Details

Many features of the house have been neglected to such a degree that they are not salvagable, including the previously noted ceiling and floor. A number of the fireplace mantels and surrounds have been removed, medallions and moldings crumbling.

But there are a number of terrific features that we will retain and restore -- the tin ceiling on the parlor level, two mantels (photo shows front bedroom top floor), shutters on the front side of the house (parlor level shutters photo). The mantels have been painted unfortunately, but should be able to be stripped with satisfactory results from what we have been told. A number of the shutters will need to be chiseled out of their plaster-induced mummification, so I think we may have several weekend projects on our hands.

There are some interesting aspects to the details of this house. First, the shutters are only in the front window frames. That is an interesting discovery because the rear of the house has the southern exposure, and you would think that from a practical point of view, that's where you'd want to cover the windows. Particularly when you don't have air conditioning. So there must be another reason that the shutters are in the front. I would hazard a guess that the builder must have wanted the neighbors to think (by peeping in the windows) the house was more lavish than it really was, and to have shutters was a luxury.

Anther interesting note is that the picture frame molding on the walls in the bedroom photo (the molding appears in the front rooms of the house only. Reinforces the argument that they were applied for effect) apparently was not an original feature but was a popular feature added in the 1920s and 30s. It is not clear when the picture rail (high horizontal molding) might have been applied, but it is done quite poorly throughout. It does not seem the same type so might have been later -- note the texture difference in the tin ceiling photo.

We hope to keep as many of these details as we can. However, we know some will necessarily be lost when walls are gouged for new plumbing and electrical, possible fireplace re-lining, ceiling repair, etc.