Riverbend

About this property

The Kohler Riverbend Estate is an historic property located in Kohler, Wisconsin. It was built in 1922–1923 by Walter J. Kohler Sr., then governor of Wisconsin and president of the Kohler Company. It was reported to cost in excess of $1,000,000 to construct (equivalent to $18,900,000 in 2025). Kohler commissioned architect Richard Philipp, of the Milwaukee firm of Brust & Philipp, to design the house. Phillip had previously designed a house for Walter's father, John Michael Kohler. Phillip had also previously worked on the Kohler Village for Walter Kohler, designing most of the new structures built from 1916 through the mid-1920s. Kohler commissioned the Olmsted Brothers, well known for creating Central Park in New York City and the Harvard and Stanford campuses, to design the grounds of the estate. The grounds were landscaped in the English tradition to accentuate the natural beauty of the site that captivated Walter and his wife Charlotte. The design of the house and grounds was inspired during trips that they made to Great Britain and Europe. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Riverbend was a gathering place for social occasions. Walter and Charlotte entertained their guests on a grand scale. Walter Kohler died in 1940 and his Charlotte died in 1947. In 1948 The property was purchased by his son, John Michael Kohler III, and his wife Julilly House Kohler. John and Julilly would continue the tradition opening the house to the public and of hosting large events. John Kohler died in 1968 and Julilly died in 1976. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The house was acquired from Walter's descendants by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Kohler Co. in turn purchased Riverbend in 1985 from the Trust. The house sat empty for about 15 years until the restoration effort was begun in March 2000. The home was expanded and remodeled with a four-story addition added at the east end, and opened in 2001 as an exclusive private membership club. The house currently features 31 guest rooms, two dining rooms, solarium, living room, Rathskeller, meeting rooms, spa with treatment areas, steam room, sauna, whirlpool, and an indoor-outdoor year-round swim-through pool. The house is a prime example of Tudor Revival architecture. The house was considered architecturally significant enough that it was included in the book Great Houses of America along with 29 other houses such as Monticello, Biltmore, The Breakers, and Lyndhurst. The house was notable, partly because unlike most Tudor Revival homes constructed in the time period, it was not designed with a modern interior. There was much effort to use typical old-world materials and craftsmanship in the construction.

Location

Categories

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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