© clint farlinger

An exclusive look inside historic Stone Manor

Since the current incarnation of Stone Manor was built by Jamie Rhodes
in 1899—then called Younglands—it has resided on Photography
DAVID OMASTIAK
By
except where otherwise noted.
the shore like a stately old relative: solid, never-chang-
ing, reliable, awe-inspiring. It’s been there as long as
any of us can remember. But what does it look like
inside? And who owns it? Join us as we learn what’s
behind that wall of imported Italian marble called
Stone Manor.
The marble fireplace is one of three in Dr. Bozorgi’s home. The expert
painters who came in copied, exactly, the style of the wall painting seen
at the far left, which had cracked due to moisture, and painted the other
wall paintings around it to match the others that had been damaged.

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 Nearly 40 years ago, a man met a house disguised as a restaurant. He fell in love
with it. His name is Dr. Nader Bozorgi, and he would be named as one of the top
40 “Physicians to Know,” by Becker’s ASC Review for his pioneering leadership
in the field of outpatient surgery in 2008.

Dr. Bozorgi owned a summer house across the lake in Fontana for several years
[in the early ’70s] before the opportunity to make the purchase of a lifetime
arose. “I’d been here many times when it was a restaurant,” Dr. Bozorgi explains.
“So I was interested in purchasing just this floor when the building came up for
sale in 1978.”

AT LEFT: On the walls and ceiling, ornate plas- Careful restoration was required, says Bozorgi, as, over the years, Stone Manor
ter molding has been recast by master plaster had been woefully neglected. The roof was leaking, the interior plaster and wall
workers, and repainted by the finest painters to art was chipped and peeling, and much more. But for Bozorgi, all the time and
realize the opulent style of former owner, Otto
money poured into this place was well worth it. “I wanted to restore it back
Young. This Page: Volumes of books are held in
to its original look. It’s a real part of history here and I wanted to take care of
original bookcases where luxurious, vintage fur-
it, regardless of cost.” “This is my dad’s ’78 mustang,” explains his
niture invites you to sit down for a cozy read by
one of the smaller fireplaces. inset: The billiard daughter, Guita.
room still has its original plaster and its original
billiard holders.

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All told, the first floor of Stone Manor is 12,400 square feet of the
finest materials. The details that fill every divine space, even the
ceiling, are remarkable. “I’ve lived here for 32 years, and every day
I discover something I’ve never seen before,” remarks Bozorgi.
From three different types of marble fireplaces—white, pink and
onyx—to sumptuous silk curtains, to highly detailed plasterwork,
Stone Manor is not only a part of our history, it’s a work of art.

The first 12 years Dr. Bozorgi and his family set about restoring
Stone Manor were hard work—it took it that long to get it livable.
Every crystal in every chandelier was taken out, restored, cleaned,
and then rehung. Plaster artists came in and painstakingly re-
worked the wall and ceiling plaster art to the original style.

Painters who specialized in church and cathedral restoration came

in and matched the original paintings and added a few new ones,
including a trompe-l’œil of Bozorgi’s grandchildren in the master
bathroom entryway.

The wood flooring, pieces of which were African Ebony, was yel-
lowing, so Bozorgi had it stripped and brought back to its original

The master bedroom was originally the dining

room. All the millwork on the ceiling and on
the walls is original and has a food motif. The
sumptuous curtains took two years to make,
from picking out the silk and matching the
color in Thailand, to having it sewn and shaped
exactly to size with the fringe on the bottom.

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 rich, dark color. “John Regas, a Chi-
cago decorator, was most helpful in
all of this,” says Bozorgi.

For her part, Guita bought silk from

Thailand for the curtains and spent
five days matching the silk at the fac-
tories with a paint swatch. It took two
years to get the curtains just right,
after which she had to go back for even more silk and start the process again.

The terrace floor is made from newly laid, unpolished, French limestone and has
a relaxing ambiance. Enormous live plants and furniture abound. A portion of
the terrace is walled in to protect the family from the weather, which makes it
perfect for safely admiring a summer storm.
From the roof of Stone Manor, one can see for miles. Even here, Bozorzi had
his work cut out for him. The roof has a pool on it, which was built on five
pillars, so even if the building collapses, the pool will likely stay up. He is cur-
rently retiling the roof and will use the old tiles to create a proper walkway
for the shore path.
“The Gaudi Church of Barcelona was our Stone Manor,” laughs
Guita. “But we finished before them.”
From the rooftop of Stone Manor, the view of
Lake Geneva is broad and sweeping. The grounds
along the driveway are equally impressive. Dr. Bo-
zorgi’s upcoming plans for the grounds are plant-
ing Canadian maples and Japanese pear trees,
because “they don’t get too big.”
The indoor portion of the terrace affords pro-
tection from the elements. The terrace is 3,000
square feet of newly laid French, unpolished
limestone. inset: One of four Vienna limestone
reliefs of Otto Young’s daughters that can still be
seen on the terrace today.

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