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This American Craftsman home was built in 1914 by architects Hatzfeld and Knox. The contractor was Joseph Neukischer and the owner was H.P. Irmeter. The cost of the home was $6000. For 62 years, this was the home of the Rozek family. From the sidewalk, you can see its dramatic architectural features. The brick and wood sided home is designed in two sections so that it fits quite well on the corner. Facing the other side is a clipped gable peak on the second floor and a sun porch on the first floor.

Facing the street is the front entrance. Features of this façade include a front gabled roof line at the second floor with open eaves and a wide overhang. At the second floor level, the clapboard siding is visible. At the first floor level is the brick structure with a box like bay and ribbon windows. All of these elements indicate Craftsman design which was popular in the United States from about 1905-1920.

The home has most of its original woodwork and the current owners have retained the basic layout intact. As you enter the front door, notice the large and beautifully proportioned bracket that meets the roof line that extends over the entrance porch. The front door is the original oak. Once inside, you will be in an entrance hall that serves to create a good traffic flow.

To the left as you enter is the living room. This room shows many Craftsman features among them the arrangement of the ceiling beam in a rectangle with the original light fixtures at the corners. In the center of the room is the original light fixture, lovingly restored by the current owner, who found it intact in the basement. Perhaps the most beautiful feature of the home is the brick fireplace at the end of the room. On either side of it are two cozy benches and, above the benches, there are classical Craftsman design art glass windows. The floors and woodwork are oak. The living room opens out onto a beautiful sun porch through French doors. This room probably had casement windows in the original design. After you step into the sun porch, be sure to notice the second set of doors which act as storm doors in the winter season. In the summer, this room provides a place to catch a cool breeze.

Back in the hallway, you will see the glass and wood pocket doors that separate the hall from the dining room. As in the living room, the ceiling design and window design are Craftsman. The arrangement of the beams in the ceiling is unique. All the woodwork is oak. Along the north wall, there once stood a beautiful built-in china hutch. This was removed by the previous owners when they sold the home three years ago. The door between the dining room and the kitchen is oak and is beautifully designed with a central square in raised oak moldings.

The kitchen floors and the other floors in the home are maple. The kitchen has been remodeled since the home was built, but not substantially. It has a wainscoting around the room and limited counter space. The back door opens out onto a small porch. In a hallway, off the kitchen, is a built-in maple cabinet and, just opposite that cabinet, is the pantry. On the wall next to the pantry is the laundry chute, complete with matching maple door. Past the pantry is a back hallway with two bedrooms and a bath. You will see one bedroom, which is set up as a guest room. This hallway separates the private quarters of the family from the rest of the home. From this hallway you reach the staircase to the second floor.

The upstairs hallway shows another unique element in this home’s design. The bedrooms on either side of the staircase have two windows which open onto the hallway. This creates a cross-draft through the rooms. One room has been turned into a library/study and in this room is one of the original light fixtures.

Between the two rooms is a bathroom that has been expanded and restored by the current owners. The floor is maple and new maple trim moldings have been installed as a wainscoting around the room. This matches the maple moldings around the door. New tile has been installed which replicates what would have been original, a white glazed tile in rectangles like bricks. Inset in this tile wall in the tub alcove are three special tiles in the green color which is the hallmark of Craftsman design. The toilet tank is the original oak. The sink, though new, fits the period of the home. The mirror frame uses the same maple as the trim and moldings.