Bressmer-Baker House
- Style
- Queen Anne
- City
- Springfield, IL
The Bressmer-Baker House at 913 6th Street began in 1853 when Hiram Walker built the original structure. Merchant John Bressmer bought it two years later and had architect Thomas Dennis redesign it, and in 1889 businessman William B. Baker purchased the house and hired Charles Wesley Shinn for a second redesign, giving it the Queen Anne appearance that survives today. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 29, 1982, and is now used, along with surrounding properties, as short-term rentals under the name The Bressmer.
the building
Shinn's copper-domed turret. Charles Wesley Shinn's 1889 redesign added a copper-domed turret projecting from the southeast corner of the house, the only turret of its kind in Springfield.
Irregular Queen Anne massing. Shinn's design gave the house an irregular plan, an assortment of exterior materials, varied gables, and tall chimneys, hallmarks of the Queen Anne style applied to a house that had already been rebuilt twice before.
the style
Charles Wesley Shinn's 1889 redesign for William B. Baker gave the house its Queen Anne form, distinguished by the unique copper-domed corner turret, irregular plan, mixed exterior materials, varied gables, and tall chimneys.
More on Queen Annethe architect
Thomas Dennis redesigned the house for John Bressmer after Hiram Walker's original 1853 structure. Charles Wesley Shinn later redesigned it again in 1889 for William B. Baker, and Shinn's Queen Anne version is the one that has survived to the present.
significance
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 29, 1982. After serving as law offices, it and surrounding properties are now used as short-term rentals under the name The Bressmer.
nearby
- Dana-Thomas House
- Elijah Iles House
- Vachel Lindsay House
- Bell Miller Apartments
- Cathedral Church of St. Paul
- Illinois Governor's Mansion