Gutting Your Old House. JUST SAY NO!
As the decades passed, cities and communities across the land recognized and worked to protect their historic heritage, and what Detroit did in 1961 became unthinkable. Then…and then…HGTV came along. And the idea of historic preservation was rolled back to a 1950s mentality. Out with the old! In with the new!…
Continue ReadingPutting Bits Back
Getting all these small bits back somehow makes the whole world seem…just a tiny tiny fraction better.
Continue ReadingA Window for Shingling
While the siding on the west, north, and east side of the house proved, mostly, in good original condition, this cannot be said of the siding on the south side. ALL of it will be removed and most of it replaced. This is a testament to the fact that the sun…
Continue ReadingKitty Approved
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingCAN THIS HOUSE BE SAVED? 135 12th St NW, Canton, OH
There are a lot more images here. The house haunts me. It is incredibly gorgeous inside and the exterior, restored, would no doubt be an eye-popper. Yet it sits. Unsold. With but a price of $25K. The location of the house, and its condition, would terrify 99.9% of…
Continue ReadingRevealing the Past
Recently, Becky has been doing a lot of research into the Cross House, and has been delighting me with emails rich with information. Becky, and her husband, John, were my guest for dinner a few weeks ago. One such story involves Issac Lambert, who purchased the house in either December 1906, or January 1907. Lambert…
Continue ReadingA Green Beauty
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingAll Aboard!
On Friday, I was in Topeka, and went to the museum of the Kansas Historical Society. It was fabulous and fascinating. I wandered from exhibit to exhibit, and saw, for the first time in my life, actual Indian teepees. Wow. Then I turned a corner…and gasped. Gasped! Wanna see? Scroll way down. …
Continue ReadingCody Scores! AGAIN!
Cody dreams about being able to own the house, someday. I told him that I first saw the Cross House in 1999 and fell passionately in love. But, buying it was not a remote possibility. I thought: That will never happen. Then in 2014 I purchased the house. Life is strange….
Continue ReadingCody SCORES!!!!!!!!
So, y’all know that Cody has found several gas/electric sconces for the Cross House. I “met” Cody in 2014 when he began leaving comments about an incredible house on Old House Dreams. Here. Prepare to gasp. At the time, Cody was a teenager. He lived near the incredible house and was highly protective of it….
Continue ReadingMore Windows!
I just cannot believe it. There are, I am pretty sure, 5,984 windows at the Cross House. And only TWO more need restoring!!!!!!!! When I purchased the house in 2014, it seemed an impossible task. Soooooooooo many windows needing soooooooooo much work. I would get queasy in taking it all in. But,…
Continue ReadingSnoozy Kitty
You can tell that New Kitty has a really tough life.
Continue ReadingMaking Curvy
It is not hard. I take three at a time and cut the curve with a jigsaw. Then I smooth them with a disk sander. I have to buy a bundle of shingles and then pull out all the shingles that are 5-inches or more wide. The narrower shingles get used for shims. I…
Continue ReadingCody Sconce. ARGH!!!!!!!!
A few weeks ago, Cody brought to my attention a single gas/electric sconce on eBay. At first, I was not interested as I need matching pairs. But…then I realized that there are a few locations in the house which had single sconces. Oh. Oh! Specifically, the servant’s hall, second floor. So, I looked at the…
Continue ReadingCody Sconces. SQUEE!!!!!!!!
A while back, Cody came across a RARE pair of 1890s gas/electric swivel sconces. He brought them to my attention, and I purchased the pair. After some time, I was able to hang them in the parlor. But even though I laboriously ran new wires through the walls to the sconces, I never finished the…
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