Daryl Hall House Project Update 09/14/14

Here are the latest shots of the progress on Daryl Hall’s project house. For those who have been watching the DIY Network’s show “Daryl’s Restoration Over Hall”, or following along in my blog, these new photos will bring you up to date. If you’re new to all of this, just look back over my blog posts to see how the addition part of the project has developed. The exterior of the addition is a little more complete now; the chimney staging is down and all the foundation veneer stone is complete. The gray primer paint on the window casings will disappear when the finish painting is done, which should be soon. The original part of the main house will be undergoing a major interior redo, as well as exterior alterations at the rear.

The northeast corner of the house- the closest two forms are the new addition. The styling is simpler on the addition than the main body of the house, which itself was added to in the 1920's. The furthest chimney back is in the original 18th Century part of the house. 

The north facade of the addition, awaiting finish painting 

The southeast corner of the addition showing completed foundation veneer stone, which was taken from one of the many ruined stone walls on the property. This stone is consistent with that used in the foundation of the original part of the house

The following shots show progress in the new Kitchen, which is just off the farmer’s porch you’ll see on the north side of the addition. You’ll also see photos of the small Parlor Room (we also refer to it as “Daryl’s Room) that is at the eastern most part of the addition, just off the Kitchen. The new chimney you see in the exterior views of the addition contains the fireplace in the Parlor Room. Just below the Parlor is what we call the “Stone Room”, that also has a fireplace in that same chimney.

The east wall of the Kitchen. The antique wood/coal burning stove has been converted to gas. The delft tiles are antique, except for those in the mural, which is a more recent creation

The south wall of the Kitchen. The soapstone sink is an antique, as is the furniture piece to the far left. All the rest are new creations by Jan Hoffman

The northeast corner of the Kitchen. The feather-edged wall planking is new pine, profiled at its edges to match a local 18th century profile on another of Daryl's antique houses

Looking north in the Small Parlor Room. There is another layer of trim detail that has not yet been completed here, check back soon to see how it turns out

Looking southeast in the Parlor

Looking south in the Parlor. The unfinished stair can be seen to the right

Southwest corner of the Small Parlor. The oak floor is from slavaged antique stock, as are the window sashes. All the rest is new material

West elevation of the Parlor. The wall above the paneled sections will be the same feather-edged pine paneling as seen in the Kitchen

Looking north in the Stone Room, which is below the Small Parlor. The exposed post and beam ceiling is from salvaged antique stock, and is structural

Northeast corner of the Stone Room

Northeast corner of Stone Room. The stone wall veneer is the same material from the site seen on the exterior of the poured concrete foundation walls

Southeast corner of the Stone Room

Southeast corner of the Stone Room. The exterior door is made from salvaged material, and the hardware is all antique

Southwest corner of the Stone Room- the stair has not yet been finished

Stay tuned to this site for the next installment of progress photos as the addition nears completion. Once the addition is finished, it is where Daryl and his family will live while the second phase of the project gets underway. Phase two includes an addition to the south elevation (back of the house) that will include a second gable to match that on the original end of the house. This will create space for an additional bedroom on the second floor. There are a number of changes that will take place on the interior of the house including a new Library, a pair of combined Parlor spaces to make one larger room, and a general upgrade to the level of architectural ornament in many of the first floor rooms. Much of the trim and finishes in the original 18th century house were altered in the 1920’s and again in the 1940’s, so this round of work will create a more unified and historically accurate interior. Work will begin on this phase in the winter of 2015.

Daryl Hall House Project Update 07/28/14

The film crew's tent at the end of Daryl's driveway- they were here today to film the floor being laid in the Basement Level "Stone Room"

The Daryl Hall project is moving along nicely now, I was there just a few days ago to check on progress. The first site that greeted my eyes was the film crew’s tent at the end of the driveway- they are filming for “Daryl’s Restoration Over Hall”, the ongoing series on the D.I.Y. network. The crew was there to film the mason laying an reproduction antique brick in a herringbone pattern on the floor of the Basement Room we call the “Stone Room”.  You can catch the filmed version of this process in an upcoming episode later this summer. Check the D.I.Y. Network’s website for airing time in your location. The idea with the show for season 1 (there will most likely be a season 2, coming in 2015) is to document the design and construction of the addition you’ll see in the following photos.

North side of the house showing the new addition to the left, beginning where the man in the blue shirt is standing

If you go to the archive section of my blog, you can reference the entry for this job back on April 27, 2014, and take a look at where the project was at that point. You’ll notice a number of changes have occurred since then, including the construction of the chimney, and the application of the stone veneer to the foundation level of the house. We had originally intended to use stone from a vendor in New York State, who thought he might be able to find something close to that which was used on the original foundation of the house, but nothing they had really felt right. Daryl and the mason on the project wandered to the rear of the property and found a number of very overgrown stone walls that offered up enough extra material to serve our purposes. It was a rare circumstance to be able to find the exact stone used on the original house. We used it on the exterior of the foundation, the base of the chimney, and on the interior walls of the basement level Stone Room. With a light colored grout, the stone really “pops” and looks very much at home on our addition.

A section of the foundation level of the house showing the stone veneer sourced from the site. The light gray grout at the upper left of the window is the color used throughout the exterior and interior of the Stone Room. The stone to the left is still wet, making the grout look daker in that spot. 

Detail of the northeast corner of the additions showing stone veneer on the foundation walls and porch base, and the nearly completed chimney

East end of the Additions- the camera crew is to the left, filming the mason laying the brick herringbone pattern brick on the floor of the "Stone Room"

Southeast corner of the Additions, film crew to the right

South face of addition- the set of three windows between the staging poles to the left are in the Kitchen. The existing house begins just to the left of those windows where the corner bumps out. The second floor dormer windows mark the Bedrooms

The western end of the existing house, the Addition dormers are visible to the right. The old road used to pass by this side of the house

The southest corner of the Stone Room, in the basement of the Addition. The stone veneer is the same here as on the exterior- the beginning of the brick floor is seen to the left

The mason laying the floor bricks in a herringbone pattern

Window detail on the east end of the Stone Room. The window sash and surrounding trim were fabricated from salvaged chestnut wood from Daryl's stockpile

The north wall of the Stone Room, ready for the brick floor installation. Note the post and beam frame that supports the room- this material was also salvaged from Daryl's stockpile of salvaged old house parts

The Stone Room fireplace on the east wall of the Addition

The exterior of the Addition, which is actually two sections, has been designed to appear to have been built some 50 years before the rest of the house. Houses were often expanded as a family’s fortunes would allow, and we wanted to create our Addition as the original, much simpler set of structures. The gray window and door trim you see in the photos is just a primer; it will all be painted white to match the existing house.

The following photos show the interior of the room at the east end of the Addition that we call “Daryl’s Room”- the idea was to create a formal sitting room for Daryl to use as an office and studio. This room is adjacent to the new Kitchen, and will have some of the most elaborate paneling and trim in the house. The material is being fabricated as I write this, and will be delivered to the site for installation on Monday, August 4. Stay tuned for updated photos of this room-it’s small, but will be quite a showpiece.

The east end of Daryl's Room, this fireplace is directly above the fireplace shown above in the Stone Room

The south wall of Daryl's Room. The stair to the right goes up to a second floor Bedroom

The west wall of Daryl's Room looking through the stairway to the Kitchen. This will all be enclosed when finished

The northwest corner of Daryl's Room looking through the doorway to the new Kitchen

Design Elevations of the four walls of Daryl's Room

View to the east in the new Kitchen 

The new Kitchen area is a large space, and the view of its east wall is shown above, and the design drawing for the finished space is shown below. You’ll see a niche formed in the framed wall that will be lined with antique delft tile. The niche will enclose an antique cook stove that has been converted to gas. The walls in the new Kitchen space will be feather-edged pine planking.

Proposed east wall of the new Kitchen

North wall of the new Kitchen

South wall of one of the upstairs Bedrooms

Because this project is being documented on the D.I.Y. network, the sequencing of the work is being adjusted so that finished spaces can be shown in the various segments of the show. By the end of this summer (2014) the Kitchen, the Stone Room, and Daryl’s Room will be completed within the show’s nine episodes. Stay tuned to this blog for updated photos of the project, and by all means check out “Daryl’s Restoration Over Hall” on TV for a more complete sense of the job.

Daryl Hall House Project Update 0718/14

DARYL'S RESTORATION OVER-HALL

The long-awaited D.I.Y. Network's documentation of my project with Daryl Hall airs its first episode on Saturday, July 19, 2014 at 10 PM. The whole program is comprised of nine episodes, and will follow the project through the completion of the addition. Check out the progress photos in the architectural archive section of my blog for reference. If the audience response is positive enough, the rest of the project will be covered next season in a second installment. The second phase of the job will involve the renovation of the existing house, which includes a large gable addition to the rear of the house and a substantial reworking of the interior. Please tune in and let me know what you think!

ARCHITECTURAL GHOSTS OF VIRGINA #01

All that remains of a post-civil war rural cabin up behind my house in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

Every since I arrived in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2004, I’ve spent a great deal of time exploring the back roads, searching out places on my motorcycle that are new to me, and that are often accessible only by four-wheel-drive vehicles or motorcycles like mine. I have a few BMW “Dual Sport” bikes that are built to handle off road conditions, but that also do just fine on the pavement. I’ll probably never exhaust the seemingly endless quantity of fire roads, logging trails, dirt, and partially paved roads that have etched their way across the mountains and through the valleys a day’s ride from Charlottesville, which is just to the east of the Blue Ridge Mountain in west central Virginia. A long day ride west takes me across the Blue Ridge and the Shenandoah Valley out into the Allegheny Mountains and home again. This part of the western edge of Virginia and into West Virginia is the very heart of what is known as Appalachia. Here time seems to have stood still, and the architectural ghosts of Virginia and West Virginia abound.

There are small towns and villages that have their structures, and these can be quite beautiful, unusual, and intriguing, but I’m particularly attracted to the buildings living and deceased that appear in the most remote, lonely, and inhospitable places imaginable out beyond the town limits. These are the hardscrabble places, where life must have been almost unbearable at times, but also sublimely beautiful. It’s a heartbreaking balance. The places I find appear today much as they would have in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and that makes the experience of discovery even richer. There is very little to bring the modern visitor into the present.

In this part of my Architectural Blog, I’ll share with you some of what I find, and let you know how you can find these places should you choose to go exploring yourself. You can always contact me for more exacting directions, I’m happy to oblige. But don’t wait too long. Much of what I’ll show here won’t last much longer. These places are deteriorating as I write this. Wood and brick dissolve relatively slowly, but as every year passes, there is less to see of the buildings, and the trees and undergrowth will soon engulf them completely, making them even harder to locate. Luckily, the remains of the old roads usually pass close by these places; to live further out would have been suicidal for the early inhabitants. 

Read on for an introduction to Architectural Ghost #1:

ARCHITECTURAL GHOST #1

Farmhouse and Outbuildings looking west from route 624, near McDowell, Virginia

Farmhouse and Outbuilding looking northwest from route 624

Corner of Farmhouse looking southwest from route 624

Farmhouse looking west from route 624

I came upon this once beautiful 19th century farm on a ride from the town of McDowell, which is Highland County, Virginia, west of Staunton on route 250, and just east of the town of Monterey. Heading north and west of McDowell up into Jack Mountain on Jack Mountain Road will bring you to this farm, first viewed from up above as you wind down on the road that passes right between the farmhouse and the barn. This is an amazingly charming setting, one of the more serene and tranquil that I’ve found. The house is a common form found throughout Virginia, basically a center entrance “two over two” rectangle, with an added Ell off the back, and a side bay. The farmer’s porch along the front may have been added later. A pair of chimneys flank the center entrance hall and stair, providing heat to each of the four main rooms. The Ell contains the Kitchen, its chimney can be seen poking through the roof.

Farmhouse showing Ell and pair of Outbuildings looking south on route 624

The rubble stone foundation is largely intact, and the standing seam metal roof has struggled to keep out the rain, but is losing the battle. This is one of those places that teeter on the brink of being able to be saved, but the cost of doing so at this point would be prohibitive for all but the most dedicated and deep-pocketed restorer. No doubt it will continue to dissolve until only the chimney and foundation walls remain. The barn is still in service to someone, and has been maintained to some extent, but the house and the two small sheds behind it have been abandoned to the elements.

Farmhouse and Outbuildings to the right, Barn to the left, looking south on route 624

Daryl Hall House Project Update 04/27/14

This project for Daryl Hall continues toward completion, at least for this phase. Phase #1 includes the addition to the east side of the existing house, itself an addition to the original 1787 house in western Connecticut. Phase #2 includes a redo of the interior of the existing house, the creation of a new gable on the south side of the house that will match the existing gable to the left when viewing that elevation from the outside, and a new two-story porch also on the south side.

The last set of progress photos were taken back on February 17, 2014, and show the addition and a few interior framing shots. These most recent images were taken on April 27, 2014, and show how the addition is progressing. The foundation base has been set up to take veneer stone that will match that of the original house and its addition. The stone is being reclaimed from one of many stonewalls on the property; there are a number of them in various states of repair, and we’ll take our material from the most deteriorated of the walls found in the woods at the rear of the property.

The windows have been installed, and were fabricated by the Benson Window division of Connor Homes in Middlebury, Vermont; from reclaimed chestnut wood supplied by Daryl from his treasure trove of old house parts. Connor Homes fabricated the addition frame in their factory in Vermont, general contractor Steve Wilson and his crew put it all together, and will do all the finishing work and oversee the subcontracted trade functions.

You can view the accompanying “before” photos for several of the views of the addition in the “In Progress” section of my website under “Projects”. Stay tuned as Daryl’s project progresses.

PROGRESS SHOTS FROM APRIL 27, 2014

North Elevation from the street

Unobstructed north elevation of the addition to the left, main house and earlier addition to the right

These views show the addition to the left, which is comprised of two forms. The idea was to make the addition appear to have been built 50 or so years before the main body of the house. It helps to see the “front” of the house, which is the original structure. I put “front” in quotation marks because we typically think of a house’s front as the elevation that faces the street. In this case, the original front of Daryl’s house faced a road that is no longer there. The new functional front of the house is the north side, as the first two views illustrate. Here is the original front of the house:

Original front of the house, facing west

Now, if you refer back to the first two photos in this post, you’ll note the bridging link between the new addition and that main body of the house, which was only one room deep, typical of many houses of the 18th century. The “bridging link” was added to the original house probably 20 years or so after the original was constructed. This newer section has been modified incrementally over the years, and it, and the original part of the house received a facelift probably in the 1920’s that replaced all the exterior trim with lighter, more attenuated casings and moldings. The Colonial Revival movement was still very much in evidence in the twenties, and this lighter approach to the trim detailing was more popular than the heavier looking trim used on the first period Colonial houses in New England. Of course this idea of a “bridging link” only serves that function to connect the front of the house to the new addition. In its time, this earlier addition was a common way to expand the size of the house without altering the architectural character of the original part of the house. Prior to our new addition, the earlier addition contained a dining room, kitchen, and a bedroom and adjacent nursery room. Probably in the 1920’s two small bathrooms were shoehorned in to this addition. Our new addition will contain the new kitchen, and the old kitchen will become a pantry. Additional new spaces are a parlor room on the main floor, a den in the lower basement level, and two bedrooms and bathrooms on the second floor. Phase two of this project will include the creation of a third bedroom on the second floor of the south side of the house by adding a gable on top of the saltbox style roof there that mirrors the existing gable on the south side of the original part of the house.

East end of the addition

The plywood cover on the east end of the new addition covers the hole for the chimney. The lower part of the chimney will have the same stone veneer as the foundation, and above that it will be brick, a common practice in the early days.

View of the southeast corner of the addition 

South elevation of the addition

South elevation with addition to the right, earlier "bridging link" addition to the left 

The dormers on the new addition were an idea that Daryl really likes, though at the moment they dwarf the dormers on the earlier addition to the left. These smaller dormers will disappear when the new gable is added in their place. This gable will be a twin to the one formed at the south side of the original house.

Southwest corner of original house and earlier addition to the left, new addition to the right

View to the south from the new kitchen in the addition 

View to the southeast in the new kitchen

Detail of new timber frame ceiling in the kitchen

View to the east in the new kitchen looking through into the parlor room

Looking south on the second floor through the dormer windows. Bedroom to the left, bathroom to the right

In Praise of Old Houses #1

I had a repairman at my place yesterday to look at my ailing dishwasher; the thing had completely shut down and was gushing water through the door seal. It seemed hard to believe that a three-year-old device could be failing already. The repairman’s analysis was that it was cheaper to replace the machine than to repair it, and “cheap” became the operative word of the morning. “Durable goods” like kitchen appliances are now so poorly made that the expectation is that they are essentially throwaway items that have a very short life span and will need to be replaced every few years. “Yeah, the older machines were better” the repairman said. “Even ten years ago the stuff was better, and machines older than that still give me something to work with. The materials were better, the guts were simpler, and they were made to run for decades rather than a few years”.  And what does all this remind me of? Yep. Houses.

I’ve worked on houses from the first period of American architecture through ones that are being built as I write this. It goes without saying for me that anything I touch is designed and built to last far beyond the lifespan of the current owners, but given the materials available now and their cost, the stuff that goes up today by even the best of us does not match the solidity and integrity of houses built before the second world war.  Arguably the houses where technology and quality of materials reached their zenith was in the early years of the 20th century. Up through the 1930’s production methods and the availability of quality building products helped produce some incredibly well built houses. And let’s not forget the level of expertise of those designing and building these houses. The building trades and the architectural community were the beneficiaries of generations of skill and training, and sincere pride in their craft. Tradesmen were respected members of their community and brought a level of professionalism to their work that many of today’s carpenters could only marvel at.  Architects had an understanding of the history of design and what it took to make beautiful and functional buildings that were sources of pride for communities and individual owners alike.

Now this is not to say that there aren’t architects and builders today who don’t do good work, or who don’t care as deeply for what they do, or that every building built before 1940 was a gem. There have always been exceptions. But as I drive around my home in Charlottesville, VA, and anywhere beyond, I’m confronted by scores of the most careless, awful looking, and poorly built newer houses and buildings that I’ve ever seen. “Architecture” seems to be largely abandoned as a concept, and the quality of construction is aimed at the lowest level of acceptability possible to satisfy basic building codes and zoning.  Positive additions to the landscape? I think not. Cheap? You bet. Durable? Hah! Sources of pride? Don’t get me started (though I already have).

I find the only houses that make me stop and smile are the old ones, and the very occasional newer one where architecture and construction have danced sublimely. And it’s not just traditional “new” design that does it for me; because the understanding it takes to work in these styles has disappeared save for the few who take the time to really study it and use it as an artistic means of expression. There are certainly modern buildings that are beautiful and well considered, and many, many more that aren’t.

So what’s at fault here? Where is the pride, the care, and the value placed on beautiful structures? Why do so many of our buildings just satisfy the absolute minimum standards of design and construction? Does it all come down to cheap? Is it our portable society that doesn’t stay in one place long enough to bother to care about the buildings they leave behind? Have standards slipped so far and so fast that beautiful, functional spaces are assumed to be beyond the reach of all but the wealthy? Is it that we don’t believe we deserve to live, work, and conduct our affairs in buildings that lift our spirits and inspire us? I can certainly opine, but I put out these questions to start a dialog. There are those of us out there in the design and building trades who still believe that all is not lost, and who cling to the “old fashioned” standards so succinctly described by John Ruskin who said:

“When we build, let us think we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work that our descendants will thank us for, and let us think, as we lay stone upon stone, that a time is to come when these stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, “See! This our fathers did for us”.

With so many new houses and buildings having no more real value placed on them then my now dead three-year-old dishwasher, I feel even more responsibility to try to make a difference, and there are others like me (music swelling in the background) who feel the same way. We’re out there, and every day we get up and strive to do our work with the same level of commitment, passion, and expertise as those who set the bar so high in the past. And that’s why I look back to better be able to look forward. Inspired and inspiring design and high quality construction do not need to be beyond those of reasonable means. Our homes should have lasting value, and quality in my mind equates not only with beauty but with longevity as well. Disposable is okay for a paper cup, but for our houses? We deserve so much better.

The New Bungalow Kitchen

My books are some of my most treasured possessions, and my architecture and design books serve as major sources of my design inspiration. I’m ever mindful of the old adage: “Originality is the art of concealing your sources”. That said, I’m going to be leaking out some of my favorite sources in the hopes that you’ll be as inspired by them as I am. For book #1, I’m starting with my own first book, as the shameless self-promoter that I am. Here it is, it’s titled “The New Bungalow Kitchen, published by The Taunton Press:

You can find this book at any good bookstore, or on line from Amazon.com here:

http://www.amazon.com/New-Bungalow-Kitchen-Peter-Labau/dp/1561588628/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1392673806&sr=1-1&keywords=the+new+bungalow+kitchen

Or from Barnes and Noble on Line:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/new-bungalow-kitchen-peter-labau/1103129850?ean=9781561588626

While I had my firm The Classic Group, Inc. (formerly Classic Restorations, Inc.) in Boston from 1986 through 2005, I was frequently asked to contribute photography by Taunton Press. Various of the editors would call and ask for images of my firm’s projects that had application for particular books and magazines that Taunton was in the process of publishing. So it didn’t seem surprising that I got a call back in 2006 from one of the editors there asking if I’d be interested in writing a book on Arts and Crafts and Bungalow Kitchens. My friend and interior designer/author Treena Crochet (now Treena Llewelyn, her married name) had originally been asked to write the book for Taunton, but as she was tied up on other projects, I was her first choice as someone knowledgeable in historic architecture to fill in for her.

I’ve done a lot of writing over the years, have designed many kitchens in historic houses, and certainly have no shortage of opinions, so it was an easy leap for me to agree to the project. Part of the fun was undertaking such an endeavor was that it got me in touch with architects and designers across the country, and exposed me to a number of great projects as I made my final choices for the projects I highlight in the book.  A few of the architectural firms I profiled were known to me, and some were new discoveries. And there was one great coincidence.

My family spent a few weeks on a secluded pond near Camden, Maine several summers ago, and my brother and I spent a bunch of time paddling around the lake looking at the houses that ringed the shore. One beautiful little cabin in particular caught our eyes, and caused us to beach the canoe, and explore. Clearly this was the work of some inspired designer, and we took photos and spent a good hour checking this place out. A few years later as I was compiling candidates for the book, I got a list of potential architects from the Maine chapter of the AIA. I asked for scouting shots of relevant projects from a number of these firms, and lo and behold, I spied that same sweet little cabin among the entries. The cabin was owned and designed by Meg Barclay and her husband John Scholz, of the architectural firm Scholz and Barclay in Camden, ME. The cabin is of course included in the book, and can be seen in several of its chapters. And Meg and John are as fabulous as their work, a theme that was often repeated as I made my way around the country gathering information and meeting other architects and designers and seeing their work. Marco Prozzo was the photographer assigned to work with me, and he was a delight to work with. He also rides BMW motorcycles as I do, which gave us even more to talk about.

If you are planning a kitchen project in an Arts and Crafts style house, by all means check this book out. It’s also quite useful for doing this kind of work in any historic or traditionally styled house, my methodology of respecting the original design intent and creating a seamless whole holds

The Titanic String Band

Titanic String Band Video

For a good number of years now I’ve been playing a type of banjo music referred to as “Classic Style”. I play other instruments, and other types of music, but this Classic Style stuff has been a source of great musical joy to me over the years. And I feel a certain responsibility to keep it alive- its hay day was roughly from about 1880 through the 1920’s, and as such it’s not as accessible as a lot of banjo stuff. I consider myself part of the living timeline of this style of playing; I have had the honor of playing it with some of the players who were active in the 1920’s, and they in turn had sat at the feet of those who came before them. I enjoy turning younger players and audiences alike on to it, so I feel like I’m a link in a so far unbroken chain.  I’m presenting a link below here to a video that I, along with my musical partner Mitch Nelin made a year ago (2013) in Lowell, MA with the assistance of the National Park Service. The video will give you a basic “lay of the land” and if you’re interested, I’ll be writing more about this music and the instruments used to create it. I hope you enjoy the video!

Virginia Ghost Town

Mouth of Wilson, Grayson County, Virginia

Looking east along route 58, route 16 heads south to the right 

My first motorcycle trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway in 2004 planted the seed for my future move down to Charlottesville, VA a year later.  I had a series of revelations in the course of that first trip. Some involved profound human interactions I had, and some were based on various observations at a time when my eyes were wide open to this new part of the country. It’s funny how a new place will excite my senses, and equally saddening how that freshness wears off after becoming acclimated to it. On this first trip to Virginia I saw a quote from Marcel Proust on a coffee mug in a gift shop window in Lexington, VA: The only real voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes, but in developing new eyes with which to perceive them”. Proust had it right, as far as I can see, and I’m inspired ceaselessly to adhere to his maxim.

One of the more moving sights on this first ride through southwestern Virginia was a town named “Mouth of Wilson”, at the North Carolina border, at the junction of routes 58 and 16.  This town looks like many other timeworn places I’ve seen and photographed, but this one stands apart because it’s commercial center appeared to be completely abandoned. I’ve seen many towns in many parts of this country that had a period of prosperity reflected in the town’s architecture, but that progress had left behind. Once formidable buildings are slowly sinking into disrepair, some too far gone to realistically bring back for any current usage. Some of these places were on back roads where traffic had long ceased to flow. But this place, Mouth of Wilson, was right at the “T” intersection of two busy roads- route 58 that runs east west along the border of Virginia and North Carolina, and route 16 that runs south to North Carolina. This is still a rural area, but there was an intermittent flow of traffic on both roads while I spent an hour or so there.

Former Halsey Farm Service Store, looking northeast on route 58, Mouth of Wilson, VA

There were the usual types of rural vernacular buildings dating from the 19th and 20th centuries: mill buildings, general store, post office, gas station and auto repair shop, a few houses, and misc. commercial buildings. All were in reasonably good condition, and all shared one glaring characteristic- they were abandoned. Even the newest building, the ubiquitous, bland, brick Post Office building was silent and empty. And there wasn’t a soul in sight, anywhere. It reminded me of an early Twilight Zone episode of a man wandering down a dirt road into a town kind of like this one, with no people anywhere to be seen. Cigarettes are burning in ashtrays on diner counters, radios play, faucets drip, and there is no one.

Looking south down route 16, Mouth of Wilson, VA. The remains of the Fields Manufacturing Company woolen mill is on the left

Looking southeast from route 58 down route 16, Mouth of Wilson, VA 

Looking east across unidentified structure towards old woolen mill, Mouth of Wilson, VA

Looking west on route 58 from junction of route 16, Mouth of Wilson, VA. Old water tower to left, unidentifed house on right

Looking South down route 16 from route 58, Mouth of Wilson, Virginia. Woolen mill to left, old water tower to right

Looking south down route 16, Mouth of Wilson, VA. Abandoned woolen mill to left

Looking southeast from route 16, Mouth of Wilson, VA. Remains of woolen mill 

Looking North on route 16 toward route 58, Mouth of WIlson, VA. 

Looking north on route 16, Mouth of Wilson, VA. 

Looking northeast to route 58, Mouth of WIlson, VA. Abandoned Fields Manufacturing Company Store in center, emptly Fields house to right

Looking South across route 58 down route 16, Mouth of Wilson, VA. Post Office to left, Fields Company Store in center, Halsey Farm Service Store to right

Looking south from route 58, Mouth of Wilson, VA. Former Post Office center, Fields House to left, Fields Company Store to right

Looking south from route 58, Mouth of Wilson, VA. Post Office to left, Fields Company Store to right

Looking South from route 58, Mouth of Wilson, VA. Post office to left, woolen mill in background, Fields Company Store to right

Looking west along route 58, Mouth of Wilson, VA. Post Office to left, Fields Company Store in center, Halsey Farm Service Store to right

Looking northwest along route 58, Mouth of Wilson, VA. Fields Company Store to left, Halsey Farm Service Store to right

Looking north past Halsey Farm Servcie Store, Mouth of Wilson, VA 

Looking north past corner of Halsey Farm Service Store, Mouth of Wilson, VA 

Looking east down route 58, leaving Mouth of Wilson, VA

I wandered around this place shooting photos, getting bolder about walking up to and around behind buildings, and no one appeared to ask me what I was doing, or tell me to get lost. I was the only one there. I spent an hour or so shooting, and then packed up and headed east on route 58. I couldn’t shake the image of the place or the terrible feeling of emptiness that it left me with. About 10 miles down the road I found the probable culprit- a huge Walmart store with a parking lot filled with cars. Adjacent to the Walmart were the usual grim collection of soulless commercial structures that, had I been blindfolded and dropped here, I wouldn’t have been able to differentiate from anywhere else in America. 

These photos and the trip that brought me to Mouth of Wilson were taken in May of 2004, and it wasn’t until a few days ago that I came upon a book titled “Lost Communities of Virginia” by Terri Fisher and Kirsten Sparenborg, published by Albemarle Books, 2011, ISBN 978-0-9742707-3-9. There is a chapter on Mouth of Wilson, which is in Grayson County. There is some history of the town in this book and a description of some of the buildings, but no real analysis of how or why the town (or this part of it anyway) was allowed to die. It probably not much more complicated that the example I see repeated over and over in Virginia- a once beautiful old farmhouse in a terrible state of disrepair with a single wide trailer sitting beside it where the occupants now live. There’s not even enough respect to bury the dead and raze the house that is now beyond repair. The little town of Mouth of Wilson had some charm, but clearly no will or interest in preserving any of that. It was cheaper for the townsfolk to let it fall apart and head on over to Walmart. It’s been ten years since I was last in Mouth of Wilson, and I am curious to see what its current status is. I’ll keep you posted…

Daryl Hall House Project

Every once in a while I get a project that stands out as one of particular interest, and this house in western Connecticut is a good example. The house is owned by Daryl Hall, of Hall and Oates fame, and is undergoing a series of alterations including a new addition.  Built in 1787, the house has been added to several times over the years, and was given a more uniform exterior skin in the 1920’s that serves to tie together the various added parts. This project is a collaborative effort between Daryl, Connor Homes in Middlebury, VT, and contractor Steve Wilson. The process is being documented by the DIY network, and will air as a series of shows starting in the spring of 2014. As an expert on old houses I worked with Connor Homes to provide the architectural design for the addition and various interior elements in the existing house. Architect Jessie Chapman, who works with me on many of my projects, aided me in that effort.

Northeast Corner of Hall House, pre-construction

Northeast Corner of Hall House, foundation complete

Northeast Corner of Hall House, addition shell underway

I have been involved with Connor Homes in Middlebury, VT for a number of years now, and see their process of factory building as the future of new home construction. Connor’s focus on new old house work is right up my alley, they have done two of my projects for me, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. (More on Connor in future blog posts.)  This project was somewhat of a departure for Connor in that they provided the addition to a very irregular structure rather than creating an entirely new house. Working with all the eccentricities of an old house is challenging enough when stick-building, but to have all the parts made in the Connor factory and then delivered to the site demanded an extraordinary amount of careful planning, something the Connor people thankfully excel at. Once the pre-built shell of the addition has been delivered to the site in truck-able parts, it was up to contractor Steve Wilson and his crew to assemble it all on top of the foundation

Another interesting wrinkle is that Daryl wanted the addition to appear to predate the existing house, as though the addition was the initial structure on the site to which the main house was added some 37 years later. Daryl knows his stuff with old houses, and it has been fun to work with a client so knowledgeable. As a musician myself, I often compare the collaborative process of design and construction to playing in a band, the same basic rules apply to both- each contributor is there to support the others in the pursuit of creating the best overall result.

In the photo below we see the Connor building shell is being supplemented by a timber frame floor ceiling system. This shot was taken in the basement level of the addition, and shows the timber frame supporting the floor above. Many New England houses of the mid-18th century had exposed ceiling systems like this one, so its inclusion into our design reinforces the effect of that time period. The material for the timber frame was provided by Daryl out of his collection of old house parts. The frame was prepared by a timber framer in Massachusetts, and was assembled by Steve Wilson and his crew. The floor above this basement room has a similar exposed timber frame.

Southwest Corner of Hall Addition

We were limited with the potential footprint of the addition by setbacks to the street and proximity to wetlands, which abound at Daryl’s house. The site is in western Connecticut, close to the New York State border, and is zealously guarded by local zoning ordinances, always a double-edged sword. Given the small potential footprint of the addition, we separated the massing into two parts, to help create the effect of structures added over time. The detailing of the interior of the addition from moldings to wall surfaces will reflect finishes that were seen in the middle of the 18th century. The exterior shell will also have a simpler look than the main house, with custom made windows (by Connor Home’s Benson window division) that will also reflect earlier construction than the main house. I’ve done so many additions to old houses over the years, but never one that would appear to predate the existing house. It’s an interesting challenge. Stay tuned for updates as the project progresses. In the meantime, here's on more relevant shot:

Daryl Hall and Peter LaBau, hard at work