August Program Preview
Our August 21 Meeting
Wine & Cheese Tour at the Magic Chef Mansion
Revisit a link to the Hill neighborhood’s rich history as the Italian Club tours the Magic Chef Mansion at 3400 Russell Blvd in the historic Compton Hill neighborhood. It was the home of Charles Stockstrom (1852-1935), founder of the Quick Meal Stove Company, later renamed the more commonly known Magic Chef Company. Once the largest stove maker in the world, the company’s plant on Daggett sprawled over 600,000 square feet and employed 2,000 people, many being Italian immigrants from the Hill neighborhood. Employees of the famed company researched and built oven regulators, some of the first open flamed stoves, and during the war, produced “drop tanks”, the disposable extra fuel tanks for fighter planes that let them escort the heavies on long raids.
Construction on the mansion built for Stockstrom, began in 1907 and was completed one year later at a cost of $49,500. This elegant turn of the century mansion has been painstakingly restored to its original turn of the century elegance including original lighting fixtures and period furnishings by the gracious owner, Shelley Donaho, who will welcome us for wine and cheese and a tour of the Magic Chef founder’s home.
Cost of the wine and cheese party, including the tour of this amazing home, is $25. Mark your calendars. Invite your friends but reserve early. Reservations will be limited to 50 people.