Art and Industry in Early America: Rhode Island Furniture, 1650–1830

[mart]

That's right, pick on the old man of the family biz, reaches for my smite stick!

Didn`t mean as it was originally,,but it was moved and had two buildings added on plus a screened porch which itself was not a bad addition !! The interior decoration is what I was talking about being a bit much for a historical home !!  Stuff in there just doesn`t match, too many patterns in the same space ect,,ect,, !! The Goddard house by comparison is more historically accurate in the decoration yet still being brought into the 21st century !!  It is exactly what I would want in a home like this !! Comfortable,,warm,, not overdone !!

[jacon4]

lol, was just teasing you! What's weird is, those houses are still there and available! Another thing, that woodwork, it was probably made and installed by them personally.

[mart]

Yes,, I know !!  That smite stick will be worn out before long !!
I just don`t get why someone buys a home with such history and then starts to re-build/re-do it !!  Kind of defeats the purpose to me !!  With exceptions for kitchen,, bath ect !!

[ghopper1924]

Yes,, I know !!  That smite stick will be worn out before long !!
I just don`t get why someone buys a home with such history and then starts to re-build/re-do it !!  Kind of defeats the purpose to me !!  With exceptions for kitchen,, bath ect !!

Couldn't agree more.

[cogar]

I just don`t get why someone buys a home with such history and then starts to re-build/re-do it !!

Location, location, location of the home/property ...... is far more important than the providence associated with the home/property.

Hasn't Newport, Rhode Island, been the "place-to-live" of the rich n' famous .... dating back to the early 1800's?

Gilded Age

Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, wealthy southern planters seeking to escape the heat began to build summer cottages on Bellevue Avenue such as Kingscote (1839). Around the middle of the century, wealthy Yankees such as the Wetmore family also began constructing larger mansions such as Chateau-sur-Mer (1852) nearby. Most of these early families made a substantial part of their fortunes in the Old China Trade.
Source  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport,_Rhode_Island

[mart]

Moving it is fine and many times is necessary to preserve it !!  But I prefer to keep it as close to original as possible even if you have to change the location !!  That Goddard house I could just move in, unpack a suitcase and be perfectly at home !!

[jacon4]

 That smite stick will be worn out before long !!

lol, Don't you bet on it! SMITE!

Well, i have had this conversation more than once over the years, particularly in Washington DC, where i am from. Client has a historic bldg and they want it to remain the same! I can't do that i would say if you want modern plumbing + HVAC, it's just not possible! Something has gotta give somewhere. 2 objects can't occupy the same space at the same time.

[mart]

The Goddard house has modern plumbing and a beautiful modern kitchen !!  But they have been done to blend with the historic elements !!  Believe me,,if I had that kind of money,,I would figure it out !!  This stuff ain`t cheap !!

[jacon4]

Yeah, those baths are right outa the 1950s, ICKY! I woulda been SHOT! in DC if i had  built those in some of the historic buildings i did there.

[mart]

Well,, You could have just handed them a chamber pot to keep it original to the era !!  I like the 50`s !!

[jacon4]

ICKY! i say

Which is why or one of the reasons they had trouble selling it. Women have VERY LITTLE humor when it comes to baths & kitchens, trust me.

[mart]

I had an uncle (by marriage) that refused to have a bathroom inside his house !!  It was not a financial thing,, he was fairly well to do !!  Made quite a bit of money when they hit oil in his lease !! That was the Talco oil field !!  So I know he could  afford it,, he just didn`t want one inside !!  We always spent a week there every summer so I have an appreciation for good plumbing after that !!  He finally relented about mid 60`s  and installed a bathroom !!

[jacon4]

LOL, hilarious! It pleases me Mart had to suffer a no bathroom policy for a week each year, it makes one really take notice of what is taken for granted by most in the first world. In the third world, this is a normal situation, they have concrete, electricity, carpenters, etc. but, the one glaring thing they lack? PLUMBERS! and modern plumbing.

In DC, one of the last projects i did was the Morrison-Clark Inn. It was an 1860's mansion that was restored & a new steel & concrete addition that made the project viable economically. The bad news that i was not aware of until the project started, there were SIX historical societies along with the National Trust that had put money into the restoration of the mansion and therefore had a say in the restoration, what a NIGHTMARE! The painting contractor who painted the exterior started by stripping all the wood trim and re-painted the bare wood so many times with different colors that he had to re-strip the wood AGAIN! As the plumbing/mechanical contractor, i didn't have it as bad as the painter but i went round n round with those historic people for several years. Pics at the link

https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&espv=2&q=morrison+clark+inn+photos&oq=morrison+clark+inn+photos&gs_l=serp.3..0i22i30k1l2.17290.19951.0.20392.7.7.0.0.0.0.79.485.7.7.0....0...1c.1.64.serp..0.7.482...0j33i160k1j33i21k1.1OAfzSOxZgs

[mart]

Very nice but that would have been a royal pain in the posterior !!  My question is,, what did they do with the bathrooms !!

[jacon4]

Well, in 1860 they didnt have bathrooms! the bathrooms were not really the problem, it was HVAC ducts, low pressure in those days with very large sheet metal boxes to deliver air. Now they have high pressure HVAC and you can deliver high pressure air in 2" pvc pipe to registers, wishes they had it back in the day. The real problem was WAY TO MANY historic people in the mix, i give credit to the National Trust, they tried to keep all those people in the sand box but there were just to many of them.