House Confidential
Shorewood’s Mystery Mansion
Margaret Connolly Flint has a gorgeous Lake Drive home, but why are all the blinds drawn?
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Margaret Connolly Flint has a gorgeous Lake Drive home, but why are all the blinds drawn? Back to the full article.
Photos - Page 2
Categories: House Confidential
Make sure to click on the photo gallery pictures. I have written captions for each of them to tell more of the story.
Thanks,
Horne
some years back I was fortunate enough to meet Mrs. Flint, she’s quite a lovely lady. I don’t understand why such a negative toned article has been written about her. Look at all the money and businesses that she and her late husband have supported-certainly price has never been their concern.
Not only does she pay hefty real estate taxes to Shorewood but now apparently similar taxes to Milwaukee as well. Both she and her husband have supported the Milwaukee Public Library very generously-always made substantial gifts anonymously and Mrs. Flint is a devoted catholic as well. Yes she wants her privacy and why not? Ask anyone of her contractors or anyone who has done business with her and maybe (though not likely-due to confidence clauses)they will tell you Mrs Flint is extremely generous and always very kind but Mrs Flint also has a very discerning eye and will only accept the very best and finest workmanship–and hasn’t any problem to pay for that. The interior of her home is magnificient yet reserved. Exquisite 18th c English and American furniture-nothing heavy or pondering-well maybe except for the lush window treatments. She prefers her rooms quiet and the light controlled. and her draperies by the way are open–what you see from the street are her closed glass curtains made of the finest available linen–plenty of light comes through those curtains!
Congratulations to them! Their beautiful home is illustrative of a long lifetime of making good decisions. Hats off to smart people!
Frankly, who cares if she does close her drapes (which Mr Mahoney informs us she does not)?
@Harvey, it sounds like the decision to be a Uihlein heir was the best decision they made!
i’ve enjoyed your entire series of stories on the homes of notable milwaukeeans and this one may be the best yet. patrick mahoney’s comments add valuable factual information, although i disagree with his characterization of your piece as negative. since you are invariably writing about political or athletic celebrities or the rich (sometimes the subject is two out of three), i think they can stand to have some gentle fun poked their way. wish you had thought about doing these stories back when you worked at the old milwaukee sentinel 20 years ago.
@ Patrick, or anyone else who knows …
What, pray tell, are “‘glass curtains'” made of the finest available linen?” Glass curtains? Never heard that term before; I must be so uncouth.
I agree with Mr. Lamke’s comment. I enjoy your writings and I don’t view this piece as being negative. I recognize the irony of razing a neighboring mansion to enlarge a lawn — and then seemingly closing oneself off from viewing or using the lawn! But who am I to judge?
… Now, just what are these “glass curtains made of the finest available linen?” Mr. Mahoney speaks of?
Hmm to make a clarification: Long time ago when we cared that windows were properly dressed: glass curtains are unlined fabric be they made out of cotton, linen or silk. They hang on curtain rods with rings so that they may be pulled back to wash the windows. sometimes they are stretched on channel rods top and bottom as well. then the next layer would be draperies that were generally hung on traverse rods so that they could be opened or closed. Finally a pelmet or cornice of various types were used to conceal all the hardware of the draperies and or curtains. Today most people barely hang up a width of fabric on the windows or leave them uncovered to display to passing world (including would be intruders) all your possessions.. also its a fast way for the sun to fade-out your rugs, art and upholstery and wood floors as well…
I have met Mrs. Flint on numerous occasions while doing work at her home. She is very particular, but as long as things are done as she wants them done, kind and generous. After doing work, she always rewarded myself and my crew with a nice tip and often a Sendik’s bag full of snacks. Believe me when I say that she helps keep a lot of tradespeople busy with the money she spends.
Margaret Flint was a regular feature many years ago at Affiliated Medical Services on the east side. She would drive down in her Cadillac and stand outside the clinic in her fur-lined coat berating the young women seeking reproductive health services. A very conservative Catholic, she would also criticize the other Catholics for not being old-school enough for her.
It would be her societal obligation to all that is fair to open her gates so that we can ALL get to stand in front of her fountain. Why should this person, who apparently is part of the 1%, be allowed to live better than everyone else around her? I have seen her standing, watching the fountain, and I would like to see it the way that she does, too. It is my right. Why should one person be allowed to have access to something so wonderful and I cannot? What makes her better? Her money? The city should MAKE her open those gates – her property sits on Earth, it belongs to all of us, because we are people, too. Why should this person, this family, get to ‘own’ and ‘control’ this piece of Earth?
Why won’t you post my comment?
She doesn’t own the Earth that building is on!
I want to go see the fountain…I’ve rode my bike past it a ton of times…why can’t I see it, too?
Hypocrites.
Oops! Maybe you don’t know that my grandparents Johnston bought the lot next door when they built their home. In the winter my grandfather and his handyman put up a toboggan slide for the grandchildren to use. When we were done with our sleds, et we shed out boots in the back hall and the cook, Selma, gave us cookies and Johnston’s hot cocoa.
I’m not sure when the lot was sold but remember the new house being built.
Was my earlier comment too long to print? I thought people would like to know a little about how my grandparents made their house a Home.
Andrew Davidson,
Some people might consider you a little unhinged, but I think you have a point. In honor of your wisdom, I will go to every Packer home game this year and demand that I watch from the sidelines (50 yard line). For the earth that field hath been built upon belongs to all of us, and I deserve to see it as Aaron Rodgers does!
We could carpool?
Lmk, Morty
Unhinged? Probably. However, my post was tongue and cheek…had just read an article about the new mine being proposed/built up north and that was (paraphrasing) basically what one of the eco-terrorist’s position on things were. I figured “hey, why can’t that argument be made for every piece of land that is privately owned?” Just wanted to see what others would say to such on “on it’s face ridiculous” position.
#17 Andrew Davidson
You admit that you used my blog to set a trap for other readers. But you failed; too clever by half. An important distinction between the proposed mine and Mrs. Flint’s property is that the mine has a public access easement in exchange for tax relief granted to the owners by the people through their legislators.
You will doubtless be pleased to know that there is legislation proposed to preserve the tax breaks while prohibiting public access.
My name is Laura Marion Tallmadge. Bami was my great grandmother. I remember this house. I loved her dearly and miss her everyday.
Yes, this is my Great Grandmother’s home.
She is the kindest most wonderful person you ever want to meet. She bought her silver Cadillac Sevilles from us and was overly kind to every person in our dealership at Nodell Cadillac when I was GSM.