Lanier-Dorr House
1901, some additions | 358 Pine StreetThis folk Victorian, Queen Anne-influenced house with its unique double gables, bay window, and corner wrap porch stands out among the numerous less ornate houses built from the 1890s to World War I along Pine and the nearby streets. Thomas and Mary Lanier had it built in 1901 on two-and-a-half acres, some of which was subsequently sold off for other homes. Obviously they loved the turned posts, shake shingle gables, and profusion of “ginger bread” trim that give the house a Queen Anne look even without a full second story and turrets.
The childless, middle-aged Laniers had been living in rented quarters until they built this house. Census records show Thomas to have been a merchant and brick mason up through 1910. In 1916, at about 62 years of age, Lanier was appointed to the less physically demanding job of Morgan County Coroner. Thomas Lanier remained a resident of this house until he died in 1931, having been predeceased by Mary and remarried to Dora, who sold the house after her husband’s death.
Eventually the house was modified to contain two apartments, and it remained in that configuration until the early 1990s when Jacqueline Eskin restored it to single-family status. In 2006 preservation architect Joe Smith designed significant additions to the rear of the home that extended the central hall, added the back porch, installed a skylight, reconfigured the upstairs, included custom woodwork, and created a modern master bathroom. However, the owners who made the 2006 updates did not remain long. The house is now owned by Chuck and Traci Dorr. Chuck is an attorney and a member of Madison’s very active Historic Preservation Commission. They have modified the landscape plan, remodeled the master bathroom, replaced the front porch floor, and installed a black marble fireplace during their stewardship of this turn-of-the-Twentieth-Century jewel.