The first thought for an addition to the resi- dence, built in the 1970s, came from the acquisition of a copper finial from the Schlitz Brewery Building in Milwaukee, which had been demolished. It was purchased at an architectural antiques shop in Milwaukee in 1982. The finial was stored near the barn for ten years where it was in constant view, and a reminder of an exceedingly frivolous pur- chase. The nagging feeling that the purchase was a waste of money is what prompted the addition -- with a tower -- so as to make use of the finial! Jasper says, "talk about going from bad to worse!" With the desire for a larger music room to accommodate additions to the automatic music machine collections, and sufficient volume of space to expand the Wurlitzer Theatre Organ came the "logical" opportunity to add a tower to support the copper finial. As the idea moved toward reality, additional purchases of architectural artifacts were made from various buildings which were victims of demolition. Ten months after construction began, the thor- oughly reconditioned copper finial was lifted into place on the tower where it sits proudly, just as it did 85 years ago in Milwaukee. As one approaches the building, notable other than the tower is three-tiered bronze fountain, rising some eighteen feet, and weighing over 2000 pounds. The fountain, from Florence, Italy, is the centerpiece of a drive- encircled landscaped area. A nearby Seth Thomas street clock from a small town in lowa produces a soft "tick-tock" sound. Terra Cotta details on the exterior of the addition, including a helmeted face, and large crest panel, are from the GRANADA Theatre Chicago, Illinois, dating from 1926, and were designed by Edward Eichenbaum. One of a pair oflarge bronze lanterns lights the oak entry doors to the vestibule, Within the vestibule are four large redwood columns, surmounted by plaster capitals also from the GRANADA Theatre. The pilasters are sculpted from an example taken from the MUSIC BOX Theatre, in Chicago, Illinois, Louis Simpson, archichitect, 1929. Their capitals are also from the GRANADA. The capitals were made by Decorator's Supply of Chicago in 1926. The crowns on top of the four free-standing columns are of new manufacture, with ornament by Decorator's Supply, that is still in business, The lace-like fencing on top recreates the ambiance of the GRANADA with shadows of light from four large halogen indirect fixtures casting a subtle pattern on the vast bevelled ceiling. The small urns on top of each box are recreated from an original from the Chicago Theatre, 1921, C. W. and G. L. Rapp, Architects. The four half-urns above the corner pilasters are also from Rapp designs utilized in the SOUTHTOWN Theatre, 1931. The railings are more Rapp designs, and are also seen in the Main Salon. They are from the AMBASSADOR Theatre, St. Louis, dating from 1928, and have been reworked and expanded for use in this building. The antique brass torchiere figures are also from Florence, Italy, and rest on Breccia Aurora marble bases as do the four columns. The large chandelier over this staircase (the mate is over the stair near the elevator) are designs by William Penn Firth for the Victor S. Pearlman Company of Chica@o, and came from the UNITED ARTISTS Theatre, 1927, there, C, Howard Crane, Architect. The small fixtures under balconies are from the GRANADA, and are also Pearlman designs, as are the four over the balconies, which are again from the AMBASSADOR. The four from the AMBASSADOR curiously have the "Y" symbol of Chicago on their original glass panels. The two large wall fixtures over the instrument on the stair are from the CAPITOL Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota, Rapp and Rapp, Architects, and are Pearlman designs from 1920. The fixture under the stairs is also from the GRANADA. The unusual flxture over the main entry is from the REGAL Theatre lobby, designed in 1928 by Edward Eichenbaum and made by Pearlman. There are two large gold leaf bevelled mirrors, from a New Orleans mansion, near the doorway to the American Instrument hall, and near the doors to the Main Salon, These new quartered oak doors were manufactured in lowa in 1992, and feature stained, bevelled and jewelled glass designed by Mark Bogenreif to compliment the acanthus scroll carpet on the stairway. You will note, as you walk from space to space, that although the collections are very electic in nature, the architectural detailing has consistent, repeated elements throughout, such as the acroteria and antifixes on the roof line, in plaster elements, in metal ceilings, and also in many fixtures and furnishings. When you enter the Main Salon, attention is first drawn to the south to a large scrim, painted so as to replicate the Grand Drape of the Chicago PARADISE Theatre, designed by John Eberson in 1928. The origional curtain was appliqued on velvet and was ten percent smaller than this one. The scrim conceals six chambers and related mechanicals of the Wurlitzer organ that are distributed over four different floors. Framing the scrim is a valance that was styled so as to resemble the one in the PARADISE, but to follow the contour of the iron trelliage here. The six tassels, each over five feet long, came from the MEDINAH TEMPLE in Chicago, 1912, Huehl and Schmidt, architects. The fringe is from the UPTOWN Theatre, Chicago, Rapp and Rapp, architects, 1925. The ironwork is stylized to replicate that in a FIorida restaurant. The large trelliage beams, weighing over 50,000 pounds, actually support the ceiling but are suspended from larger clear span trusses above them, that in turn support the roof. Above the entire room is an attic, which is 12 feet high, holding lighting and mechanical equipment and a seventh organ chamber that speaks into the skylight area near the cage elevator. The iron columns were threaded through seamless cast aluminum bases before being set in place, and rise from the foundations to the ceiling of the Main Salon. The plaster capitals and crowns on these columns are new and styled so as to replicate, in miniature, those in the entry. The plaster side brackets are copied from an origional from the GRANADA. The fixtures hanging from the balcony ceiling are turn-of-the- century "bank" style. The wall fixtures are from the KEYMAN'S BALLROOM on west Madison Street in Chicago. The theatre seats are from the AMBASSADOR. The fixtures under the balcony, suspended from a tin ceiling include several sets of "bank" styled fixtures including a matched set of six, a three-tiered pair from a mansion and an interesting red brass set of three featuring coin-like medal- lions. Most unusual is a set of four hanging near the balcony edge, also from the turn-of-the-century and frequently nick-named "the banjos. " There is a set of eight Pearlman candle-style wall fixture from an as yet unidentified theatre. The four very large chande- liers hanging from the main ceiling are from the GARFIELD Theatre, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, designed by Dick and Bauer, and made by Pearlman in 1927. After all the glass for these fixtures had been replicated fram photographs, much of the original was found stored in a warehouse. The large bench with four animals on the main floor is also from MEDINAH, and is the center of a heated debate as to the specie, either camel or lion. The large square coffee table fre- quently on the main floor features four Victorian large bronze pilaster capitals made in a forgotten technology so as to be of reasonably light weight. The stairway to the lower level is lighted by two torchieres, from the MINNESOTA Theatre, Mlnneapolis, made by Pearlman for a design by Gravan and Maygar, 1928. The '"birdcage" fixtures throughout the lower level, cage elevator, and bar room are duplicates of turn-of-the-century origionals hanging from the cen- ter of the six large trelliage beams upstairs. The six curious wall fixtures are from the aforementioned REGAL Theatre. The Wurlitzer organ console sits on a mechanical lift in a "cage" in the lower room. The. lift came from the GRANADA Theatre in Chicago, and was made by Peter Clark, Inc. in 1926. The seven-story spiral staircase rising from the basement to the top of the tower is of quartered oak and is lighted by fifty-eight bronze dolphin fixtures dl!plicated from an original found re- cently in a flea market. At the top of the stairs, and extending down through the core, is a mechanical tower clock and its weight system, quietly, although facelessly, ticking away the hours. The entire structure is, however, only a showcase created for the collections of art, musical instruments, steam engines, and other paraphernalia that has been assembled to both preserve them in restored, operating condition, and to share them with those who are fascinated with the products of earlier geniuses of science and art.