The final phase, which will last 18 months, will include repair work to the inside and outside of the main mill and kiln, before services can be put in across the site and infrastructure work completed.

Once that is complete, the final fitting-out of the inside of the building will be carried out, before the opening in Summer 2021.

The restoration has been designed to create a 'learning and enterprise' quarter in the Ditherington area of the town.

When complete the building will include offices for "the regions growing creative industries and small business start-ups", as well as a visitor centre and a caf.

Councillor Alan Mosley, chairman of the Friends of the Flaxmill Maltings, said it was wonderful that after 30 years of looking upon a derelict site, the community could look forward to the re-opening of one of Shrewsbury's landmark buildings.

He said: "It is fantastic to see the restoration of these historic buildings reach the final phase of construction.

"For 30 years, the community has become used to seeing the Main Mill and Kiln standing empty and in poor condition or shrouded in scaffolding but have been thrilled to see the progress in the last few years.

"It will be wonderful for local people to see these iconic buildings revealed and being fully restored, over the next 18 months, as we move towards their long-awaited opening in summer next year."

Councillor Steve Charmley, deputy leader and portfolio holder for assets, economic growth and regeneration for Shropshire Council, said the project would be a huge economic boost to the town and the county.

He said: "Were delighted with the progress of work to transform the historic Flaxmill site into a centre for learning, leisure and business.

"Work has now reached the stage where, as we promised back in 2010, we will now contribute 1m to help the project proceed to completion, and were happy to do so.

"The development and regeneration of the site will provide a huge boost not just to this area of Shrewsbury, but to the town as a whole, and to the Shropshire economy, and I look forward to welcoming businesses and visitors to the site in the not too distant future.

Construction work on the Grade I listed main mill and the Grade II listed kiln began in 2017 after a 20.7 million grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Site owners, Historic England, and project partners, the Friends of the Flaxmill Maltings, also committed to contribute significantly towards the project, and a fundraising campaign run by Historic England has raised nearly 900,000 from charitable trusts, foundations, individuals and local companies, so far.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive at Historic England, said: The Flaxmill is one of the most extraordinary historic places in the world. Not only has it played a central role in Shrewsbury for hundreds of years, but its pioneering design preceded the modern day skyscraper and has influenced architecture worldwide.

"This partnership with Shropshire Council and the Friends of the Flaxmill Maltings has been crucial in enabling this project to happen. It is a pleasure to see these unique buildings coming back to life as we enter the final stages of the restoration of the main mill.

Dating back to 1797, the building operated as a flax mill until 1886 and then as a maltings from 1897 to 1987.

It was also a temporary barracks and training centre during the Second World War.

Its iron frame was truly pioneering, the work of British engineers who were determined to overcome the problem of timber-framed mills and factories being destroyed when fires broke out. The design gave birth to the modern skyscraper.

Read the original here:
Final stage of Shrewsbury's Flaxmill restoration under way - shropshirestar.com

A remarkable extension that incorporated a dingy alley space into a home in Lambeth has been named London's best renovation project.

With flexible living areas plus a new double-height extension that connects the ground-floor living space and mezzanine study The Soffit House, by Proctor and Shaw Architects, won first prize at New London Architecture's Don't Move, Improve! awards this week.

More than 200 entries were whittled down by award judges last month, resulting in a 25-strong shortlist of clever home improvement projects each playing Tardis-like tricks to maximise space and light through the use of innovative design.

In addition to The Soffit House, six other projects were recognised as special prize winners for their response to challenges of living in London - a city where every inch of space must work harder than ever.

"Whether on a tiny triangular plot in the inner city, or out in the suburbs, the entries show the contribution that good design makes to our capital," says awards judge and London Festival of Architecture director Tamsie Thomson.

"We've seen an amazing diversity of approaches to colour, light and materiality - with some of the bolder designs totally reimagining the arrangement of the standard home," she adds.

The judges praised The Soffit House project for the simple addition of the extension, formerly a disused alley at the back of the property. It transforms the sense of space, connecting the areas of the house with each other and the garden.

The excavated ground floor in a limestone finish acts as a middle point between the garden and the basement, without compromising the ceiling heights, while a rich wooden soffit the underside of the ceiling sweeps upwards to reveal a frameless skylight that allows daylight into the centre of the transformed home.

A modern interpretation of a Georgian house, this project in Islington is centred around a striking new staircase in a triple-height space.

The project involved a dramatic interiors revamp and a reconfiguration of the floor levels - taking the home from two to three storeys.

Judged were particularly impressed by the bold and playful personality of the home.

A terrazzo and marble chequerboard floor in the hallway leads to a new kitchen-dining space through a vibrant green-arched tunnel giving it an Alice in Wonderland vibe, says awards judge and property journalist Anna White.

This Victorian terrace house in Waltham Forest has been transformed into a bright and airy home through careful rearranging rather than extending.

Judges admired the cost-saving decision to work with an existing bathroom rather than relocate it.

Now, an open space seems to flow through the living and dining areas, through the galley kitchen to the bathroom cleverly hidden at one end and out to the back garden.

Double doors can separate the kitchen and the bathroom for privacy but, left open, they can also open in two parts to provide an unobstructed view to the garden.

In this project, three new zinc boxes were added to a Thirties house on a corner plot of Dartmouth Park conservation area to create top-floor accommodation and roof terraces.

Bedrooms sit in a lower zinc box, while the corner box has a living room which has been set back to create a corner balcony. The end block contains a kitchen, dining room and herb garden.

Living spaces open to a large private roof terrace on top of the lower zinc box.

Needed to adapt an open-plan layout for working from home and raising teenagers, this project saw a timber-frame terrace house transformed into a home that meets the needs of all four of its inhabitants.

A new roof was installed, with three rooms underneath all linked by a curving, white, steel staircase.

This two-storey apartment was designed as a solid piece of joinery inserted into a Victorian buildingwith a living space created from more than 30,000 individual oak cross-section blocks.

A narrow, cramped Victorian terrace house in Camberwell has been radically remodelled and extended to the rear and side.

The kitchen now has extra width, thanks to the side extension, and skylights to flood the dining space with daylight; while the rear extension cuts into the garden, allowing for a window bench where the owner can sit and read in the evening sun.

This year's 25 shortlisted projects ranged in cost significantly. The cheapest project cost 66,000 while the most expensive was 1.1 million. The shortlist average cost was 312,000.

Last year's winner was a once-ruined chapel in Camberwellwhich had been transformed into a dramatic family home, complete with vaulted geometric ceiling and mezzanine level housed in a 'tent' roof.

Previous winners include Sun Rain Rooms in Islington, an extension and restoration of a Georgian townhouse with a rainwater tank that floods the patio at the touch of a button, transforming it into a reflecting pool.

See the article here:
Don't Move, Improve! 2020 winners: London's best home extensions and renovations revealed - Homes and Property

Take a tour of this recently restored Phibsborough home, which will be featured on RT's The Great House Revival next Sunday night.

Following the success of its debut last year, RTs The Great House Revival is back for its second season, beginning next Sunday, February 16 at 9.30pm on RT One.

The first house on architect Hugh Wallace's list is a 200-year-old Georgian home in Phibsborough belonging to homeowner Fiona, which has been transformed from a crumbling home that was just a few years away from collapsing completely, into a bright and comfortable four-bedroom home.

The entrance floor is now made up of the dining room and living room

However, the journey was a long and winding one. Just back from a few years abroad, Fiona admits, I hadnt actually been looking for a house at all.

But, after walking past the for sale sign in the summer of 2017, she decided to check it out and fought off a number of other interested buyers to make it her own for a significant sum of 435,000.

Fiona selected a number of moody hues for the period part of the house

While looking deceptively large, the house is only one room deep, with two rooms on each floor dissected by a central staircase. As well as falling head over heels for the empty buildings light, high ceilings and black canvas appearance, she also saw a number of encouraging signs when it came to its practicalities.

The black limestone fireplaces were found in the house, covered in paint

It was the location, there was off-street parking, it was the orientation of east-west facing, the access to the back I thought would be good from a construction point of view, says Fiona, I am quite practical and logical so those things were definitely part of the decision making process."

As the house is listed, Fiona and her architect Maoliosa Molloy, set about applying for planning permission and waiting on their chosen contractor, Mark Flynn of Duffy & Sons, to finish a previous project, they were ready to get to work in June 2018.

In the extension are the kitchen, a stove and some comfortable seating

Admittedly being over-optimistic with her initial five-month timeline, Fionas home took 16 months to complete, eight of which were spent on tackling structural work.

Derelict for ten years, the house had serious damp and subsidence issues, with a leaky roof and one corner falling into the ground. To prevent the house from falling further, they had to underpin the entire house and the whole roof was eventually written off and replaced.

Fiona is looking forward to summer and being able to use the back garden more.

I wouldn't say much of [the work required] surprised me, says Fiona diplomatically, considering the house was built in the 1820s and had been a tenement for some time. It was kind of like yeah, well that makes sense.

In fact, the things that did surprise Fiona were the pleasant ones, like the chimney flues all in good working order and that most of the floorboards could be saved.

The new bathroom sits above the kitchen, with the original external brick left exposed

The new extension was a significantly more straightforward project, adding a kitchen onto the ground floor and a bathroom to the first. These are strikingly more contemporary than the period house but are linked by the same level of opulence.

The brass countertop and splashback of the kitchen tie in with the elements of the other living spaces, and the matt grey walls of the bathroom mirror with the exposed plasterwork thats been framed along the stairwell, framing the layers of history this house has lived through.

Much of the floorboards and staircase were able to be saved

Id do it all over again in a heartbeat, responds Fiona unequivocally when asked if she could go back and talk to herself three years ago. Throughout the whole project, the delays and the problems and mounting costs, she says she only had one moment where she questioned her decision to buy the place.

After completing the underpinning and beginning work on the roof (which, as expected was worse than first thought) they realised the wall plate in the upstairs bedroom had collapsed. Basically, you could see daylight through the corner where the two walls met. That was the point I was wondering if Id ever get this house back together again.

Fiona's master bedroom

Thankfully, the house did not suffer a Humpty Dumpty fate and Fiona officially moved in in November 2019. So what has she learned from this experience? Dont take no for answer, she says simply.

When contractors and guys on site say something cant be done, what they really mean is that it cant be done in the time I have allotted for this job.

Committing to doing her homework and a natural problem-solver, Fiona nearly always got her way and the result is a spectacular period home thats really a restoration triumph.

Watch the full story of Fiona's restoration project on Sunday, February 16, at 9.30pm on RT One.

Read more:Inside the delightful Cork farmhouse belonging to Rory O'Connell

Read more:3 fixer-uppers for less than 100,000 in Co Clare

Read more:I'm in love with the house in Netflix's Anne with an E

Continued here:
Inside the Phibsborough house that will feature on The Great House Revival - image.ie

ORNAMENTAL pillars crafted from Peterhead granite are making their way across the Atlantic for use in the restoration of a historic New York building after some detective work by Scottish stonemasons.

Natural stone specialist Fyfe Glenrock was able to identify the type of granite required for the multi-million-dollar restoration of the Big Apples oldest apartment block from a photograph of the existing columns.

The Oldmeldrum-based firm was contacted by counterparts in the US seeking a perfect match for three polished granite pillars at The Windermere, on the citys upmarket Upper West Side.

Original shipping and building records suggested that the stone for the pillars had been imported from Scotland, prompting Swenson Stone Consultants in New Hampshire to contact a firm with a worldwide reputation for granite quarrying and craftsmanship.

Fyfe Glenrock commercial manager Richard Collinson said: We have worked with this firm in the past so they were aware of our knowledge of Scottish granites and they emailed asking for confirmation of the identity of the granite used on the building which they believed to be from Aberdeenshire.

The photo they sent had sufficient detail for us to know that the pillars had been created from Peterhead granite. Its always very interesting when we get an unusual request like this, and were delighted to be able to help restore a building of such significant historical interest.

The Windermere was originally completed in around 1881 as a complex of three seven-storey red brick buildings. With his own daughters in mind, Superintendent Henry Sterling Goodale marketed the apartments as homes for the new woman a growing class of single and financially independent ladies and was among the first in the city to offer amenities such as hydraulic elevators and telephones.

Many decades later they were converted into single-occupancy residences and were marketed to New Yorkers struggling with sky-high rents, particularly the citys growing creative community. One of The Windermeres most famous past residents is actor Steve McQueen.

The building slowly fell into a state of decline and in 2007 was declared unsafe by the fire department. Two years later it was bought by a developer and the major refurbishment will see the building reopen its doors as a plush hotel, with retail space and a number of private apartments.

Peterhead granite was used extensively throughout the UK and abroad during the 19th century and comes in red and blue varieties. The red variety is often used for ornamental construction its found in many buildings in London, Liverpool and Cambridge while the blue variety is used for decorative proposes, including the fountains in Trafalgar Square in London.

It is still quarried at Stirlinghill and Longhaven quarries, but these days it is mostly crushed for aggregate.

The pillars have been produced, polished and finished at Fyfe Glenrocks base in Aberdeenshire and are now being shipped to the USA where, said Mr Collinson, they will not look out of place.

He visited New York three years ago and was struck by the amount of Peterhead granite used in building and memorial bases. If you look at the history books, a lot of masons from the north east of Scotland migrated to and from America in the late 1800s, he said.

Due to the fact that they had a knowledge of indigenous Scottish granite and its properties, it is understandable that they would seek out Scottish materials to use there. So, it wasnt only the men, but the materials, that made the transatlantic journey.

Were talking about 120 years ago when stonemasonry would still have been a relatively young industry in the new world, and there would have been plenty of work opportunities.

There is some evidence to suggest that the parapet bases of the Brooklyn Bridge were made by Aberdeen masons so, given the fact that Peterhead granite was used at The Windermere, its likely that Scottish masons were involved in construction.

Fyfe Glenrock has more than 160 years experience in granite quarrying and craftmanship, and has supplied materials for many high-profile works, both at home and overseas.

It has provided indigenous Scottish granite for projects including The Scottish Parliament, the Millicent Fawcett Suffragist Memorial in Parliament Square, London and more recently The Silver Fin Building, Union Street, Aberdeen.

Fyfe Glenrock also supplies stonework and streetscape materials for many prestigious infrastructure developments across the UK in addition to materials for landscaping and building works, memorials and interiors.

Read the rest here:
From the Blue Toon to the Big Apple as Peterhead granite used in restoration of historic New York building - HeraldScotland

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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Beautiful restoration says it has reached a compromise with nearby neighborhoods to build tiny homes on a property in northwest Oklahoma City.

The faith-based group originally wanted to build 50 tiny homes near NW 192nd and Western to give women in need a temporary place to stay.

After pushback from nearby neighborhoods, the non-profit agreed to build only 20 homes and to not hold outdoor events without a permit.

Still though, some residents are not happy with the compromise.

Id love to see it completely gone in its entirety, Charles Stratton told News 4. Regardless of reducing the number of little tiny houses they are going to build.

Stratton says hes still concerned about the people living in the homes and what they might mean for his neighborhood.

Were very skittish about not the individuals that will be going through their program, the kind of people it will attract, Stratton said. As far as friends, acquaintances, were worried about any criminal element that might be that close to this neighborhood.

Beautiful Restoration Executive Director Kaylene Balzer says that wont be the case at all, and the women living in the homes would be people she would be comfortable having in her own home.

There will be no criminal element. There are places for that, and this is not that. I live two blocks away, Balzer said. We werent just coming in here a moneymaker, or a halfway house, or a pre-release group, or anything like that. We were wanting to help people that just needed a hand up, not a hand out.

Balzer says they never expected to get the pushback they did from the community, but shes confident people will feel different when they see the ministry at work.

I told one of the neighbors when we first started, and he laughed at me, Balzer said. But I said, 'One of these days I think youre going to be proud that Beautiful Restoration is right next to you.'

Beautiful Restoration tells us they still need final approval from the Oklahoma City City Council before they can begin building.

Go here to read the rest:
Agreement reached in battle over tiny homes in OKC - KFOR Oklahoma City

SUISUN CITY Residents of Suisun City have launched a campaign to have the town be considered for HGTVs Home Town Takeover.

The website Suisun Citys campaign features a video with Mayor Lori Wilson sharing the citys qualifications and a plea for help to gather all the information needed.

A town of less than 40,000 residents that needs a main street that needs to be developed will witness the rehab ofmultiple individual family homes and the revitalization of public spaces, such as parks, local diners and recreation centers, according to a press release from HGTV.

A historic church along Main Street would be considered for renovation if HGTVs Home Town Takeover came to Suisun City. (Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic)

We have homes with great architecture, Wilson said in the video. Have you been downtown?

The main street development prompted Wilson to ask, rhetorically, again, Have you been downtown?

And, the town will be featured inHome Town Takeover(Home Town Rescue), a six-episode series slated to premiere in 2021 on HGTV.

Stephanie Knight is heading up the effort.

We only have a few weeks, she said in the video. Lets pull together as a community to get it done.

Volunteer professional videographers and editors, drone videographers, professional photographers, writers and historians are needed.

Professional photos from past events such as Mothers Day on the Waterfront, July Fourth and Christmas on the Waterfront are sought.

Lets do this, Knight said in the video.

Ever since Ben and Erin Napier of the hit seriesHome Town helped transform Laurel, Mississippi, fans from small towns across America have flooded HGTV with requests to take on the renovationof their hometown, the HGTV press release said.

Through Feb. 7, anyone who loves their own hometown can log on toHGTVHomeTownTakeover.comto show, tellandsell the network on why their small town, with its historic architecture and classic main street, should be theonetown featured in the upcoming event seriesHome Town Takeover.

Just imagine what we can do when we come together, Wilson said in the video.

Mayor Lori Wilson hopes HGTVs Home Town Takeover will renovate businesses and homes along Main Street in Suisun City, including the building that caught fire next to Waterfront Comics. (Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic)

This is a big one, Erin Napier said in the press release.HGTV has never, ever taken on a whole town renovation and restoration project and were so proud and excited to be leading the team that will get it done.

Submissions must include photos of the town, but video is preferred. Videos should spotlight a specific place that needs a makeover, such as a diner, coffee shop, home or playground.

Submissions also should feature a tour of the town that highlights the places that need the most help as well as the people who love living there.

Renovating one house at a time is an awesome experience, but the chance to support an entire town, where we can help bring a community back to life and enhance the lives of the people who live and work there, is something weve always wanted to try, said Ben Napier in the press release.

Learn more at https://putsuisuncityonhgtv.com.

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Suisun City hopes to be recipient of HGTVs Home Town Takeover - Fairfield Daily Republic

SYRACUSE, N.Y. For fans of historic, older homes, the call to restore them to their original glory is almost inescapable.

Take real estate investor Leslie Tiffany, of Boston, for example.

She had no intention of buying the grand old house at 749 West Onondaga Street in Syracuse while she was visiting her brother in a local hospital over a period of three months in 2007.

But there was something about it, which called to her and her love of architecture.

Its just so grand and beautiful, she said. I loved the colors, the turret, the detailIt was unusual but perfect.

It was just a little gem.

Built in 1885, the house was designed by the most famous name in Syracuse architecture, Archimedes Russell, whose credits include the Onondaga County Courthouse, Central High School, Crouse College at Syracuse University and the Dey Brothers building on Salina Street.

A scan of the Post-Standards archives finds that it was once owned by Francis Gridley, the banker who owned the Gridley Building downtown. For a long time, it was a funeral home.

Realtor Douglas Freeman, of Procopio Real Estate, says walking through the front doors into the stately front foyer, one immediately gets transported back to Gilded Age Syracuse.

You feel the elegance, the history, he said. You can feel the parties that were held there. There was some high-end living there.

Tiffany spotted a For Sale sign on it and began making phone calls, growing more and more frustrated when her calls were not answered.

We would park in front of the house and wish he would answer the phone, she said.

The owner, Ric Bruno, had sunk a small fortune into restoring it, including rebuilding the grand staircase in the front parlor, installing a new heating and cooling system and painstakingly repainting many of the homes beautifully detailed woodworking.

Finally, he sold it to Tiffany, and she continued many of the restoration projects while also renting it out.

But it has been difficult to keep up with it while living so far away.

Now she wants to find someone who will answer the call she did.

Tiffany says the structure has withstood the test of time and says the foundation is solid.

She says the house right now is livable, but it needs someone with vision and patience to complete the hard work of restoring it to what it once was.

It needs a lot of cosmetic work and updating.

When completed, she says it belongs on the National Register of Historic Places.

They do not build houses like this anymore, she said. It cannot be replicated.

She also believes the property has a lot of potential.

Built on a double lot, with two spacious front living rooms, six second-floors bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and an enormous attic space which could be renovated into a master suite, game room, exercise room or spa, the structure could be remade into a bed and breakfast.

An open house is scheduled for Sunday, January 26, from noon to 2 p.m.

THE DETAILS

Address: 749 West Onondaga Street, Syracuse, N.Y. 13204

Price: $119,000

Size: 4,793 square feet

Acreage: 0.24 acres

Monthly Mortgage: $445 (based on this week's national average rate of 3.83 percent, according to Freddie Mac, for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 20 percent down payment. Fees and points not included.)

Taxes: $3,150 (Based on assessed value of $60,000)

Built: 1885

School District: Syracuse City Schools

Kitchen: Owner says the kitchen needs to be renovated. The large kitchen has a high brick island in its center and has plenty of storage space. There is an eating area off to the side of it and a convenient staircase to the upstairs. There is a dishwasher and a refrigerator.

Living areas: Visitors enter the home in the stately front foyer with a magnificently detailed black staircase in front of you. Chandeliers and original hardwood floors are throughout. There are four fireplaces. There are large, high ceiling living rooms to the left and the right of the foyer. A formal dining room, with high windows, is off the kitchen. This historic home is partially restored and needs someone to continue the work of restoring it.

Bedrooms: There are six large bedrooms on the homes second floors. There is potential for more in the large attic space.

Bathrooms: There are two-and-a half bathrooms. The half bathroom is on the first floor, the two full ones are on the second.

Outside: Built on almost a quarter of an acre, the property is close to downtown Syracuse and its shopping and hospitals. Its proximity to the city makes it a potential bed and breakfast.

Agent: Douglas Freeman

Procopio Real Estate

Address: 2300 Milton Avenue, Syracuse, N.Y. 13209

Phone: (315) 440-7363

Email: douglas@procopiorealestate.com

If you know of a beautiful or interesting house currently up for sale, please consider sending a nomination for it to be featured as a future House of the Week. Send an email with the listing to home@syracuse.com.

Do you know of any older homes in Central New York which have fallen on hard times but have a lot of potential should they be restored to their original grandeur? A fixer-upper with a lot of potential? Consider nominating them to our new feature, Save this Home, in which we will spotlight grand houses of the past around Central New York that need to be saved. Send nominations to home@syracuse.com.

READ MORE

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House of the Week: Built in 1885, this historic Syracuse home needs an owner with patience and vision - syracuse.com

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As Attica looks to entice HGTVs Home Town to bring its show to town to save the downtown. a restored McDonald House, once listed among Indiana's '10 Most Endangered' structures, gets unveiled as an inn.

ATTICA Five months ago, Katy Kays was in Attica looking at a property she was thinking about buying, renovating and reselling.

As Kays poked around a house that could have used a handy touch before the general manager of Lafayettes Achieve Marketing and Consulting tried to flip it, she said she had a visit from James DeGrazia.

He said, Want something you can really sink your teeth into? Kays said. I knew exactly what he was talking about.

When she went with DeGrazia to 500 E. Jackson St., where the 4,800-square-feet of the McDonald House had been empty since the early 2000s, Kays said things were rough, inside and out. DeGrazia, as he told the J&C in 2015 and told Kays again in summer 2019, had bought the Greek Revival home, built in 1855 by Attica businessman James D. McDonald, at a tax sale in 2013, with hopes that someone would come along with the chops and wherewithal to save it.

Katy Kays sits for a portrait inside the Historic McDonald Airbnb, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 in Attica.(Photo: Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier)

It was bad, Kays said. The whole back wall was open in the back. There were raccoons inside. It needed, I dont know everything.

But given a price so low she wouldnt repeat it and a promise of help when she needed it, Kays said she was in. Other projects were set aside. And she and a crew of five bombed the first phase of a McDonald House restoration that continues to have people slowing down on their way in and out of the Fountain County city on Indiana 28.

As Attica looks to entice HGTVs Home Town to bring its show and restoration muscle to town to look at a downtown thats listed as a whole a one of Indiana Landmarks 10 Most Endangered list, a restored McDonald House will get its big unveiling Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, as it opens as an inn five years after it, too, had been listed as one of Indianas most endangered structures.

Last week, Kays and Brittany Smith, innkeeper for the newly branded Historic McDonald Airbnb, and others were buttoning up a few things, as Kays put it, before guests started to arrive and ahead of the foot traffic of an open house.

As you can see, Kays said, theres still a lot to do.

James and Lucinda McDonald built the three-story brick home on a hill where Jackson and Main streets merge, near a park that bears their name. The home sat on an acre and featured eight bedrooms and six fireplaces. A walnut staircase climbs through the middle of the home and up to the roof. Iron balcony rails ran along the second story. The house provided a hilltop view of downtown Attica to the west.

MORE: Attica and its endangered downtown tell HGTV its the place to be for a Home Town Takeover

After the McDonalds died, the property passed through several hands during the remainder of the 19th century and through the 20th century.

Dolly Poston-Zollars spent part of her childhood growing up in the house, which she said her mother used as six apartments as well as a home when the family owned it.

I used to slide down those bannisters, Poston-Zollars said. I cant wait to see my old bedroom.

The Historic McDonald Airbnb, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 in Attica.(Photo: Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier)

The house stayed in the family until 1997, she said. Fountain County property records show that the McDonald House traded hands several times after that, before DeGrazia bought it.

Indiana Landmarks included the McDonald House in its 10 Most Endangered lists in 2014 and 2015, hoping to draw attention to a property that had growing problems, including brick work that had been destabilized by water gushing from failing gutters.

In 2016, then Mayor Bob Shepherd told the J&C the McDonald House an integral part of Attica and its history. DeGrazia told J&C reporter Kevin Cullen that he bought it knowing that he wouldnt sell it if they want to demolish it.

Enter Kays.

Kays said the past five months have been a blur of foundation work, rebuilding a back wall that had given way, tuck pointing the rest of the brick, installing streel beams to shore up floors, replacing 89 window panes, adding insulation and HVAC systems, hanging drywall, painting and cleaning.

And cleaning and cleaning, Kays said. Were still at it.

That was just to get the property, as she said, through phase one, which meant habitable. She said work on the next phases will continue on rough spots still evident, even as the inn opens for guests this week.

Kays said McDonald House is ready for Mayor Duane Roderick to cut a ribbon for a grand opening.

The living room inside the Historic McDonald Airbnb, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 in Attica.(Photo: Nikos Frazier | Journal & Courier)

Poston-Zollars said shes watched the renovation from afar. And she booked several rooms around the time her son will graduate from Attica High School in the spring.

It provides a much-needed spark to the community to see someone from the outside come and join us in our bid to preserve the historic integrity of the town, Poston-Zollars said. This, to me, is such a focal point of the entrance to the community when you come in off (Indiana) 28. I think its just a huge showpiece when you see this beautiful home thats been redone rather than coming into town and the first big historic home you see looks like it did. What a blessing.

IF YOU GO: An open house for the Historic McDonald Airbnb, 500 E. Jackson St. in Attica, will be 3-5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, and noon-2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1. Parking will be available at Attica Elementary School across the street.

Reach Dave Bangert at 765-420-5258 or at dbangert@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @davebangert.

Read or Share this story: https://www.jconline.com/story/news/2020/01/25/once-among-indianas-10-most-endangered-atticas-mcdonald-house-revived-inn/4557571002/

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Once among Indianas '10 Most Endangered, Atticas McDonald House revived as an inn - Journal & Courier

If I ranked Scripture passages by most confusing, this weeks gospel, Matthew 4:12-23, would probably be near the top of my list. Who are Zebulun and Naphtali? Why have they seen a great light? Why is that important? Why does Jesus moving to Capernaum fulfill this prophecy from Isaiah?

This is a case where the first reading is essential for understanding the Gospel. The key verse from the first reading is Isaiah 9:1, In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

So, whats going on here? Zebulun and Naphtali are two of the 12 tribes of Israel. As you probably know, God renamed Jacob to Israel, and the descendants of Jacobs 12 sons became the 12 tribes that formed the nation of Israel. Zebulun was the son of Jacob by his wife Leah, and Naphtali was Jacobs son by Bilhah, his wife Rachels handmaid. If you dont know that story, you really should look it up. When the tribes came into the Promised Land after leaving Egypt, Joshua assigned territories to each of them. The tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali received land just east of the Sea of Galilee, an area known as the Way of the Sea. It was valuable land because it provided the best route between the two great economies of the day, Assyria and Egypt. Whoever controlled it also controlled trade in the region, so it was hotly contested.

Eventually, Israel became a kingdom with all 12 tribes united David. However, after his son Solomons reign, the 10 northern tribes split from the two in the south. They formed their own kingdom and called themselves Israel. The two tribes in the south became the Kingdom of Judah. It gets complicated because the 12 tribes together were the Kingdom of Israel before the split. However, after the split only the north was Israeland they werent Jews. Only people from Judah, who remained faithful to God and practiced Judaism (Judah-ism), were Jews. Israel worshipped local pagan gods like Baal and Molech. This split was a big deal. Gods people were divided and many rejected Gods covenant. As well, prophecies said the Davidic king would rule over the combined 12 tribes of Israel forever. After the split, he only ruled over two. It became a major theme with prophets like Isaiah and Ezekiel that one day the Messiah would unite the 12 tribes again and rule over all of Israel, not just Judah. This may sound simple enough, however in Isaiahs time no one thought it possible.

A short time before, Assyria launched a series of invasions that began in the territories of Zebulun and Naphtali. Within a few years, the whole northern kingdom was conquered, deported, and scattered across the known world. Not only that, the Assyrians forcibly settled other people on Israels land. Even if they did want to come back, they didnt have a home. Over the years, with no connection to their people and no hope of return, Israelites from the 10 northern tribes assimilated into the local populations. They were essentially lost. Nevertheless, the prophets spoke of an impossibilitya re-unification. The Messiah would unite all of Israel, north and south, under one rule and one worship. How could this be? You couldnt even find anyone identifiable as Israelites anymore much less get them together.

Heres where Jesus enters the picture. When John the Baptist is imprisoned, Jesus begins his public ministry. He establishes a home base at Capernaum, which not coincidentally is located at the intersection of Zebulun and Naphtalis old territories. Then, the first thing he does is proclaim the Kingdom of God. The first reading Isaiah says, In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali (Isaiah 9:1). Hes talking about the defeat and deportation of the northern kingdom that began there. However, he foresees something else coming, a reason for hope. In the latter time, Isaiah says, he [God] will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations (Isaiah 9:1). Matthew sees this is the latter time. Jesus fulfills Isaiahs prophecy because Zebulun and Naphtali are the first to experience the restoration of Israel the New Israel. Jesus begins right where it started to fall apart. How will he do that? As the New David, he will bring the entire world under his reign in the Church, the Kingdom of God. The 10 tribes are lost, spread to the four winds. Even they dont know who they are. But the Church is worldwide, universalkatholikos in Greek, or catholic. It spans the globe. The tribes of Israel are lost to the world, so Jesus will restore the 12 tribes by incorporating the whole world into the New Covenant.

The brokenness of the tribes of Israel represents the brokenness of humanity. Everyone should be united in relationship and union with God. Everyone should recognize Jesus as Lord and share in his kingship. But many dont know him. Some even reject him. They are scattered and lost, without a spiritual home or lineage. Theyre assimilated into the world and its way of thinking. They may not even be aware of the life theyre meant to have or the true homeland where they belong. God doesnt want families separated or people exiled from their home. Its our job to continue Jesus mission of reconciliation and restoration. We must share the message with those who dont yet know it or have yet to accept it. We must shine a light of hope into the deep darkness of the lost and tell them they have a home!

For complete daily Scripture texts, click here: http://www.usccb.org

Monday, January 27 2 Samuel 5:1-7, 10Psalms 89:20, 21-22, 25-26Mark 3:22-30

Tuesday, January 28 2 Samuel 6:12b-15, 17-19Psalms 24:7, 8, 9, 10Mark 3:31-35

Wednesday, January 29 2 Samuel 7:4-17Psalms 89:4-5, 27-28, 29-30Mark 4:1-20

Thursday, January 30 2 Samuel 7:18-19, 24-29Psalms 132:1-2, 3-5, 11, 12, 13-14Mark 4:21-25

Friday, January 31 2 Samuel 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17Psalms 51:3-4, 5-6a, 6bcd-7, 10-11Mark 4:26-34

Saturday, February 1 2 Samuel 12:1-7a, 10-17Psalms 51:12-13, 14-15, 16-17Mark 4:35-41

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Sunday February 2 Malachi 3:1-4Psalms 24:7, 8, 9, 10Hebrews 2:14-18Luke 2:22-40 or 2:22-32

Monday, February 3 2 Samuel 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13Psalms 3:2-3, 4-5, 6-7Mark 5:1-20

Tuesday, February 4 2 Samuel 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 3019:3Psalms 86:1-2, 3-4, 5-6Mark 5:21-43

Wednesday, February 5 2 Samuel 24:2, 9-17Psalms 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7Mark 6:1-6

Thursday, February 6 1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-121 Chronicles 29:10, 11ab, 11d-12a, 12bcdMark 6:7-13

Friday, February 7 Sirach 47:2-11Psalms 18:31, 47 & 50, 51Mark 6:14-29

Saturday, February 8 1 Kings 3:4-13Psalms 19:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14Mark 6:30-34

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 9 Isaiah 58:7-10Psalms 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-91 Corinthians 2:1-5Matthew 5:13-16

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Restoration - The Catholic Key

Wally Covington has been showing people the science of forestry in Flagstaff for years.

At places like Gus A. Pearson Natural Restoration Area in Flagstaff, a living forest experiment, Covington has helped bridge peoples connection to nature by explaining cutting-edge science in simple terms. He has become known as a master science communicator, and hes been at it for years. And this week, after 44 years, at the age of 73, Covington has stepped down from his executive director position at Northern Arizona Universitys Ecological Restoration Institute.

Looking back, hes proud of the work hes done, the people hes met, and especially the students hes had the opportunity to teach.

Im proud of all of 'em, Covington said. They love working with students, do great research, care about the environment just great, great people, men and women.

Covington actually predates the institute hes leaving. He helped the state and federal government fund the Pearson restoration area, the research-focused ERI, and one of the first restoration projects ever funded at Mt. Trumbull near the Arizona Strip. Using this science and his skill at communicating, he helped politicians pave the way for many of our forest restoration projects today like the local Four Forest Restoration Initiative and Flagstaff Watershed Protection Project.

As to how he communicates so well? Covington said its simple.

I never want to sound like a smarty-pants, or be pedantic, he said. That just gets you nowhere.

Beyond his position at ERI, Covington was a key figure in a community of activists, scientists, politicians and foresters who are pushing forest management away from the conditions that have led to the catastrophic fires seen across the west.

No leading scientist stands alone, Covington points out, but getting the Pearson restoration area funded has been a critical tool for explaining science. The 12-acre experimental forest took advantage of 150-year-old trees that were mixed with trees less than 100 years old, the difference between young and old trees.

[The experimental forest] is important because it really did set into motion that forestry must be based on strong science, Covington said. And this being the first U.S. Forest Service experimental forest, its got the longest record of scientific research in the U.S. for forest ecology.

The experimental forest clearly lays out the problem for anyone who walks among the trees. Because of post-European settlement land management practices of suppressing fires, tree density has grown from 23 trees per acre in 1876 to 1,300 trees per acre in 1992. With such high density, groundwater is spread thin and pine needles build up, creating the perfect scenario for fire to explode into the catastrophic conditions we see today.

But ERI researchers dont keep the gates closed to only politicians and foresters. From walking around with Flagstaff residents and elementary students during the Flagstaff Festival of Science in the '90s, to politicians looking to understand forest ecology and better land management practices, Covington has spoken to them all.

Bonnie Stevens, who organizes the Flagstaff Festival of Science, has also worked on a documentary about the state of forests with Covington. She said retirement isnt a word she associates with the man, and expects to see him continue to work in the forest.

This man is incredibly busy. Hes really an adviser to so many projects, yet what strikes me is in a social setting, he will remember names, and your kids' names, Stevens said. He will ask you about those people. You can tell he truly cares about the people hes around.

This includes when he gets the opportunity to spend time talking about science with the children of Flagstaff.

Its been great bringing the junior high kids, elementary school kids and showing them around. They ask these crazy questions you just never think of, Covington said with a glint in his eye. One of them was, 'what about butterflies?'

This question of whether forest restoration impacts butterflies was one no one had asked before -- not scientifically, anyway.

Yeah, what about butterflies... Covington thought at the time. The question ended up becoming the focus of a dissertation by an ERI researcher Amy Waltz.

Diane Vosick, director of policy and partnerships at ERI, describes Covington as unrelenting. His nature helped him as he navigated political fights to push for government funding of projects in Flagstaff and as he pushed science to the forefront of policy debates surrounding forest management.

In the policy world you take barbs. You take spears. And a lot of people just don't want to do that, Vosick said. Hes taken spears from multiple sides, but hes been willing to continue to hold the line on what needs to happen.

But many will tell you that despite Covingtons hard work, and the work of those around him, there is still more to be done as global temperatures continue to rise and the world continues to see new, unprecedented fires.

Prescriptive approach

Covingtons story was tied to NAU before he was born: His parents first met at the university campus. Covington told the story at last year's commencement of how his father would help his mother sneak out of Morton Hall in 1941 on campus.

My mom, years later we were walking around the campus, and she said yknow, your dad used to sneak me out of that dorm right there to go kanoodle, Covington said laughing.

Covington was born in Wynniewood, Oklahoma on March 31, 1947. He said he moved away from the area at age 5, but Oklahoma, and specifically the Arbuckle Mountains, have always felt like home to him.

Until the Arbuckle Fire of 2000, the forest had trees that were 400, 500 years old, Covington said. The place in Honey Creek called Blue Hole had this 80 feet by 30 feet crystal clear water and all these cascades. The fishing is great in there, hiking, anything you want.

Covington found himself drawn to serving others and began his attempt of service at medical school after getting his bachelor's degree. He spent his early life asking himself what specialty he should be in, as opposed to asking what he wanted to do with his life.

He said he remembers an interaction with a doctor that changed his path forever.

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Wally Covington retires after over 40 years of forest science excellence - Arizona Daily Sun