Hale House
124 Park Place
1928, Tudor

This home, with its steeply pitched roof, main side gable, facade cross-gables, large chimney, decorative half-timbering, and tall casement windows, is a classic Tudor home.  The first floor is clad in patterned brick, with half-timbering and stucco on the second.  The three cross-gables figure impressively on the façade, being more elaborate in the decorative half-timbering, and the entrance placed into the center one.  Decorative lintels over the casement windows accent nicely with the second-floor stucco. A double attached garage appropriately complements the home. The Tudor style, very popular in the 1920s and early 1930s in the United States, is often found in the city of Eau Claire. 
The house was built in 1928 for its first owners, Earl and Mary Hale.  Mr. Hale, born in Iowa in 1884, came to Eau Claire when he was twenty-seven. He worked with the Eau Claire Book and Stationery Company for many years, rising from secretary to secretary/general manager. In 1947, the company split its ownership, and Mr. Hale continued publishing work in his own new business – E.M. Hale and Company.  He was involved in several community efforts, including politics, the Tennis Club, and the Family Service.  Mr. Hale operated his company until his death in 1961.  Mrs. Hale was also involved in community work. At various times in her life, she was president of the Eau Claire Women’s Club, the treasurer of the Family Service Association, the National Vice-President of the D.A.R., and involved in Eau Claire civilian defense during WWII. After Mr. Earl’s death, she operated the publishing company with her children. Since the Hale tenure, there have only been three owners.
*Source information from Virginia and Lee McAlester’s A Field Guide to American Houses, Eau Claire city directories, the Eau Claire Leader and Eau Claire Leader Telegram, Mary Taylor’s 1987 intensive survey forms, and the current owners.