Home to world famous theater couple Alfred Lunt and his wife Lynn Fontanne, Ten Chimneys earned National Historic Landmark status in the early 2000s.[1] Lunt, a Milwaukee native, bought the site in 1913 and began building the house a year later.[2] The Lunts brought in famed theater set designer Claggett Wilson to paint elaborate murals on the walls and ceilings.[3] They hosted a number of world renowned celebrities at Ten Chimneys, including Noël Coward, Sir Lawrence Olivier, and Katherine Hepburn.[4] Threatened by land developers, the property was saved by local arts and preservation advocates in 1996. Now administered by the Ten Chimneys Foundation, the house and grounds serve as a museum and as a venue for public programs, specialized theater events, arts education programs, acting workshops, and lectures.[5]
Footnotes [+]
- ^ Robert Simonson, “Lunt and Fontanne’s Most Lasting Production,” The New York Times, July 13, 2003, accessed October 24, 2011. See also “Ten Chimneys,” National Historic Landmark Nomination.
- ^ M. Caren Connolly and Louis Wasserman, Wisconsin’s Own: Twenty Remarkable Homes (Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2010), 270-276.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Ten Chimneys, “About the Foundation and Mission,” accessed July 6, 2016.
For Further Reading
Connolly, M. Caren, and Louis Wasserman, “Ten Chimneys.” In Wisconsin’s Own: Twenty Remarkable Homes, 267-278. Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2010.
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