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There is probably no home in west Michigan that can claim finer craftsmanship and structural integrity than the home Adam Pyle built in 1958 in North Muskegon. The original owners, Adam and Marie Pyle, built the house in 1958 to "withstand anything man or nature could throw at it", as Edwin Valentine, the architect, said in 1983 (this was 1958 "cold war" planning).
Mr. Pyle, a prominent Muskegon tool and die company owner, founded this home in steel and poured concrete on a cost-plus basis with the contractor utilizing commercial grade systems wherever possible. When the present owner had a builder examine the home prior to purchase in 1983, the estimate to rebuild this house - following the same plans and specifications - was $1 million. Today it would probably be 50% higher.
The main floor area is approximately 3,471 square feet and includes living, dining, and family rooms, an L-shaped kitchen, guest wing with 2 guest rooms, 3 full and 2 half baths (plus a full bath on lower level), laundry area and plenty of closet space.
Living Room
- 26' x 16' (with curved wall)
- Fireplace - marble with with birch mantel and paneling (painted) with poplar wood stiles and rails
- 3' soffit in both living room and dining room with indirect lighting
- Built in bookshelf near northwest glass panel door opening to the lakeside slate verandah.
Kitchen
- "L" shaped" - 12' x 18' & 12' x 6'+/- (includes built-ins, cabinetry & wet bar areas)
Appliances: large Subzero refrigerator (2001), dual built-in gas ovens/broilers, electric stovetop w/gas believed to be available, commercial SS vent system
Wet bar with ½ 'fridge & ice maker (2001)
Birch cabinetry by Coppes Napanee
Access from kitchen to family room, to dining room, laundry and lower level/NE outside door to tennis court.
Kitchen floor is sealed cork as are floors in storage room and 4 coat closets
Master Suite
- 15' x 19 ' with 4' x 8' entrance
- 14' wall of hanging closets and 16 built-in drawers
- Master bath and vanity
- 16' x 10'
- 10' of closets
- Mirrored vanity three-sides
- Tub, separate shower; double sinks
- All tile
Guest room 1 (16' x 12')
Guest room 2 (14' x 17')
- Dressing Area with closets and cabinets (6' x 8' with 2-privacy doors)
Full bath (8' x 6') with tile floors and walls, vanity
- Adjustable top-bottom cloth blinds/drapes
- Single closet (5'7" x 3')
- Dressing Area and closet (6'5" x 5'6" with 2-privacy doors)
- Full Bath enclosure (9'10" x 7'), tile floor, walls, vanity
- Wood blinds/drapes
The lower level is approximately 3,471 square feet and includes a media room, activity room, train room, library, workshop, a full bath, two utility rooms, storage room and a wine cellar.
Media Room and Bar Area
- 31' x 25'6' includes built in refrigerator/freezer, wet bar with 8' top of specialty wood
- Many oak veneer cabinets and shelves
- Enclosure accommodates >42" screen TV
- Brick fire place with gas logs
Activity Room
- 17' x 31' includes area presently used for ping pong table and 8' pool table
17' of built in cabinets - floor to ceiling
- Exercise equipment area
12' long pocket door separates from adjoining Media area
Other special features of this home include
- Wine cellar - "L" shaped, 4'L x 3'W & 8'L x 3'W; slate floor, insulated, redwood racking & chiller unit built into original vault room. Capacity 600 bottles+/-; lockable 'hidden' access
- Laundry area (10' x 9') - located off the kitchen with water & gas hookups; built in ironing station, cupboards; chest freezer located here
W. B. Gebhart, landscape architect, developed the landscape design in 1958. The idea was for flowers to be blooming throughout the spring and summer, greenery remaining in the winter and flowering trees and shrubs.
Landscape additions in 1958 include:
Pyracantha, white birch, white dogwood, yews (various), flowering crabapple, scotch pine, pink dogwood, narcissus, hemlock hedge, Japanese weeping cheery, Austrian pine, magnolia stellata, flowering quince, shadbush, azaleas, euonymus, leucothoe, Japanese holly, Japanese maple, viburnum, tree wisteria, lilac, spirea, trailing roses, andromeda, myrtle and 130 feet of rhododendron in addition to later plantings. There are also many mature 60'+ oak and white pine on the property.
There are approximately 200 lineal feet of serpentine (Jeffersonian) brick walls on the East drive entrance and front door walkway.
The Lakeside yard features a poured concrete retaining wall in front 'hidden' by the full-length 3' high yew shrubs and 70 feet of 4' brick wall on the NE yard boundary capped with cut limestone.
There is a continuous 4' high chain link fence on the NE side of property breached by a gate from the home's NE entrance door to the Interlaken Association private tennis court (seldom used). An additional gate is attached to the fence to create a 60' x 10' dog run if such is needed.
There are 5 entrances to this home in addition to the attached garage. One entrance is also direct to the lower level. The NE and SW entrance floor is quarry tile. The front foyer and door from the living room to the verandah have mosaic tile. The verandah access from the family room is carpet as are the floors in the rest of the main level except closets and baths.
There are several tree lights lighting the drive beginning at the entrance from E. Circle and some 20 other outside lights incorporated into soffits or lighting steps, doors, etc.
The driveway is about 300 feet in length with a circle return. There is contiguous parking for 8 cars without blocking ingress/egress to the street. The driveway is asphalt with a minimum width of 12'.
There is a neighboring home on the southwest side only, owned by the best neighbors a person could have.
The property size covers about 1.25 acres with 117' +/- of lake frontage on Bear Lake. The contiguous Association lot adds another 125'. By boat you can go to any saltwater port in the world from this property.
Bear Lake is about 1+ miles long and up to a ½ mile wide. It is an all sports lake with good bass and pan fishing. It flows through the Bear Lake Channel to Muskegon Lake and Lake Michigan. A bridge controls the size of boat (height) that can get into Bear Lake. With our present low water there is probably over 11' of clearance (guess). The Lake Michigan channel is about 1 - 2 miles from Bear Lake Channel. Ice boating is popular on Bear Lake in the winter.
Dock and Seawall
A steel sheet-pile bulkhead was installed in 1983 braced by steel rods bolted to sheet-pile 'deadman' behind the wall. There is a permanent dock and boat hoist. The hoist is currently unusable because of record low water levels in the Great Lakes.
A traditional crank-up boatlift suitable for a 19' boat was purchased in 2002 and available for purchase. It is believed to accommodate a 2,000 lb. boat and has a 100" beam clearance.
There is a short hill to the beach and dock (1-minute walk).
There is a concrete block dock house (10' x 7') on the lake used for water skis and boating stuff. This also houses the 5 hp motor and water pump that feeds the sprinkler system using water from Bear Lake. A new pump and motor were installed in 2001 and all-new sprinkler system heads and electrical timers for the 5 zones.
The 2.5 car garage (23'8" x 25'6") features include a plaster ceiling 10' high; internal walls are smooth-faced brick; two 15" floor drains, ceiling-hung, commercial grade gas heater (Bryant) in the garage with thermostat and door-up shutoff feature. Water/hose access from adjoining ½ bath allows car washing in winter.
There are about 330 linear feet of rain gutters constructed of copper 7" wide, with copper down spouts attached to the soffits by brass brackets, rails and fittings.
Copper/brass/bronze was used extensively including all thresholds and weather stripping around doors.
Continuous brass screen was incorporated in the soffits for air circulation into the attic.
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The home is designed around a steel cage. Steel girders support the floor, walls and roof system. The architect pointed out that should all the brick walls be removed the roof would still be standing due to the massive steel girder construction. The rafters are bolted together and rest on steel girders, not 2x4s. The steel structure provided the support for pouring a 5.5" concrete main floor. This concrete and steel tied together provides a house with no creaks, shakes or movement and makes it nearly impenetrable by noise. |
- Crane gas hot water boiler and radiator system with 4 zones
- 500 amp electrical service with four well-marked electrical breaker boxes around the house. The garden and dock buildings have disconnects as well.
- 4 outdoor water faucets around the house with drain and shutoffs inside. There are several water faucets connected to the sprinkler system that can be used when that particular zone is operating.
- Buried TV- High Speed Internet Cable; two phone systems
- ADT Electronic Security system connected to authorities in place with heat and cold sensors
- Central AC added in 2002 using state-of-the-art "Unico" high-pressure mini-duct system in ceilings supplied by one 5-ton compressor located to minimize sound; there is an attic air-handling system.
- Two attic fans were added in 2002 to aid the natural attic convection built into the home's design (brass soffit screen, attic flue vents to outside, two attic peak vents, and open cupola with fan).
- Low utility and maintenance costs for a house this size
The property is part of the Interlaken Association comprised of approximately 80 home owners. The streets of Interlaken are private. There are restrictive covenants to protect home values.
With the property comes access to a tennis court right outside the door. This Association court sees very little use. The Association maintains the tennis court together with other property in the subdivision.
Subject property has a 1 ½" water line connected to a 12" city water main. City sewer system is in place. There is a fire hydrant within 200+/-feet of the property. All blueprints, construction plans and documents remain with home and are available for review.
Community Links:
Sale Price: SOLD!
Owners will entertain all Offers from qualified buyers.Association dues: $75 annually
Property address:
SOLD!
North Muskegon, MI 49445Contact:
- SOLD!
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Last modified: 7/9/04
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