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For a glimpse into the lives of Racine's old-line business leaders, plan to devote part of next Sunday to a Preservation-Racine tour, "Scions of Industry: Their Architectural Gifts."
The 23rd Annual Tour of Historic Places sponsored by the preservation group will run from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and include six homes and the Racine Water Works building, all constructed between 1930 and 1962. Styles range from Gothic to contemporary.
Though many mourn the loss of some of Racine's old buildings, Mary Murdoch, president of Preservation-Racine Inc., was impressed with the community's architectural legacy when she moved to the city 10 years ago. Murdoch and her husband, Ian, had last lived in Longview, Texas, a city of about 70,000 where "nothing was saved they were trying to be like Dallas," she said.
Thrilled by Racine's stock of older structures, she quickly joined the preservation organization. "I could hardly wait to roll up my sleeves and get to work," she said.
The tour is the major fund-raiser for the group and all proceeds will support its purpose: to identify and encourage the preservation of buildings, sites and districts that have historical, architectural or cultural value.
Tour sites (and their scions) are:
John Erskine House (1955): This contemporary house, called "Trilogy," was built by John Erskine, then vice president of Racine Hydraulics, and his wife, Catherine. It is situated on a peninsula that suggested its form, an equilateral triangle, as well as...