Construction of Waldheim

The architect of Waldheim is considered to have been Henry Osterman, although there appears to be no recorded documentation of that fact.  Osterman was born in Essen, Germany in 1862.  He received training as an architect in Dusseldorf, although documentation of what that involved does not exist.  Osterman and three brothers immigrated to the United States in 1889, settling in Walla Walla where they worked as carpenters.  By 1896 all three brothers had returned to Germany; Henry was by then advertising himself as a general contractor.  Not licensed by the State of Washington as an architect until 1919, the year the state began issuing licenses, he hung out his shingle as an architect in 1899.  As fellow Germans living in Walla Walla, it is not beyond speculation that Henry Osterman and the Baumeisters became acquainted.  With six children at home, possibly a seventh from Max’s first marriage, the Baumeisters no doubt needed a larger house than the one on Newell Street, and their financial circumstances could bear the financial burden.

Although the exact date is missing, a bid sheet from the year 1896 to construct Waldheim exists.  A total of seven bids from six different contractors were submitted.  Of those seven, only one was higher than Osterman’s; nonetheless Henry Osterman was awarded the contract to build Waldheim, supporting the probability of a friendship between Osterman and the Baumeisters.

It is recorded in various sources that Alvine Baumeister worked with Osterman, specifying what she wanted for her new house.  A recent discovery of Alvine’s obituary (she died October 11, 1937, aged 74) stated that during her girlhood she aspired to be an architect.  Thus, the design for Waldheim was undoubtedly a collaboration between Alvine’s basic understanding of architecture and Henry Osterman’s ability to put her ideas into a working set of plans, making him the de facto architect of Waldheim.

Gradually the Baumeister holdings in Mountain View Addition consisted of 90 acres with 75 varieties of pine, spruce and other trees, but by 1896 when construction of Waldheim likely began it was surrounded by 13 acres.

The completed house stood two and one-half stories with a full-width front porch and a shingled, full-height square tower at the northwest corner, that was thought to give the house a Rhenish or Rhineland look, reminiscent of castles along the Rhine River.  In that the house was essentially of Colonial Revival design, the tower, somewhat clumsily distinctive, could be thought of as a quizzical ornament, an architectural folly. 5  Although lacking a crenelated parapet, the pyramid-capped projections or merlons at the tower’s four corners probably were meant to insinuate a battlemented parapet; however, the delicate Eastlake-derived, lathe-turned ornament between these projections could have been shattered by a single volley from a Ping-Pong ball! 6

Except for the asymmetrically-placed tower, the main façade was otherwise centrally massed.   The house had a hipped roof with dormer projections.  The entrance was centered on the wide porch, approached by five steps.  Originally the porch did not have a railing.  It was supported primarily by four square posts, assisted by ten simple round columns.  At the second level the porch was surrounded by an ornamental balustrade, the section directly above the main entrance embellished with a type of pseudo-della Robbia ornament.  A three-sided bay was located on the second level, surmounted by an ornamental balustrade.  The north side of the house had a secondary entrance accessed from a porte-cochère that was surmounted by a balustrade matching the others on the house, and at the attic level was a projecting gable with a similar ornamental balustrade.  Other than the shingled siding of the tower projection, the balance of the house was clapboards.  All windows were double-hung.  Floors on the main level were oak, those of the upper floors were less expensive fir.  There were eight fireplaces throughout the house.  The third floor, originally probably only partially finished, measured 63 by 40 feet and was paneled in cedar shiplap.  Walls of the main and second floor were reportedly plaster laid over canvas.  In that plaster was always applied over lathes to secure it, the use of canvas is perplexing.  Woodwork throughout the house, and most likely including the porches, was by Whitehouse-Crimmins.  The total cost of construction, that is reported to have taken three years, was $7,609.  The property also contained a barn southeast of the house and an Alpine style summerhouse.  A lake that was created by damming Stone Creek was used for boating.

It is recorded that the Baumeister family occupied their new house in 1900, but they were not listed until the 1902 Walla Walla City Directory as living at Waldheim. 7  The original address for the house was on South 2^nd.  At some point Edwards Drive was cut through the property that curved between 2^nd and Stone Street, and the address was known as 106 Edwards Drive.  The current official address is 124 Stone Street although the front of the house faces Edwards Drive.

A long drive wound its way from South 2^nd to the port-cochère. A description of the original layout of the interior does not exist, but from what could be gathered from various sources there was an entrance hallway that would also have been accessible also from the porte-cochère side entrance, a living room, dining room, apparently a music room, kitchen and pantry.  On the second level were five bedrooms and one bathroom.  The original wallpaper for the house was from Schumacher in New York.  Steam radiators supplied heat.

Max Baumeister enjoyed living in Waldheim less than a decade.  Suffering from diabetes, he died February 3, 1909.  A Christian Science Service was held at Waldheim on February 5^th, followed by a Masonic burial at Mountain View Cemetery. At the time of his death Baumeister’s estate was estimated at $160,000, left to his widow to be held in trust for their children.

In 1914, Alvine Baumeister decided to have some changes made to Waldheim.  It has been speculated that perhaps she was not in complete agreement about the appearance of the “castle” tower on the northwest corner of the house and found it disagreeable.  She had it removed, providing space to widen the third-level dormer as well as enhancing the symmetry of the main façade that had been so off-balanced by the tower.  She also had the 45° sides of the projecting bay at the second level tucked in to form 90° angles.  The della Robbia-like ornament directly above the front steps was removed and replaced with balusters to match those of the rest of the balustrade atop the porch.  The balance of her changes were made to the interior.  What they might have involved is speculative in that no interior photos of the house taken before 1914 have been located.  Total cost of modifications to the house was $1,400.  Alvine resided at Waldheim until her death October 11, 1937.  Charlotte Baumeister Thompson was Executrix of the Last Will & Testament of her mother. 8  As early as 1920 Alvine had begun selling off portions of the vast property that surrounded the mansion.  Between 1938 and 1944 a series of contracts for deed and quit claim deeds were filed by the various Baumeister children.  City directories were not published annually during WWII.  Max E. Baumeister, like his older brother Werner, was a chiropractor and lived in Waldheim as late as 1941.  From existing deeds, it appears that by 1943 Waldheim and all property held by the Baumeisters in Mountain View Addition had passed out of their ownership.

A list of all owners of Waldheim over the following years is not germane to this history.  However, two prominent owners are notable.  In the 1970s, Dick and Sue Wright, purchased the house and made numerous changes, restoring parts of the house that were by then in deteriorated condition.  The living room was enlarged, apparently by incorporating the music room and entrance hall.  A sun porch was built on the south side of the house and a large, enclosed swimming pool to the rear of the house, reached by a covered walkway from the kitchen.  Current owners, Roger and Julia Russell, have continued making modifications to the interior, including converting the 2,600 square foot third floor attic to a family room, bar and children’s room.  The five bedrooms on the second floor were reduced to four with new master bath.  A deck was built over the sunroom.