TOWN OF LINN — For Christine Jacobson Brookes, the Northwestern Military and Naval Academy was more than just a school.
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20 photos from Black Point, where time stands still
Off the veranda
Black Point is opening for the 2020 season, limiting guests and allowing tours by reservation only.
Meet Dave Desimone
Dave Desimone, site director for Black Point Estate & Gardens, has announced that the facility has been temporarily closed to the public after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus.
Community programs
Black Point staff also connect with the community through various programs, including walking tours in Lake Geneva. Steve Person, pictured, has led “Angels Carried Them Away: Death and Mourning in the Victorian Era,” a program on funeral and mourning customs.
120 steps up from the lake
Guests arrive at Black Point by boat, from the Riviera in Lake Geneva. Across Geneva Lake, up 120 stairs, lies the 20-room “cottage” finished in 1888 for Chicago beer baron Conrad Seipp.
Flowers everywhere
Some of the plants near the Black Point veranda.
The tower
Arguably the most iconic feature of the Black Point home is its observation tower.
Up the stairs
Another popular attraction at Black Point is the stairwell of the tower.
Down the stairs
The view down the tower stairwell.
A life of luxury
Inside Black Point, the furnishings in each room present an idea of the luxury in which the Seipp family lived when they spent their days on Geneva Lake.
Touched by green thumbs
More evidence of the skilled green thumbs working at Black Point Estate & Gardens.
The doll house
When the Black Point property was donated to the state, one of the items that came along with it was this doll house, which remained in the Seipp family for generations. In 2005, the doll house was restored by the Royal Joy Williams Questers, a group volunteers who help fix and preserve artifacts for historical sites.
Conrad Seipp Brewing Co. ad 1
German immigrant Conrad Seipp started making beer in Chicago in 1854. Brewers of beers touted as "just a little better than the kind you thought was best," the Conrad Seipp Brewing Co. was among hundreds of U.S. breweries that failed to survive Prohibition (1919-1933). The company and several of its historic pre-Prohibition brews were revived in 2020 by Seipp's great-great-great-granddaughter, Laurin Mack. Tourists at Black Point Estate, the family's 1888-2005 Geneva Lake summer home in the Town of Linn, have the opportunity to purchase and quaff a cold Seipp brew at the end of their tour. The revived Seipp brews are made in collaboration with Metropolitan Brewing, a Chicago craft brewer.
Conrad Seipp Brewing Co. ad 2
Chicago-based Seipp Brewing Co. was once a dominant player in the Chicago and U.S. beer market, producing over 250,000 barrels annually at its height and briefly ranking as the nation's largest brewer between 1872-1874. Beer baron Conrad Seipp, who built a Wisconsin summer home on Geneva Lake in the Town of Linn, was a pioneer of modern brewing with innovations including new techniques in refrigeration, distribution and marketing. Seipp died in 1890 and members of his family continued to run the company until its 1930 demise, shortly before the 1933 end of Prohibition. The company and several of its historic pre-Prohibition brews were revived by Seipp's great-great-great-granddaughter, Laurin Mack, in collaboration with Chicago craft brewer Metropolitan Brewing.
Songbooks
Songs of yesterday, preserved in books kept at the piano in Black Point.
As it was
Most everything in Black Point is actually kept as it likely was back in the days of Conrad Seipp.
More labor of love
Another restoration project by local Questers was a book case at Black Point. Here, Dave Desimone pulls back a protective cover to reveal the restoration.
Keeping time
Four antique clocks at Black Point were also restored the Kishwaketoe Questers.
Garden plan
The master garden plan from 2018 highlighted several phases of landscaping and construction work to be done on the property.
Fresh plantings
Also from 2018: The stone walkway leading to what were then new plants at Black Point Estate & Gardens.
Growing a garden
Roy Diblik, owner of Northwind Perennial Farm, seen here watering the plants of Black Point's woodland garden in 2018.
