Abandoned

Abandoned. Sitting alone in the middle of a large lot in a not-so-good part of town, this beautiful antebellum home is slowly deteriorating. The home once filled with the laughter and sounds of eleven children is now quiet. Historic homes bring out my curious nature. I wonder about those who once crossed the threshold and entered the door.

I wonder who used their hands to form the hand-made bricks? Who designed the pretty woodwork above the windows?

I wonder who sat by the fireplaces; one in every room of the house. Who chopped the massive amount of wood that would have been necessary during the cold winter months? Slaves?

I wonder at the sound the boots of the Union Army officers must have made on the old wooden floor as they took possession of the home in 1863. How many officers lived here? How many soldiered died here while it was a military hospital?

When the family sold the house and property in 1891, why did the new owners decide to move the front door and porch from the south side to the north side, replacing the original doors with windows? Was the north side a cooler place to sit on hot summer days?

How hard was it to destroy the original beauty of this home in 1921 and create the Cottage Home For Girls with twelve bedrooms? Who were the first young, single women who boarded here while working in Little Rock? Who cooked and cleaned for 24 to 36 women? Did the women become good friends? Was the house filled with laughter, stories about their day, and a little gossip? Why was the name changed to The Colonial Club For Business Girls in 1930?

The pocket doors were moved in the renovation for apartments. Has water damage caused them to stick? Will they ever be used again?

I wonder what conversations could be heard through these literally paper thin walls?

Who chose the wallpaper for each bedroom? Was it the women? Was the wallpaper put up in the 20's or 30's?

Who decided to paper the room with snowmen? Were they like me and didn't like the hot summer days and hoped snowmen would cool them down?

I wonder what started the fire in 2005 that blackened the doorways and walls of one of the apartments. Why was the house then abandoned? Not enough money to repair? Bad location?

Will someone try to save this house? Will footsteps be once again heard on the old stairs?

Lots of questions and very few answers. There is a lot of Arkansas history in these walls, beginning with the first owner, William E. Woodruff. Woodruff was the publisher of the first newspaper in Arkansas, the Gazette. After living for several years in a small house in downtown, he decided he wanted to find a place in the country where he could have a small farm and where his eleven children could play. The Woodruff House was truly an urban farmstead, complete with an orchard, gardens, stables, servants’ houses, and open pasture. Of course that area is no longer in the country, but just a couple of blocks from a major interstate!

Efforts are being made to save the William E. Woodruff home, a piece of Arkansas' history. I do hope some way is found to restore it to it's original beauty. 

Let's Finish The Tour!

In my last post I took you on a tour of this gorgeous Victorian home. I didn't show you much, just the ceilings and the Nickelodeons. While those things were impressive there was more to the house. So come on in for the rest of the tour . . . 

First, let's meet the current owner, Carl Miller. He graciously invited 236 people into his home. I don't know much about him, but it was easy to see that he enjoyed collecting antiques.

I've always been in love with grand staircases. This one did not disappoint with it's gorgeous, rich wood. It was said that Dr. Dibrell was so caught up in the booming machine age that not one original feature was handmade; it was all mass produced by machines. He definitely was a forward thinking man! In contrast I cherish the handmade. I don't think that makes me backward thinking, just nostalgic. I had to wait a long time to take a picture of the staircase free of people. Patience is good when your a photographer!

Antiques filled the home; furniture, vases, clock, lamps, quilts, anything you could imagine.

The main bedroom was fit for a king. I didn't get a lot of pictures inside the home. Unless I was shooting up or at a specific item close to me, there were just too many people in the way!

The door hinges were even ornate!

Fireplaces, of course, were used for heating. This grand house has eight! They were definitely going to stay warm. The fireplaces were not simplee. They were all different in style and color and decorated with tiles. During nice weather they could choose to sit on one of seven porches.

  

We think nothing about large homes, but at the time this home was built Little Rock had only been a city for 61 years. The first structure build in Little Rock, described as a cabin or shanty, was built only 72 years before the Dibrell house. During this time period this house was definitely a mansion. The Dibrell house was built for around $1,000. Of course, that was 1892, when the average days wages was $1 to $1.50!

I'm always excited when the Arkansas Historic Preservation program tours historical homes near me. There is no other way I'd get to see inside!

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

Let's Take A Tour

The first Friday of each month the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program conducts a tour of historical homes, churches, or buildings in the central Arkansas area. I've been attending these tours for several years. It's such a wonderful opportunity to see inside beautiful and fascinating places. The last tour was of the Dibrell House built in 1892, the home of Dr. and Mrs. James A Dibrell, Jr.*  By the 1960's the house had been structurally changed and divided into apartments. An extensive restoration began in 1967 to restore it to it's original appearance. The house is of a quality rarely seen outside of museums. I don't know how else to describe it, but simply beautiful.

The home became known as "the gadget house" because of Dibrell's love of devices. The house had electric and gas lighting, an electric doorbell and a burglar alarm. There's also a system of speaking tubes (intercom) and a heating system that warmed every room in the house. All these things were very unusual for that time. We're talking late 1890 to early 1900's here!!

I took a lot of pictures, but there were two things that impressed me the most. One was the incredible hand-stenciled and painted ceilings. My favorite ceiling was in what I would call the drawing room where guests would have been entertained.

The four pictures below show closeups of the ceiling. The same scene had been painted in all four seasons.

In the same room above the bay window area was this lovely stenciling. It was so light and cheerful with pretty flowers and bluebirds.

Now, to the best part of home. The current owner is a collector of antiques. The house was filled with vases, books, and furniture. But, there was one collection that topped them all . . . his collection of eight Nickelodeons. Nickelodeons are amazing mechanical music machines. All eight of them were in pristine condition. One of my favorites was the Mills Violano-Virtuoso. Here's a link if you'd like to hear one playing. The Violano-Virtuoso was introduced in 1912 as "The Mechanical Musical Wonder of the world."

All you had to do was put in a nickle and they played the liveliest tunes.

My other favorites were a gorgeous piano Nickelodeon with stained glass and a banjo one. Some of them even had other instrument sounds as well, such as drums and tambourines.

I could have stayed in that room and listened to them for hours. Their music makes you want to kick up your heels and dance a little! Listening to the nickelodeons made me realize just how much music can affect us. They sure brought out the smiles!

I hope you enjoyed the tour. It was very hard to get good pictures as the crowd was large, 236 people attended. Made me wonder how strong the foundation was!!

Until next time,

Cathy

* Dr. Dibrell was "a founder of the University of Arkansas Medical Department (now the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences - UAMS) and served as its second dean. As a practicing physician and dean of the medical school, Dibrell was responsible for many of the developments in medical education in Arkansas at the turn of the century." Encyclopedia Of Arkansas

A Lunchtime Adventure

Pretty pots of flowers greeted us as we walked up the brick walk. About 40 to 50 of us waited in the warm sunshine for the doors to be opened. We formed a loose line from the street to the porch. As I chatted with the couple behind me, I learned that they do this every month. Most of us were of the older generation, but there was a group of home school children on a field trip. 

You see, I recently discovered a program, Sandwiching In History at Lunch,  presented by the Department of Arkansas Heritage. Each month historic homes and buildings are opened for a tour and a short lecture about their historical significance. This month's tour was of the Rozelle-Murphy House, a Queen Anne-style house built about 1887.

Extensive remodeling was done in 1930. Mr. Murphy who bought the house from the Rozelle family, married when he was 60 years old. He was so excited to finally have a family that he remodeled the house making it large enough for many of his wife's family to reside with them. He added a grand staircase and had the huge attic converted into bedrooms. When the remodeling was done, the house had ten bedrooms and five bathrooms. At one time five generations were living here together. I can't imagine that! They must have been a very close family!  We were all surprised when an older lady standing in the audience was introduced to us. She was part of this large family and was actually born in the house. She provided "inside" information about the house. I thought that was pretty cool!

I was impressed with the large kitchen area in the back of the house. I loved the built-in cupboard and the antiques that were still in it. I'm sure it was quite a busy place since the family was so large. One of the ladies actually opened a small restaurant in one section of the house. She later became a chef at the Capitol Hotel, one of Little Rock's historic hotels.

On one hand, I was a little disappointed to find that the house is now occupied by a law firm, but on the other hand I was certainly glad the firm bought the house and is keeping it in great condition. Instead of rooms furnished as a home there were large desks, hundreds of law books, and many computers. There are still touches of the old house like this corner of the glassed in porch with an old rocker, original French doors, and beautiful glass doorknobs. That immediately changes though, when you look to the left.

The porch is used as a conference room. The room looked whimsical to me with it's eclectic decor.

I was intrigued by the different shaped windows.  Most of the glass in the house is original and wavy. Remember, I mentioned that we stood in the sun waiting to get in? I looked out an upstairs window and was surprised to see that it was storming, really storming as in strong winds and pouring rain!

I had decided to take my outside pictures of the house after the tour. Of course, that didn't happen since it was still raining. I wanted to get a better picture of the gas lamps on the porch, but this was as close as I could get and keep my camera dry. The vintage gas street lamps were added when the porch was remodeled in 1930.

I had no umbrella and had parked a half-block away. I had no choice but to tuck my camera under my shirt and walk through the rising water down the street. By the time I got to the car I was drenched from head to toe, but my camera was dry. I did grab a quick picture of the hitching post as I hurried by and was glad I wasn't on horseback or in a buggy on this rainy day. 

It was such a fun experience I couldn't stop grinning as I drove home soakin' wet! I am definitely going to October's history tour. It's another home, this one built in 1925. Before I go though, I will check the weather!!