There’s a house on the south shore that no one talks about. It’s not the biggest house or the loudest house. There are no fireworks here. To the contrary, the house might even be hard to notice if you’re not especially looking for it. But if you focus through the old growth oaks and maples and look to the center of that massive swath of deciduous shoreline you will spot it: Allegheny. Howard Van Doren Shaw’s final commission on Geneva Lake, a gracious colonial with calm proportions and a facade as gentle as the five hundred and sixty plus feet of level frontage. It was home to Lewis Meyers, a captain of industry who worked for Thomas Edison and in the late 1800s made his fortune electrifying the then-new Chicago elevated train and city street lights. Today, for the first time in generations, Allegheny is available for sale.
The lakefront lawn and surrounding gardens of this magnificent estate are uniquely special, that’s not up for debate. But perhaps the driveway approach, a wishbone entry off of South Lakeshore Drive that delivers its fortunate owners and guests through a classically styled carriage house, perhaps that’s the magic here. Or maybe it’s not the carriage house at all. Maybe it’s the more than 20 wooded acres that have been protected by a conservation easement for so many years, maybe that’s the component of this property that offers so much allure. The driveway cuts through the carriage house and then meanders for quite some distance, around and through the old growth forest, before opening up to a most delightful lakeside property replete with perennial gardens that are both impressive and understated at once.
That’s the key to Allegheny. It’s easily a top three property on this world class lake, but it achieves that stature quietly and calmly and without the flair that accompanies some of our other marquee homes. The home has been preserved by its current stewards and represents today with all of the original character and warmth that Mr. Shaw first envisioned. Superlative century old wallpaper by Parisian artisan Zuber. Five masonry fireplaces. Original hardwood floors. Original hardware and fixtures. This home is a perfect example not of the gilded country estates that begged for attention, but rather of a country estate that was designed to provide a respite from an otherwise harried life. If a legacy estate at the lake is something you’ve been after, this is it.
Confidential showings upon qualified request. $24,000,000