This 1908 postcard view shows Edward and Hortense Swift’s recently-completed Villa Hortensia along Geneva Lake in the Town of Linn. Built in 1906, Villa Hortensia, W3415 Snake Rd., is marking its 116th year.
Original blueprint plans for the construction of Villa Hortensia in the Town of Linn. In 1906, Edward and Hortense Swift of Chicago commissioned architect Howard Van Doren Shaw to build them a summer estate on Geneva Lake's north shore in the Town of Linn. The palatial summer house, named “Villa Hortensia” upon its completion, is vaguely Mediterranean in style with Arts and Crafts details. A stucco mansion with a red clay tile roof, Villa Hortensia offered grand lakefront terraces, handcrafted millwork and detailing, and expansive lawns. The driveway entrance of Villa Hortensia featured a covered entry porch with three arched doors supported by classical Doric columns, which covered three sets of glass French doors and arched transoms.
The Geneva Lake Villa Hortensia estate in the Town of Linn was sold by the Swift family in November 1921 to Silas James Llewellyn, president of the Interstate Iron and Steel Co. and the Chicago Malleable Casting Co. Renamed Pen-Y-Bryn in honor of Llewellyn's Welsh homeland, the estate was sold in 1929 to Chicagoan John J. "Jack" Lynch
An aerial view of the 20-acre Villa Hortensia estate on the north shore of Geneva Lake in the Town of Linn, W3415 Snake Rd. The mansion was built in 1906 for Chicago meatpacker Edward F. Smith and his wife, Hortense N. Swift. The Swift family owned Villa Hortensia until selling it in November 1921. Eight families have called the mansion home over its 166-year history.
This 1908 postcard view shows Edward and Hortense Swift’s recently-completed Villa Hortensia along Geneva Lake in the Town of Linn. Built in 1906, Villa Hortensia, W3415 Snake Rd., is marking its 116th year.
An aerial view of the 20-acre Villa Hortensia estate on the north shore of Geneva Lake in the Town of Linn, W3415 Snake Rd. The mansion was built in 1906 for Chicago meatpacker Edward F. Smith and his wife, Hortense N. Swift. The Swift family owned Villa Hortensia until selling it in November 1921. Eight families have called the mansion home over its 166-year history.
The Geneva Lake Villa Hortensia estate in the Town of Linn was sold by the Swift family in November 1921 to Silas James Llewellyn, president of the Interstate Iron and Steel Co. and the Chicago Malleable Casting Co. Renamed Pen-Y-Bryn in honor of Llewellyn's Welsh homeland, the estate was sold in 1929 to Chicagoan John J. "Jack" Lynch
Original blueprint plans for the construction of Villa Hortensia in the Town of Linn. In 1906, Edward and Hortense Swift of Chicago commissioned architect Howard Van Doren Shaw to build them a summer estate on Geneva Lake's north shore in the Town of Linn. The palatial summer house, named “Villa Hortensia” upon its completion, is vaguely Mediterranean in style with Arts and Crafts details. A stucco mansion with a red clay tile roof, Villa Hortensia offered grand lakefront terraces, handcrafted millwork and detailing, and expansive lawns. The driveway entrance of Villa Hortensia featured a covered entry porch with three arched doors supported by classical Doric columns, which covered three sets of glass French doors and arched transoms.
