The Cross House

              I glopped paint stripper on the rest of the insert, and then went to paint more on the Great North Wall. While painting, the insert kept swimming around my brain. No, it made NO sense that the original finish was friggin’ gold paint. Paint! Again, my mind kept…

The Cross House was built in 1894 and had eight coal fireplaces. All the mantels AND over-mantles are in situ. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. Because the house also had radiators, it seems curious that the fireplaces were even used. I mean, why bother with the work and mess? The mantels were, I presume, all ordered from…

                                                    In the archival image it is difficult to tell exactly what the original finial looked like. The original 1894 drawings were helpful, but could not be relied upon as…

The Cross House was built in 1894. It is now 2016. So, 122-years have elapsed since the house was built. And during these many years a lot has happened in terms of lighting and furnishings and fabrics. While I am greatly devoted to restoring the architecture of the Cross House to its 1894 appearance, there…

          Flat-head nails on lap-siding? Hummmm…there is a limit to what my delicate sensibilities should endure. So, today, I pulled out all the nails causing such an affront. Tomorrow, I will Gorilla glue the cracks, pre-drill holes, and hammer in FINISH galvanized nails (which have no head). I will then set…

Life can be quite vexing. We have all experienced difficulties and tragedies. But, I put forth that there are few things more vexing than having an old house with sliding doors…which don’t slide. I have been through a lot in life. A lot. Don’t get me started. But, sliding doors which don’t slide is JUST…

  OK! Now, while looking, however briefly, to the left, do you see the newly restored window sashes? I am so excited! The glittering stained-glass windows in the Cross House are so intoxicating that it is easy to overlook the fact that the house has like 6,796 clear-glass windows, too. Well, maybe not 6,796, but there…

  The BEFORE sashes look like crap. Really, they look like something which one would toss into a dumpster without hesitation. But under the old, flaking paint, and under the old, brittle glazing, is wonderful old glass and old-growth wood in excellent condition. The sashes, restored, could well last another century. New sashes? These have…

  But it sold a second before. Poo. Big poo. The fixture, while not right for the Cross House (it is all electric, rather than gas/electric) is just amazing, and something only rarely seen. Poo.        

      The location is odd for two reasons. First, it is low. None of the other wall sconce location in the house (most rooms have at least two) are this low. Second, why only one sconce in the corner? All the other sconce locations are for pairs. My theory is that this single,…

Yesterday, I did a post about the latest gas/electric almost period-correct chandeliers added to the Cross House. I ended the post with a warning: In a day or so I will post images of the parlor chandelier installed! PREPARE TO GASP! Well, today I installed the period-correct parlor chandelier. Note the lack of almost. Are…

While the Cross House is remarkably intact, all its original lighting is long gone. When I purchased the house in 2014, I knew it had gas lighting. So, I dutifully started purchasing gas lighting fixtures. Later I learned that the house actually had gas/electric lighting when built. Which is quite a different thing. Oh. Having…

While the Cross House is remarkably intact, it is missing all its original lighting. The house, built in 1894, was likely one of the first houses in Emporia to have electricity, and all its lighting was gas/electric combination fixtures. About a decade later, all electric was not uncommon. A decade previous, gas was the norm. So, the…