Mary Beth Klatt

Denver went from frontier town to mountain metropolis in the 1880s, as hopeful arrivals sought to profit from the booming mining industry.
The relatively stable silver industry offered the fortune-hunters wide opportunities. Those who succeeded settled in and hired architects to design homes that reflected their newfound wealth.
The architects put their own distinctive stamp on impressive manors, many of which were built in the city’s exclusive Capitol Hill neighborhood.
One such architect wa...

The hand-knit, knee-high socks hang on a rack next to a stove on the fourth floor. Downstairs, a wool paisley shawl rests on a sofa.
That is pretty much how Irish servant girls left their upstairs living quarters in the 19th century, and how the last surviving member of the Tredwell family left her belongings at the time of her death in 1933.
“Visitors often say, ‘It’s as if the Tredwells stepped out for church and they’ll be back any minute,’” says the museum’s executive director, Margaret H...

In the 1850s, shipping merchant George Walton Williams spent $40,000 to purchase adjacent three lots in the Charleston, S.C., neighborhood now known as South of Broad. Years later—with the city rising from the ashes of the Civil War—he hired architect William P. Russell to design a 24,000-square-foot, 35-room manor, which cost another $200,000 to build.
The house, completed in 1876, was the first area residence with indoor plumbing. All rooms have 14-foot ceilings, ornate moldings and chandel...

By Mary Beth Klatt
Rank has its privileges in the military. Case in point: Pershing Hall at the Presidio in San Francisco. The Colonial Revival red-brick building with Georgian and Federal Revival elements is named after famed general John “Blackjack” Pershing, who served at the Presidio of San Francisco. It was a handsome home away from home for high-ranking, bachelor officers for decades. The three-story hall, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is now 22-room boutique hotel...

American country comedienne Minnie Pearl, best known for the hokey dresses and hats she wore with price tags intact, was affiliated with a chain of fried chicken restaurants bearing her name in the early 1970s.
The Southern Illinois chain was all set to open, down to tables fully set with dinnerware, salt and pepper shakers and silverware, when its parent company went bankrupt.
The chain’s California lender reached out to Sheldon Good, ’55 BUS, who had witnessed successful real estate auction...

When Jim Martin, BLA ’72, was just 17, he had the opportunity to spend a few hours talking with renowned landscape architect Ralph Synnestvedt, BLA ’52. That Friday afternoon conversation 50 years ago would frame Martin’s life and career. As Synnestvedt shared insights from his work leading Synnestvedt Nursery, his family’s North Shore landscaping and horticultural company, “I felt like he was paying it forward,” Martin recalls. “It anchored my connection to landscape architecture.”
Today Mar...

James “Jim” Hankes, ’75 ACES, MA ’78 ACES, vividly remembers the day he wanted to have his own farming business.

He was about 7 years old, sitting up front in the cab of a semi, riding with his dad to the Chicago Stockyards. They were hauling cattle to sell at the infamous slaughterhouse. Hankes’ dad shared how, as a farmer, he was really a middleman, helping other people. Young James immediately piped up, “I’m going to be the middleman.”

Decades later, Hankes is most definitely the middleman...

Mine the Gap | Realtor Magazine

Top agents look ahead to 2018, focused on setting goals, priorities and strategies.
Meet your Designation Maintenance Requirement today! Read this article and “Mastering The Inbox Labyrinth” on p. 23, take a 10-question quiz and earn 2 credits. Click here for the quiz!
For the last two years, Deborah Carson, CRS, has joined four colleagues from her office to review their business plans and set new goals. The first year, the group met at a member’s nearby home. They spent two full days goal se...

3 Properties Where Open Houses Work
Agents often think of open houses as a waste of time because they don’t always attract serious buyers. But if you use it to showcase the lifestyle a home offers, it could do the trick. Here are three instances where open houses closed the deal.
January 1, 2016
 
by Mary Beth Klatt
Many agents like Nicholas Yale say open houses aren’t good selling tactics because they don’t attract serious buyers. They mostly bring out looky-loos, he argues, who don’t plan to purchase right away but use open houses to gauge what’s on the market.