Having invested half a decade in the complete restoration of the unique mansion built by industrialist Curtis Wright in 1891, owners Steve and Lata Lovell have developed a strategy that will provide exclusive access to the gracious lifestyle of a bygone era while ensuring the long-term viability of the magnificent home and its valuable contents. Privately owned by the Lovells, the estate will evolve to a more widely held limited liability company allowing co-ownership of what will be known as The Queen Anne Mansion Preservation Trust.

This move will allow owners to open the door on an experience that echoes the rich and gracious lifestyle that existed among the wealthy in 19th century America. The innovative ownership model consists of 60 equity ownership interests of which the Lovells currently own 100%. With a vision of preserving the 12,000-square-foot mansion, its antique collection, the landscaped grounds and the adjacent, Victorian cottage known as the Kelley House, the Lovells will release 12 of the 60 equity interests this Spring to bring the strengths, vision and talents of like-minded individuals to team ownership of the estate. The move comes at an unprecedented juncture for Northwest Arkansas which is experiencing a boom in tourism and development on the heels of the opening of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in nearby Bentonville.

“Our interest in expanding ownership of the mansion is to attract others who share our passion for turn-of-the-century architecture and antiques as well as the timeless principles of this era – gentility, graciousness, civility, valor and integrity,” explained Steve Lovell a native Arkansan. “The mansion offers a quality of living that is so often missing from daily life in the 21st century.

“We looked at a number of options that would guarantee the mansion’s future and allow others to share the extraordinary experience of being able to live in it,” said Lovell, who with Lata, personally directed the restoration of the mansion and the Kelley House. “We think that this solution is both viable and innovative.”

“We have been told that the mansion as it is today, situated on beautifully landscaped grounds, is a national treasure,” noted Lata Lovell, “and we are committed to keeping it that way. We look forward to sharing ownership with others who appreciate its value and aesthetic.”

An Exemplary Mansion Reverts to Staffed Private Residence

The Queen Anne Mansion, constructed in Carthage, Mo. for Wright, his wife and their eight children, then disassembled and moved to Eureka Springs in 1984 by a subsequent owner, is exemplary of the American style of Queen Anne architecture and décor popularized by newly wealthy industrialists at the turn of the 19th century.

Purchased in 2005 by the Lovells who have an affinity for idyllic Eureka Springs coupled with a love for home restoration, The Queen Anne Mansion was reopened as a tour home and event venue in May 2010. Since then, more than 15,000 visitors, area residents, curators and historians from all over the United States and abroad have been drawn to admire the results of their extraordinary effort. In 2011, The Queen Anne Mansion was awarded “Business of the Year” by the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce. It was closed to the public in December 2011.

Going forward, the mansion will operate as a private residence for the Trust owners with limited public events as approved by new ownership. “This will maintain the vibrancy of the mansion for the owners,” said Lata Lovell, “and will afford continued accessibility, though more limited, for the community.”


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Tags: National Treasure's Preservation, Steve Lovell, The Queen Anne Mansion