Lutz, George R., House

The George R. Lutz House is identical in design to the home to the east, but unlike the neighboring property, the Lutz home preserves its original Queen Anne detailing and remains one of the City's nicer examples of the style. The building's early occupants, George R. Lutz and his wife Gertrude, acquired the home from the estate of George Nissly for $2000 shortly after their marriage in 1903. The purchase price suggests that the Lutz_s probably did not build the home. The fact that the building does not appear on the 1899 Sanborn map places its construction between 1899 and 1903. George R. Lutz died at age 30 less than a year after moving into the house with his bride. Lutz served for a number of years as Village clerk and had become a bank employee shortly before his death in 1904.

This Queen Anne home, which sits on a less than one acre landscaped corner lot, is notable for its near original appearance. The two-and-one-half story clapboard residence features a hipped roof with matching front and side gable projections, and a variety of window shapes. The home features one of the finest wraparound Eastlake porches in Saline with a lattice work base, spool-and-spindle-like frieze and balusters, and decorative brackets. Cross-hatching and small rectangular windows accent the gable ends. The design features are typical of many of the City's finer homes of the period; the characteristic diamond-shaped window was evidently a popular pattern at the turn-of-the-century.