12401 Calusa Ln, Thonotosassa, FL For sale: $950,000

This historic lakefront Florida home might have been lost in the 1970s if the son of the estate's cook had not stayed in the home to care for it after the owners abandoned it.

Courtesy of Zillow

Many of the homes around Lake Thonotosassa, near Tampa, were lost during those years when they burned down in accidental fires apparently built by squatters, said the home's current owners, Bonnie and Harry Dunn.

This home was built in 1872 by a Singer sewing machine executive when Florida was a vast frontier. The builder, George Adams, set up a homestead on 300 acres of lakefront property. He planted citrus groves and built a four-room home, which he later expanded into a 17-room house with a cellar and separate kitchen and staff quarters. After 10 years, he bought the 300-acre property for $4.

Courtesy of Zillow

When Adams died in 1921, a Canadian family bought the property. The Dunns, who bought the home 15 years ago, are the fifth owners. It now sits on five acres.

During their meticulous restoration, they came across moments of like-mindedness with former owners. For example, Bonnie Dunn said she removed a HVAC system from a small closet to make it into a butler's pantry and discovered, as she worked, that the space was originally a butler's pantry.

In another instance, she chose wallpaper for an upstairs hallway, then found under layers of old paper that the original wallpaper was almost identical to her choice. As the couple worked, they tried to balance modernization with the home's history. Homes of this era are rare in Florida.

Courtesy of Zillow

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See this abandoned 19th century home restored

by Alex Schuman

WHAS11.com

Posted on October 16, 2014 at 11:47 PM

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS) -- Muhammad Alis boyhood home, located at 3302 Grand Avenue, will be getting a makeover you will be able to see unfold on a new television series.

Dan Riedemann, 19th Century Restoration CEO, will oversee the project. They hope to begin construction in two weeks on October 30th, which will be the 40th anniversary of the, Rumble in the Jungle, fight between Ali and George Foreman.

"There's not a corner anywhere in the world, anywhere, that they don't know the name Muhammad Ali, said Riedemann, a long-time boxing fan.

Alis home will be the first house in a series of celebrity homes Riedemann will be turning into, living museums, across the United States.

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Ali's boyhood home to get makeover in new TV show

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer

The new No. 1 team gets a week off and the state of Mississippi steps back from the spotlight after two weeks of being the dominant story in college football.

Top-ranked Mississippi State - it still seems odd to hear that - has an open day after leaping Florida State in the rankings last week. No. 3 Mississippi is a big favorite at home against Tennessee.

So the old No. 1 is the center of attention this week. The now second-ranked Seminoles face No. 5 Notre Dame in Tallahassee, Florida, on Saturday night. The off-the-field drama never seems to stop following Jameis Winston, but Florida State just keeps on winning. The school-record streak is at 22 games.

What else to watch for in week eight of the college football season.

HOME WOES: Being home has been far from an advantage in the Pac-12, where road teams are 15-4 going into Saturday's games. Utah was the latest Pac-12 team to win away from home, beating Oregon State 29-26 in double overtime on Thursday night.

If the trend continues, it's good news for UCLA, which will try to break a two-game skid at California; Washington, which has lost 10 straight games to Oregon; Stanford, which has won four straight at Arizona State; and Colorado, which goes to USC as the only Pac-12 team without a conference victory.

O-H! I-O! ON A ROLL: Remember Ohio State? The Buckeyes were preseason top-10, lost quarterback Braxton Miller to an injury in the preseason, lost to Virginia Tech at home and looked like a team that could be in for a long year. Well, the 13th-ranked Buckeyes have righted themselves in recent weeks, scoring 168 points while winning three straight games. Those wins haven't come against the toughest of competition (Kent State, Cincinnati and at Maryland), but J.T. Barrett (third in the nation in passer rating) is developing nicely as Miller's replacement and suddenly a Big Ten championship run doesn't seem so unlikely. Rutgers gets its first taste of Ohio Stadium on Saturday.

HELPLESS HEELS: The numbers are staggering and scary if you are a North Carolina fan. The Tar Heels rank second-to-last in FBS scoring defense at 43.3 points per game. Only SMU (49.4) is allowing more points per game, and no other Big Five conference team is allowing more than 39. Georgia Tech gets a crack at that UNC defense on Saturday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The good news for the Tar Heels is they have been better against the run (73rd in the nation in yards per rush) than against the pass (118th in yards per attempt) and the Yellow Jackets' triple-option isn't built to throw it around.

SACK MAN: Washington defensive end Hau'oli Kikaha leads the nation with 10 sacks. He'll try to add to that total against an Oregon line that looked much improved with the return from injury of Jake Fisher in the Ducks' big win against UCLA last week.

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Home woes in Pac-12; Ohio St rolls, helpless Heels

Now that the PlayStation 4 is almost a year old, Sony is getting ready to roll out an update that brings with it a number of usability features. Included in Update 2.0, users will find a redesigned home screen, new data backup options, a USB music player, and themes.

The content area, the part of the home screen you find recently used items, is getting an overhaul. It will now show the 15 most-used games and apps, with the remainder found in the library. Youll be able to sort your collection of games and apps by type, alphabetically, by most recently used, and by installation date.

Youll also start seeing suggestions for players you might know. Thats where youll also find heat maps of what your friends have been playing.

Update 2.0 also adds the ability to play MP3, MP4, M4A, and 3GP files from USB drives. The option to play these will appear when you insert a thumbstick or drive. USB drives can also be used for data backup and restoration.

For PlayStation Plus users, youll be happy to see that you no longer need to install monthly games. Instead, youll be able to add them to your library, binding them to your account. That way, you dont have to worry about hard drive space for new acquisitions.

For those tiring of the light blue background, Update 2.0 brings the ability to change to one of seven additional colors (gold, blue, red, green, purple, pink, and gray). Themes are also coming in this update (example pictured above). Sony has not yet detailed when the update will be available.

[Source: PlayStation Blog]

Our TakeOf these updates, the one Im most excited for is the ability to simply add a PlayStation Plus game to the library without downloading it. Im also interested in seeing the content area revisions, as their usefulness wont really be apparent until I see how it impacts my home screen.

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PlayStation 4 Update 2.0 Redesigns Home Screen, Adds Colorful Themes

On the living room wall of Stacey Maloney's West Leechburg home hangs a plaque with the word faith in large letters.

The fact that the 104-year-old Second Street house, dedicated Wednesday, now belongs to her is one reason why.

I was looking to buy a home, but I didn't have much credit, being so young, said Maloney, 24, a registered nurse at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Pittsburgh.

But Maloney, a single mom with an 8-month-old son, Jaxton, believes things happen for a reason. When she walked into the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in New Kensington and met Mike McElhaney, executive director of Armstrong County Habitat for Humanity, that seemed to be the case.

Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization, builds new houses and restores old ones, then sells them to low-income working people who might otherwise not be able to own their own home. Once a buyer's eligibility is verified, he or she is required to chip in sweat equity by participating in the construction or restoration and receive mortgages with little or no interest.

Maloney inquired about obtaining a house through Habitat, and McElhaney said he had one in West Leechburg. The house was abandoned after a mortgage foreclosure and was owned by the Bank of America.

Mark Battaglia, a bank senior vice president based in the South Hills, who came to West Leechburg for the dedication, said the bank has a 25-year agreement with Habitat. Under that agreement with Habitat for Humanity International, the bank donates vacant or abandoned properties to help provide affordable housing for low-income families nationwide.

Battaglia also said bank employees donate 30,000 hours of volunteer time each year to help restore the houses, which was the case with Maloney's house.

In Pennsylvania, we've had four donations completed for Habitat, Battaglia said, adding that Maloney's house is the first one in this area. Banks have to give back to their local communities by law, and this is one example, he said.

You just can't have a neater program than having foreclosed houses being donated to Habitat, McElhaney said.

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Hard work, faith, Habitat for Humanity equal home for young mother, son

The Wisconsin Club will host a History Night Fundraiser on Tuesday, Oct. 21 with proceeds benefiting the restoration of the Court of Honor monuments on West Wisconsin Avenue.

Just outside the front gates of the Wisconsin Club on West Wisconsin Avenue is a boulevard median called the "Court of Honor." The median is home to three priceless bronze monuments Those monuments include a bronze woman and child at the feet of George Washington dedicated in 1885. The boulevard became known as the Court of Honor after the erection of the bronze Civil War monument, the "Victorious Charge" in 1898. Later the area gained even more significance with the addition of a 65 foot stone column in 1900 and another bronze monument to a Spanish American War Hero in 1932.

These valuable monuments to United States history show the ravages of time and deterioration and need improvements to make them relevant to the 21st century and fit in with the planned redevelopment of West Wisconsin Avenue. The Westown Association, along with other key downtown stakeholders, is spearheading a campaign to raise $100,000 for restoration of these monuments.

On Tuesday, Oct. 21 the Grand Ballroom at the Wisconsin Club will be transformed into an evening filled with history to benefit the restoration of the monuments. Featured at the event will be:

Milwaukee-born writer, historian and eight-time winner of the Wisconsin Historical Society's Award of Merit, John Gurda will share interesting insights about Westown "the gateway to downtown" from its beginning until today.

Director of Development and Senior Historian of the Pabst Mansion, John C. Eastberg will take you down the avenue from its "Grand" days to when and why it became Wisconsin Avenue. Museum educator, Diane Buck will reveal the story behind the Court of Honor statues, the importance of retaining our community's history and culture through the monument, and the restoration needs.

The cost for this event is $100 per person, which is fully tax-deductible. 100% of the donation will go toward the Court of Honor Restoration Project-dinner is donated on behalf of the Wisconsin Club. Passed hors d'oeuvres & Cash Bar at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. with Guest Speakers at 7:15 p.m.

To learn more about or to donate to the Court of Honor Restoration, please visit westown.org/courtofhonor.

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Published Monday, Oct. 13

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Wisconsin Club hosts Court of Honor restoration fundraiser

By Jennifer Eberbach Special to The Dexter Leader

Members of the Dexter Area Historical Society held a special ceremony on Sunday to mark the recent ownership of Dexter's famed Gordon Hall. JENNIFER EBERBACH--WASHTENAW NOW

The historical society brought its last payment to the bank, this September.

At a ceremony on Sunday, Oct. 12, the mortgage was burned -- at least in effigy.

[ CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS ]

The historical society has been paying down a $900,000 mortgage, plus interest, since purchasing the 1840s Greek Revival home and surrounds from the University of Michigan, in 2006.

This year, Wally Fusilier, whose wife Bene is DAHS board president, posed a fundraising challenge to pay off the last $200,000. Donors contributed $100,000, which the Fusiliers matched dollar-for-dollar.

This is a dream come true, and now we are ready to move on, Bene Fusilier said after watching the mortgage burn.

With the loan out of the way, fundraising efforts can turn to restoring Gordon Hall to how Judge Dexter left it, in 1863, the year he passed away.

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Dexter Historical Society pays off Gordon Hall, burns mortgage in effigy (PHOTOS)

Affordable Home Restoration Services| Escondido, CA Quick-Dry Flood Services
If your home has been damaged by mold or water, we can help you clean up and set things right before the damage gets worse. About Quick-Dry Flood Services: Q...

By: Quick Dry Flood Service - Disaster Water Relief Solutions

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Affordable Home Restoration Services| Escondido, CA Quick-Dry Flood Services - Video

Nearly a year to the day, word came down that Keith McNally's long-running Meatpacking District restaurant Pastis would close and we now know who the space's new tenant will be: a darling, independently run nonprofit soup shop benefitting orphans a Restoration Hardware. Sources tell the Wall Street Journal that the bougie home goods store will move into 9-19 Ninth Avenue on a 15-year lease, shelling out $250 million in the process. Not even $16 Croque Monsieurs can compete with that.

The new lease holders plan to add an additional 70,000 square feet, including three additional floors, to the squat brick building. The building will be retrofitted with a "metal and glass exterior screen," which architects say should "allude to the signs, canopies and fire escapes that once hung off buildings in the neighborhood." Those days were mostly gone even before McNally moved in.

We reached out to McNally's reps to see what the future holds for Pastis and we'll update if we hear back. But there may still be an opportunity to sip vino at 9 Ninth Avenue. Restoration Hardware CEO Gary Friedman has said he wants to create "design gallery" stores that feature restaurants and rooftop bars and the like. Guess we know where to head when the Urban Outfitters restaurant doesn't have any seats available.

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Former Home Of Meatpacking District's Pastis To Become A Restoration Hardware

In an effort to preserve and revitalize Auroras older neighborhoods, the city of Aurora will again offer incentives to homeowners for home restoration projects that convert subdivided homes back to their original single-family designs.

The Single-Family Home Restoration Program seeks to reduce housing density and to improve the historic character of older neighborhoods by encouraging residents to restore their homes to their original intended use, city officials said.

The program offers homeowners loans to help cover up to 90 percent of construction and other costs related to turning a previously subdivided home back into a single-family home. These loans are available for up to $30,000 depending on the number of housing units currently in the home, and can be forgiven following completion of the project.

Program funds can be used for engineering and architecture services, building and planning fees, or construction costs. Applications are now available and can be found at http://www.aurora-il.org under the Quick Links section of the homepage. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Dec. 1.

Other rules and restrictions exist for this program. For more information, contact City of Aurora Neighborhood Redevelopment at 630-256-3320, or in person at the Neighborhood Redevelopment Office, 51 E. Galena Blvd.

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Aurora offers incentive to restore subdivided homes back to single-family units