1128 W. Albion Avenue
1128 W. Albion Avenue, Percival DeSt.Aubin, 1919.
1128 W. Albion Avenue Patrick and Virginia Collins, 1988.
The house was featured in the 1988 Annual Fall House Tour.
The Collins House was built in 1913 and is typical of the Prairie School, very much in vogue at the turn of the 20th Century. Characteristic features found in this red-brick structure are the low-pitched tile roof with widely overhanging eaves and the four square porch supports. Entrance to this quietly distinguished building is gained from the right side, up a flight of stairs to a centered door. The front door is made of mahogany and beveled glass and is original to the house. Its beauty is such that once a very daring burglar tried to steal it. The thief was caught in the act, having already unhinged the lower portion.
One of the first of many things to strike the watchful eye inside is a handsome bejeweled chandelier hanging from the center of the foyer ceiling. Virginia Collins recalls how taken she was with this fixture when she first saw the house in 1968. "If you take down that chandelier," she told the previous owners, "then I don't want the house."
On the left side of the foyer, there is a library and TV room, made elegant by bookcases, a brick fireplace, and oak paneling. One of the more attractive features of the first floor is the French doors of mahogany and beveled glass separating the foyer from the library and the living room from the dining room. Oak floors, Oriental rugs, stained-glass window panels, and a stone fireplace grace the Collins' living room. The dining room is a study in dignity with its built-in buffet and china cabinets of mahogany and beveled glass.
To the left of the dining room there is the butler's pantry and kitchen which features newly-built (1988) cabinets and the original maple floors. Also in this area is an alternative stairway to the second floor once used by servants.
The second floor has five bedrooms (one of which is used as a office) and two bathrooms. All floors and doors have been stripped of paint and varnished to enhance the beauty of the original oak.
Photos
RPWRHS Photo S013-2291, Collins House, 1988 House Tour, 1128 W. Albion Avenue, 1988.
