BAUMAN HOUSE (1926) 741 WILDER

A mixture of English and Dutch Colonial Revival influences, this house is unique. A most striking feature is its tall peaked gables, which extend from the start of the second floor to the top of the attic. This vast expanse of roof is covered with wooden shingles. The immense walls are of irregular brick; the windows are patterned with leaded glass.
Apart from the appearances, the history of this home is interesting in itself. It was built by contractor Charles Bauman, who built many homes in the Highlands. His daughter June Fuller relates that it was also designed by him, believing the inspiration to have come from a house he saw in Flossmoor. Being part of a contractor's family was not easy. June remembers both her parents often laboring over plans for homes he was building. 'We never lived in a house too long' the contractors would build a house, live there in order to finish, beautify, landscape it, and move as soon as it sold. Her mother lived in 18 different houses in Aurora.' However they stayed at this one longer because it didn't sell as easily. She attributes it to that 'burned brick' used on the house and maybe ahead of its time. The Baumans actually lived there until almost 1930. At the time, the lot to the rear of the property was full of apple trees. During this time, June's best girlfriend was Martha Riddle, the daughter of Highlands developer Frank Riddle. June attended Nancy Hill School. Her father was building some of the finest houses in the Highlands, and had a good crew of men. She remembers them as being great craftsmen, great mechanics, some of whom had worked at the Burlington Railroad shops. They could pretty much build or craft anything. She remembers playing in the unfinished houses at the time, and even building fires in the fireplaces, one time consuming several pieces of the fine finishing wood to be used in the home before her father discovered her.
She also remembers the Spanish-style house next door being built, and instead of heavy equipment, a team of horses was used to haul up dirt from the basement excavation. Bauman liked to add several of his trademark features to the homes he built. He put the kitchens in the front of the house instead of the back. He used special door hardware and electrical fixtures, hinged stair steps, and a 'secret hiding place in each home.
You'll appreciate the contractor's well-crafted details in this home; sunken living room with red brick fireplace, arched and curved doorways and ceilings. There is also decorative plaster moldings in the living room and dining room, the inside stairway and hallway built-ins. The addition of two family rooms is a real plus for relaxing in front of the fireplace.
After the Baumans, 741 Wilder had a succession of owners. In the 1930's and 1940's alone, they were: a salesman from Barber-Greene, an agent for the Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin Railroad, a correspondent for International Harvester, an attorney, a salesman for Richards-Wilcox, and finally, J.M. Feltes, President of Feltes Coal & Gravel Company.
The home is a masterpiece of character for all who enter it for the first time. It is built of burnt brick with a shake roof. It has a 2 car garage with 2nd floor storage. You enter the large sunken living room from the front hall with French doors and steps off of the large formal dining room. The living room has a wood burning fireplace with sconces. All the walls are rough plaster and the living room and dining room have coved ceilings with decorative plaster mouldings and plaster designs in the ceiling fixtures. The dining room has sconces formed with the same plaster. The living room has Victorian carpeting in a pink rose design. The dining room has scraped quarter sawed oak flooring. The kitchen has new pergo flooring and tumbled tile on the steps. The tandem family rooms were built in 1949 and 1978. The first family room has a working gas fireplace with a large picture window looking out over the backyard in-ground pool. The one family room has wood ceiling tiles and the second family room has a wet bar and stone wall separating the first family room. The backyard is a professionally landscaped English garden surrounded by flagstone an English wall.
You'll love the open curving stairway with a landing half-way in its original wood. Upstairs there are three bedrooms, two of which have hardwood floors and the third carpeted. There are two window seats storage in the second bedroom. The bathroom was updated two years ago to resemble a French bathroom with tumbled tile on the floor. The walk up attic is large and has cedar closets for storage. All the windows have leaded cross mullions and are in good shape. The original milk delivery metal wall unit still is in the back hallway.