About the year 2012, the Wisconsin Historical Society received a grant
to identify distinctive examples of home architecture on the near west side
of Madison. The grant paid for a person to walk through various neighborhoods
and photograph homes with distinctive architecture. Some details of the home
history were added from records in the city assessors office.
626 Gately Terrace
In the case of 626 Gately Terrace, the Wisconsin Historical Society record is
displayed on their website in the link below. Daina Penkiunas (Ph.D.), deputy state historic
preservation officer, states that this home was "recorded because of architectural
interest and good integrity to era of construction". The home is, however, not listed
in the national register of architecturally distinctive homes.
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Content.aspx?dsNav=Nrc:id-5,N:4294963828-4294963814&dsNavOnly=N:1189&dsRecordDetails=R:HI222391
Additional data can be seen in the original building permit (dated 28 Nov 1951), and a plumbing permit (dated 14 Nov 1951)
which names "owner" as Marshall Erdman. JPG images of these permits are reproduced below, and are available (in low resolution) in office of the Madison city planning department.
Better quality photocopies were obtained before the City of Madison digitized its records. The original home did not have a garage.
A garage and carport were added in 1967 after the home was purchased by architect Joseph Weiler, who (in 1967) was a
partner in the architectural firm Weiler, Strang, & Associates, which later became "Strang Architects" at 6411 Mineral Point Rd,
Madison, WI 53705.. A large family room and extended carport were added in 1999 after the home was purchased by
Tom McFarland. The 1999 addition was built by Dan Schmudlach and efforts were made to match the style of the addition
to that of the original home.
The November 2015 issue of the neighborhood magazine Westmorland Courier features a
1½ page article on Joseph Weiler, written by Tom Martinelli and the Westmorland Historical Committee.
The article borrows from a book "Uncommon Sense: The Life of Marshall Erdman" by Doug Moe and Alice D'Alessio (2003)
which contains a list of all properties designed or built by Marshall Erdman, including 626 Gately Terrace: this book was
commissioned and inspired by Dan Erdman, son of Marshall Erdman.
UW-Madison Art History professor Anna Andrzejewski has also researched Marshall Erdman, and contacted
Tom McFarland about the house at 626 Gately Terrace.
Within the Westmorland Courier article, it is stated that in 1967, Weiler "moved back to a house at 626 Gately Terrace (designed and
built by Marshall Erdman for Robert and Ruth Drayton in 1951/1952)". Marshall Erdmann was a colleague
of Frank Lloyd Wright, Erdmann and Wright being co-architects of the famous Unitarian Church in Shorewood.
"Marshall Erdman & asso." is listed as "owner" on the original 1951 plumbing permit.
Mrs. Francis M. Weiler (daughter was Jeanne Weiler) ran a Shaklee business from the basement of this home, and in creating the garage in 1967,
a pit was created in the south edge of the garage, with an opening into the basement through which Shaklee
products could be delivered. When Tom McFarland added a rear family room in 1999, the stairway to the
basement was reversed to accommodate a chair-lift for his handicapped wife, and the new stairway mostly
blocked the opening to the garage pit, leaving just a small connection.
Francis moved to Wildomar, CA after leaving Madison.
Her obituary is in this link (San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 July 2006)
