Beauty for the Ages

Beauty for the Ages

Kootenai developer Paul Milhous speaks about his love of beautiful things from an earlier era, restoring them to their pristine condition and then placing them in an absolutely stunning setting. A lifelong commitment to perfection, whether by man or Nature, culminates in reviving an amazing piece of history.

Like some of us, Paul Milhous feels he should have been born in another era. “I feel the greatest connection to the early 1900s,” explains Paul. “Here was an epoch in American history that was unfamiliar with mass production—a time when beauty, authenticity and patience for creating one-of-a-kind things with your own hands was rewarded.” Little wonder that his path would one day intertwine with the storybook tale of the Kootenai Estates.

From modest beginnings in small-town Indiana to highly successful business ventures in printing and various industries, Paul and his brother Robert cultivated a strong work ethic and a passion for purchasing and restoring antiques from the early 20th century. While Bob fancied cars, Paul was a music man of sorts and has acquired one of most prolific collections of automatic musical instruments, each one immaculately restored and completely functional. The brothers’ amazing private collection is housed in a 40,000-square-foot building in Boca Raton, Florida. It is known as the Milhous Museum of Collectibles. More impressive than the American and European memorabilia is the astonishing experience of the museum itself.

“We wanted an atmosphere for appreciating not just the collection, but the period from which many of these objects of art originated,” says Paul. “From the vintage gas lighting and stained glass windows to the period carpeting and art deco ceiling fixtures, we spent years creating the perfect space where these treasures from the past would take center stage from the moment visitors stepped inside.”

Kootenai, with its historic log homes, meticulously restored great Lodge, completely reconditioned Barn and rambling grounds, is simply an extension of the Milhous Museum—a long-lost cousin some 3,000 miles away that shares its turn-of-the-century pedigree and reverence for the charm of a simpler time. “The only difference with Kootenai is that we didn’t have to bring in a collection of museum-quality antiques to recapture that sense of living in another era that’s really at the heart of the Kootenai experience,” adds Paul. “Kootenai was already here, in all of its wonder and astonishing natural beauty. All we had to do was bring it back to life.”

QUOTE:

“Both the museum and the Kootenai are beautifully restored places of historical significance that evoke the artistry, craftsmanship and the undeniable spirit of a bygone era in a unique way and in a perfect setting,” says Paul.

CAPTION:

The Milhous Museum’s full-size carousel was commissioned to precise specifications to replicate an M.C. Illions “Grand Salon Carousel” from the 1920s. It spans nearly 50 feet across, boasts 42 animals and two chariots—all elegantly hand-carved—and is accompanied by a Wurlitzer Band Organ that lends period-perfect music to the park-like ambiance. The carousel, built in Mansfield, Ohio, took four years to complete.

ROOM/STREETSCAPE CAPTION:

(LEFT) 1885 Paillard-style Swiss cylinder music box (foreground) and Rudolph Wurlitzer’s theatre pipe organ (background) from the Wurlitzer mansion in Cincinnati, OH. (BELOW) The main gallery replicates an old-time street scene from small-town America with its reconstructed barbershop, bakery, saloon and the actual storefront of a bank Jesse James once robbed.