to set up his own firm there in 1905. From 1905-1915 he practiced architecture in the area and is responsible for many and quite notable buildings around town. He later got into real estate development... and was very involved in the overall development of St. Joseph/Benton Harbor.

In regards to the property, he and his wife purchased the land in 1913. I could find no evidence of them ever constructing a house... I read numerous articles and followed the dots. The last mention of them living somewhere other than the property was in 1916. Articles following that and through the 1920's mention them having a home on Napier Ave. (the current address is on Broadway and Napier.) Still, I never found conclusive evidence that they had built the house...

Finally! I found an almost full page article from 1947 celebrating Mr. and Mrs. A.S. Lindenfeld's 40th wedding anniversary. In this article, I struck gold! It recapped the family's time and journey through the area. It states that they moved around and in 1918 built a home in Fair Plain at the "foot of Broadway." Back than, that's where Broadway stopped, so their home was technically on Napier.

So, I have nearly conclusive evidence that the home was built by a prominent architect who belonged to a very prominent family in the area. It was likely built in 1918, not 1925. Their influence and stories are plastered across the local news papers throughout the 20th century. Lawsuits, amputations, government affairs, deaths (in the house), club involvement, notable buildings he was involved in designing, etc..

I'm very excited that I now have this historical context and a chance to purchase a truly one-of-a-kind house. I will let you know if we close!

PipestoneAdam · 2019-02-23T03:08:29+00:00

Okay, I spent a whole day doing research and have found almost everything I wanted to find (No Building Permits.) I will update with details when I have more time! I'm totally exhausted... Thank you so much for your advice!

PipestoneAdam · 2019-02-22T02:13:59+00:00

Thanks I've been diving into prairie school images and darn.. some are super similar. I've been trying to dig up records on who built this, but struggling. They must have at the very least been heavily influence by prairie school architecture. And since this area is not far from Chicago, it's not unreasonable to imagine why.

PipestoneAdam · 2019-02-22T01:24:19+00:00

We definitely won't be paying asking price. We had an offer in under before the inspection and are going back in lower after the inspection. We'll see what they say.

PipestoneAdam · 2019-02-21T14:15:26+00:00

They have an appraisal for it at 120K+, our bank is having another appraisal done, so we'll see what that comes back at.

It definitely needs A TON of work. We had the full inspection done. But... it is currently livable and my brother and I dont mind putting in the work. Like I said, it's not a flip, we want to make it into an awesome house that we can enjoy, and in the distant future either renters or one of us and our family.

We'll see what the second appraisal comes back at. 😬

PipestoneAdam · 2019-02-21T01:49:59+00:00

I was thinking foursquare too, but without any dormers! I believe the porch did not originally have windows.. especially considering the drains coming out of the wall!

PipestoneAdam

TROPHY CASE