Lots of old homes have the mysterious second front door. Some were added in renovations over the years, but others are original. The explanations for these original double doors are all over the map. Many folks finally give up hope of finding an answer to this architectural mystery, but I have some ideas for you. [...] Read on →
Last week I helped my friends at Florida Victorian Architectural Antiques with the salvage of four early 20th century homes on the banks of Lake Eola here in Orlando, FL. We were busy removing any parts of the home that may be of some value to someone in the future. Old wood windows were removed [...] Read on →
Occasionally, I use terms on this blog some of my readers may not understand. I recently mentioned “first-rung” neighborhoods in a post and got some comments about what on earth they were. So, for everyone else who didn’t know but didn’t ask, here is your answer. How Cities Grow When areas are first settled there’s [...] Read on →
I have a lot of friends and clients whose homes fall into something I like to call the Historical Cusp. They don’t live in a house of any particular historical significance, and it’s not quite old enough to have been built by hand with non-standardized materials. But it still maintains some of the characteristics I [...] Read on →
Every old house is hiding some pieces of its past, and it’s up to you to figure them out. Many folks want to restore old details that have been removed or covered up over the years. And while some remodels may have completely wiped out any signs of the past there may still be ways [...] Read on →
Lake Eola’s last remaining historic homes are in danger of destruction. Yesterday I learned of the City of Orlando’s plans to remove 5 historic (according the Orlando Sentinel these homes are only “semi-historic” whatever that may mean) homes dating from 1915-1930 that border Lake Eola park in order to add what will presumably be green [...] Read on →
Just a little fun mid-week post about something I’ve been thinking about. Who hasn’t used the phrase “Dead as a doornail” at some point in their life? And how many of us actually know where the term comes from? That’s what I thought. Well, as it turns out we may have medieval carpenters to thank [...] Read on →
There is something special about an old house. The incredible craftsmanship, the quality materials, but most precious is the history and story they tell. It’s easy to get caught up in the nuts and bolts of how to cope a joint properly, or cleanly refinish wood floors, but sometimes I need to remember why I do [...] Read on →
A house’s frame is like its bones. Without a sturdy frame your house is one gust of wind away from collapse. The most common building material used to frame a house is, no surprise, wood. It’s strong, readily available, inexpensive, and extremely versatile. Wood framed houses typically fall into one of three categories depending on [...] Read on →
After the end of slavery and the Civil War blacks across the South began looking to take part in the great American experiment in search of their own prosperity with their newly gained freedom. Though relations between whites and blacks were relatively harmonious in 1880s Central Florida there was still a desire by many blacks [...] Read on →
Today The Senator, a 3500 yr. old pond cypress tree in Longwood, FL was killed by a tragic fire. Investigators have found that the fire started 120 ft up the tree and was most likely the result of a lightening strike that smoldered for days inside the tree before finally breaking into a full [...] Read on →
The walls of any pre-war house are most likely wood lath like in this picture covered with 3 coats of plaster. The work took a long time and was very labor intensive. Not to mention it required a skilled plasterer to make sure the plaster was properly applied and the wall was smooth and level. [...] Read on →
Living here in the Sunshine State it seems that folks have an unusual penchant for $0.69 sq. ft. 20″ tiles. The most popular colors are blah, boring, and blech. People love to toss these tiles down over red oak, irreplaceable heart pine, and any number of historic floors. And these tile are spreading like a [...] Read on →
History So far we’ve talked about the Orlando neighborhoods that have been officially designated historical districts, but there are plenty of neighborhoods in the metro area that are historic in nature, but not officially designated as such. This week we’re taking a look at the Lake Formosa Neighborhood on the north side of downtown. The [...] Read on →