Thursday, November 4, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
2009 Peninsula Daily News Article on Landes House Restoration
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009303219997
Victorian Days to include rare public tour today of historical Port Townsend house
PORT TOWNSEND -- To anyone who has ever walked around the uptown area, the exterior of the Landes House presents an intriguing facade.
Set back from the street in its own formal garden, the two-story house with its painted gables, gingerbread porches and tall brick chimneys looks like something out of a storybook.
But for most, the interior of the house remains a mystery.
Unlike most historical homes in Port Townsend, the Landes House has rarely been open to the public.
This Saturday, visitors on the Victorian Festival Home Tour will have the chance to open the gate, enter the grounds and step over the threshold of the house, now undergoing restoration before new owners move in.
"If these walls could talk, I'm sure they'd have stories to tell," said Jeremy Fields.
An employee of Little and Little Construction, Fields has been working in the house for the past 10 months for the new owners, who now live in San Francisco.
But he has two other connections to the house.
Born in 1979, Fields was delivered by Dr. Jacobs, the town doctor who lived in the Landes House during the 1970s and 80s.
The other is that Fields' father, Joe Fields, worked on the house during one of its many restorations.
"He stops by every once and a while to see how it's going," Fields said.
Actually two houses brought to the site and put together in 1871, the Landes House has been modified over the years into a homogenous whole.
But when it was last open to the public, on a hospital guild tour in the 1980s, there was still an exterior wall visible in the upstairs interior, according to Anne Woods, who was a docent.
"You walked on roof shingles," she said of one of the upstairs floors.
There's also a large light shaft at the top of the stairs.
Downstairs, the large kitchen has been completely redone. One of the front parlors has been decorated with reproduction Victorian wallpaper with coordinating ceiling paper and borders.
In the room across the entry hall, a sample of the chosen wallpaper patterns is on the wall.
Contractor to attend
A contractor from Little and Little Construction will be on hand during the tour to answer questions about the restoration of the house, on Franklin Street between Polk and Tyler streets, which will be open today from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A $12 ticket also includes entrance to another historic uptown home.
The Victorian Festival, today and Sunday, is sponsored by the Victorian Society in America Northwest chapter and includes the Grand Ball, guided bus tour, living history presentations and high tea at Manresa Castle.
Additionally, the Jefferson County Historical Society offers walking tours of the downtown and uptown historic districts on through Sunday and a Victorian Fashion Show at 3 p.m. today.
For ticket information, go to http://www.victorianfestival.org/.
Victorian Days to include rare public tour today of historical Port Townsend house
PORT TOWNSEND -- To anyone who has ever walked around the uptown area, the exterior of the Landes House presents an intriguing facade.
Set back from the street in its own formal garden, the two-story house with its painted gables, gingerbread porches and tall brick chimneys looks like something out of a storybook.
But for most, the interior of the house remains a mystery.
Unlike most historical homes in Port Townsend, the Landes House has rarely been open to the public.
This Saturday, visitors on the Victorian Festival Home Tour will have the chance to open the gate, enter the grounds and step over the threshold of the house, now undergoing restoration before new owners move in.
"If these walls could talk, I'm sure they'd have stories to tell," said Jeremy Fields.
An employee of Little and Little Construction, Fields has been working in the house for the past 10 months for the new owners, who now live in San Francisco.
But he has two other connections to the house.
Born in 1979, Fields was delivered by Dr. Jacobs, the town doctor who lived in the Landes House during the 1970s and 80s.
The other is that Fields' father, Joe Fields, worked on the house during one of its many restorations.
"He stops by every once and a while to see how it's going," Fields said.
Actually two houses brought to the site and put together in 1871, the Landes House has been modified over the years into a homogenous whole.
But when it was last open to the public, on a hospital guild tour in the 1980s, there was still an exterior wall visible in the upstairs interior, according to Anne Woods, who was a docent.
"You walked on roof shingles," she said of one of the upstairs floors.
There's also a large light shaft at the top of the stairs.
Downstairs, the large kitchen has been completely redone. One of the front parlors has been decorated with reproduction Victorian wallpaper with coordinating ceiling paper and borders.
In the room across the entry hall, a sample of the chosen wallpaper patterns is on the wall.
Contractor to attend
A contractor from Little and Little Construction will be on hand during the tour to answer questions about the restoration of the house, on Franklin Street between Polk and Tyler streets, which will be open today from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
A $12 ticket also includes entrance to another historic uptown home.
The Victorian Festival, today and Sunday, is sponsored by the Victorian Society in America Northwest chapter and includes the Grand Ball, guided bus tour, living history presentations and high tea at Manresa Castle.
Additionally, the Jefferson County Historical Society offers walking tours of the downtown and uptown historic districts on through Sunday and a Victorian Fashion Show at 3 p.m. today.
For ticket information, go to http://www.victorianfestival.org/.
Historic Preservation You Can Count On...
Since completing the Historic Preservation program offered from Peninsula College and the Port Townsend School of Woodworking, Jeremy Fields and Nolle Pritchard have teamed up to preserve the rich legacy of homes and buildings in their region . “We intend to put our certification and experience into practice. As Washingtonians, both born and raised, we see a need to preserve the great history and architecture of the region and enhance home and building efficiency.”
Jeremy is a 5th generation resident of the Port Townsend area. His background includes degrees in Graphic Design and Fine Art. Since graduating from college he has worked as a finish carpenter and historic window specialist with widely respected Little & Little Construction. He specializes in on-site repair, preservation, and maintenance of historic windows.
Nolle is an Evergreen State College graduate with a focus in art. Later, as a finish carpenter, he received an Associate's Degree from the prestigious two year cabinet and furniture making program of North Bennet Street School, in Boston Massachusetts. He owns and runs a local shop where cabinets, doors, furniture, and windows are produced.
Nolle is an Evergreen State College graduate with a focus in art. Later, as a finish carpenter, he received an Associate's Degree from the prestigious two year cabinet and furniture making program of North Bennet Street School, in Boston Massachusetts. He owns and runs a local shop where cabinets, doors, furniture, and windows are produced.
“We have come together to culminate our expertise providing a much needed service to the region in which we have strong roots. We are a business that strives to use local resources and vendors to limit the wasted energy associated with new or replacement windows.”
Past Projects - James & Hastings Building c.1889
A high profile building in downtown Port Townsend. Many of these windows needed repair work done to make them operational again.
Past Projects - Ravenna
This front entrance on a house in the Ravenna neighborhood needed some attention after racoons and wisteria had compromised the integrity of the structure. Some framework and trim were used to bring it back to a forgotten prominent detail of this residence.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Past Projects - The Landes House c.1871
Incredible house in Port Townsend where some extensive repair work was needed to once again make the windows operational and sound
Past Projects - Fort Worden Gym c.1908
This is a project we were a part of where repairs and storm windows were made for nearly 200 windows at Fort Worden in Port Townsend Washington.
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