Windhorn property

reflects his art

House, sign shop on tour of homes

By GUY PRIEL

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- A local property being earmarked for designation as a historical landmark was opened to the public on Sunday during the Junior Pioneers annual Tour of Homes.

The Windhorn Property, located at 1016 S. Minnesota St., currently owned by Sid and Jan DeLeo, stands as a monument to the work of local artist and signmaker Louis Windhorn.

"He was the first signmaker in New Ulm to use neon and many of the signs along the main streets were made by Louis Windhorn," tour guide Harold Fenske said.

Windhorn designed and decorated the house, built between 1938 and 1939. Many of the architectural features inside the house are evidence of his creativity.

Upon entering the house, the eye is automatically drawn to the ceiling and walls, which are decorated with a material resembling plastic that has been painted green and trimmed with black walnut beams.

"He painted black walnut and designed the corner covers in the room out of black walnut," one tour guide said. "He was well known for his use of neon lighting, which is evident as you tour the house."

In the house's front room is a fireplace surround that Windhorn painted, although the material used is unknown and the fireplace never worked.

"The linoleum on the floor in this room and the kitchen is original, although carpeting was added in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs during the 1970s," she said. "The sunroom was not original, but was added later. Everything is pretty much the way it was when Ella (his wife) left it."

Windhorn, a dedicated Shriner and a well-known importer of Indian art and furniture, died in 1979. He was a veteran of World War I.

"The fact that he was a Shriner is evidenced in much of his art work, as well of his love of India, which is where Shriner customs originate," the tour guide said.

The kitchen contains many of the original paintings that were first done by Windhorn and demonstrate his devotion to his wife and her love of flowers.

"They had no children, so much of the artwork in the house was designed with the couple's devotion to each other and love of Indian brass in mind," another tour guide said.

Painted in yellow and salmon, the ceilings and cabinets in the kitchen reflect sunlight, bringing a burst of light, despite the dreary day.

"Many was the time when Ella would sit in her chair in that kitchen and wait for Meals on Wheels to bring her food," Fenske said. "The kitchen, though small, was one of her favorite places to sit."

From the kitchen, a narrow staircase lined with neon lights leads to the basement and another unique feature of the property, a tunnel that Louis dug by hand. He carried the dirt from the tunnel out of the house by wheelbarrow.

"The tunnel is unique in that it gets more narrow and shorter as you go along, despite the fact that Louis was a fairly tall man," the tour guide said.

Once out of the tunnel, guests enter a half bath and the extensive workshop, yet another monument to the works of a man known as an artist of sorts, Fenske said.

Lining the walls of the workshop are a variety of self portraits and three-dimensional portraits surrounded with bamboo, neon and washers, an art form he no doubt picked up while in India.

The workshop featured a private office lined with cypress boards and topped with cypress beams Windhorn developed himself. There is also a fireplace with shelves full of art imported from India.

"The floor and cabinets are all handpainted with a stencil he designed himself," Fenske said.

One visitor said Windhorn operated a store that sold German imports and he had a shop in the back where he would build floats for the parades using neon.

Across from the workshop was a spring and summer retreat, with a screened in porch for summertime enjoyment of the gardens and an enclosed room with a bar for more inclement weather. Inside the room is a three-dimensional painting and a drawing Windhorn did when he was nine years old.

"Look at the stonework along the garden and the retaining wall," Fenske said. "Another sign of his remarkable talent."

The property is currently owned by the DeLeos, who would like to move their workshop from its current location behind their house on Broadway into the Windhorn workshop, while still preserving the property.

"Their goal is to preserve the property as it is and possibly turn it into a type of museum.," he said. "They have no intention of altering it in any way."

The relationship between the DeLeos and the Windhorns goes back several years when the DeLeos used to rent space from Ella so they could park their sign trucks, Fenske said.

Members of the New Ulm Heritage Preservation Commission have begun the process of getting the property listed as a local historical landmark and have sent the paperwork to the state for approval.

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