LIVING HERE
“Aloha Lodge.”
Listed at $30 million, this place is the most expensive home for sale in Wisconsin and it’s right here in Lake Geneva. The estate is located at W. 3120 S. Lakeshore Dr., has 10 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms, while sitting on 12 acres of land. The name was inspired by the estate’s sunset view, which reminded the Drakes of their visits to Hawaii. The estate was originally built in 1900 for Tracy Drake, founder of the Drake and Blackstone hotels in Chicago. Tracy Drake inherited much of his wealth from his father, John Burroughs Drake, a hotelier who made a name for himself as proprietor of Chicago’s Tremont House. His patrons included Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. When the Great Chicago Fire destroyed the building in 1871, John Drake started two new hotels. Tracy and his brother, John Jr., were the benefactors of their father’s success. The move to Geneva Lake preceded the founding of Chicago’s Drake Hotel, and likely was funded by inheritance from John B. Drake, who passed away in 1895. Construction on Aloha Lodge began in 1900. Architect Howard Van Doren Shaw designed the house in true colonial style.
The 8 bedroom, 11 full-bathroom, 5-half bathroom home was the first of several lakeside mansions designed by Chicago architect Howard Van Doren Shaw. Aloha Lodge sits on more than 360 feet of shoreline with many of the original elements of the 123-year-old home remaining including several intricate stained-glass windows, the front door, and multiple custom “Aloha Lodge” brand plates. Another three bedrooms can be found in the 2,000 square foot Captain’s House, along with its 2.5 bathrooms. The property has a “train house” which is an 1,800 square foot building built in 2001 to accommodate the owner’s train set. A full interior and exterior renovation in 2011 tripled the home’s original size, extending its footprint to add two wings off the original structure, built with period details to look as if they were always part of the home. The outdoor portions of the 12-acre parcel are all designed with lake life in mind.
Shoreline-facing porches are found throughout the property, and on multiple levels. There’s a swimming pool and hot tub that offer an alternative way to enjoy the water because of the often-chilly lake waters. The estate even comes with a large pier that comes with five boat slips for all the floating water toys; and a shoreside gazebo offers a shaded spot to get lost in the Geneva Lake views.
The Business Improvement District interview of Mathew Blake:
Matthew Blake, Photographer, Lake Geneva
“I moved around a lot as a kid. I lived in Washington State, Texas, Florida, and most recently Racine. I moved out to Lake Geneva about nine years ago to be closer to my brother. He was schizophrenic and, unfortunately, passed away. I got to be with him for about a year before he died and I grew to love the area. I decided I wanted to call Lake Geneva ‘home’. I wish there were more places in the community to interact in a diverse, sober place. I grew up in the inner-city and there were community centers that I wish we had more of here. I understand it’s a small town, but there should be places to bring people together. When my brother was alive, we really enjoyed the hunt of thrifting in the area; it’s something we would do together a lot. I think it’s very tough meeting people locally because, if you’re a non-drinker, there aren’t many places to go where I can interact with other people my age.
I’ve lived in the same neighborhood just outside the downtown Lake Geneva area for nine years. Watching neighbors be pushed out and their houses turned into Airbnbs, it’s quite concerning. It’s tough because this is home base for me and housing prices are rapidly increasing. It’s my dream to do photography here. I love this town. What would I do if one day my landlord said to me, ‘Oh, by the way, I’m going to sell this place’? Where am I going to go? It’s really hard to find an affordable place to live in Lake Geneva. This is constantly on my mind. I want to give everything 100% and I find it hard to give it the whole 100% when I know it might not last forever.
This is the first year of my life I’ve been able to relax. I’ve lost a lot of people who are close to me. Multiple cousins, my brother, two uncles, and many friends. But I know I have to keep going. That’s why I have dedicated my life to photography. I want to use my work to give back to the community that’s given me a place to call home. I’m so thankful to be here to make others happy through my art.
I’m self-taught in my photography. I really enjoy the lake and shore path because it always has a new angle, new lighting, and new inspiration. As soon as I put the drone in the air, it gave me a whole different perspective. It felt like now we can look at everything from all these different diverse angles other people haven’t seen. It’s like I can fly – like I have a superpower.
I got to meet some other local artists I’ve been looking up to and had always wanted to meet. It was completely accidently just last week and it was so cool to sit down with them and hear their stories, their perspectives on art. I would love to see more of that…this creative community built to meet together and exchange ideas.”
Matthew Blake, Matthew Blake Photography
