Woman's Club

I got to see two of the most beautiful buildings in the Berkshires this past week,
The woman's club and Chilton House. I've blogged about both. Go find 42 Wendell Street Pittsfield, MA and Lion Manor.
Both homes took my breath away. I exclaimed on more than one occasion that they simply do NOT make homes like these two anymore. I think WOW came out of my mouth enough times to make me sound like a total doofus.
The details on both buildings is amazing. The care and love that clearly went into both homes is so evident even though both gals need much much more love that is of a more current nature.
We will start with the Woman's Club.
I set up the appointment with the realtor for Tuesday and that drive into Pittsfield was the first venture into traffic or into a city behind the wheel of a car in 12 years. Wendell Street is BUSY since it's home to Doctors and the Court House and the Library and a few businesses and I saw more than one school bus and parents walking kids to a school that I didn't see but assumed it was close.
The club has a parking lot area which is GREAT since there was no way in hell I was going to both battle the traffic AND attempt to parallel park on that tiny narrow block.

I arrived super duper early so I got to observe the traffic and the neighbors and the building itself.
My first impression? Man, this is one HUGE HUGE home. That this was ever a private, primary residence was astounding to me. It shares a lot with the offices next door and I didn't realize that they lease some of the spaces on the second floor to therapists and counselors so when I saw folks coming and going out of the building I was confused.

I walked around the side of the building and saw that this home/building;/structure/gal needs help from the word go. The carport is rotting away and is being held up with temporary measures. Not knowing much about carpentry I'm unsure if the entire posts would need to be replaced or if the rotted part could be cut off and replaced with new wood.

The light in the carport needs to be either fixed or replaced as well.

I couldn't wait to get a closer look at the porches on the side.

During the tour I would discover later that this home has no less than 4 ways in and out of it and it's layout is confusing as hell.
Finally the Realtor met me and we went inside. The first thing you see when you walk in the side door (The front door isn't used) is the kitchen to your left.

Bear in mind too that I went into this building knowing it's zoned commercial and residential which means I had my eyes roving for my bakery/home. I was elated and excited when I saw the outlets on the center island. PERFECT for stand mixers!

The Woman's Club is apparently getting ready to have a massive tag sale and so they are taking stock of what they have.
Also note the TWO stoves which means the electric might be up to date enough for convection ovens!

LOVE the light fixtures!
They have the kitchen laid out very weird with appliances in odd places. I was doing a lot of rearranging in my head...
Directly across the hall is a half bath and a closet I didn't get to see.

This little bathroom made me itch to redo....what a strange placement for the sink right ontop of the radiator!

Standing right inside the doorway the main staircase is on your left.

Thanks to a large window on the landing, the hall gets lots of natural light.
A few steps and you are at two frosted glass doors that are kept locked. I discovered that behind the doors is the main hall and the offices and the ballroom for the Woman's Club.

That door straight ahead is the main entrance to the home. On the left is the entrance to the ballroom and on the right is what should be the dining room. The other two doors further down are what look to have been sitting rooms or parlors.
One is the office for the club and the other is just sort of empty and vacant.

This beautiful mirror caught my eye and when I got a closer look at it I was delighted to see him at the top!

Hard to see I know. It's a Lion. I have a love for Lions since my little guy is nicknamed Brian The Lion and I take them as a very good sign when I see them.
This is standing in the middle of the hallway facing back to the hall with the stairs and the kitchen.

Going back to my home/business plan these doors are PERFECT because you really could keep home behind those doors and the business on this side.
The rooms. This room is the closest to the front entrance on the right side

The shutters are of the pocket variety and this room faces the street.
This is the dining room on the other side.

I didn't get any pictures of the room right off of this one as there was a very nice woman working in there but its more dark wood with a large fireplace. Feels very masculine.
Now here is where things get a wee bit hazy for me. I know off of that office we went into that sunroom but I can't remember how we got there or what room you go through to get to it.
What I do know is that 1. It's hot as balls in there 2. The windows don't appear to open 3. It's direct quick access up to the 2nd floor.

I have NO idea why this is the only photo I took of the room. It's stupid because it shows you nothing. The room is small and hot with lots of light. That's all you need to know really. If you wanted to keep hot house flowers this would be perfect.  Actually, as I'm going through these photos I realized what this would be PERFECT for. The lower level wouldn't be anything but the upstairs sun room which is accessed by a flight of stairs would be the most delightful and lovely office from which to run the business. The rooms attached to the upstairs are perfect for a sitting room/bedroom as they have a bathroom and large closet. Patience. We will go upstairs shortly.
From there we went back out into the main hall and into the ballroom.

Forgive the photos. These older home eat flash on cameras for lunch. I had to blow this one out in photoshop to show you anything.

In the back of the ballroom is a swinging door that takes you back into the kitchen.

Check out the fantastic sink I missed the first trip into the kitchen!

From there we headed upstairs.

Unfortunately for me, most of the rooms upstairs were therapists offices and were off limits.
I got to see a few though

That door leads out to the second level of the sun room. Tell me you can't see a sweet little desk up here with a nice sofa.

and then the Realtor opened a door and my heart ached for this stunning home. Up we went to the 3rd floor.
The third floor would send a normal person howling down the stairs and out to their car. The damage is amazing. The neglect is painful to someone who loves these homes as much as I do. I wonder how much light would get in if that stained glass was cleaned!

We went back down the stairs and over to the other side of the house and up another flight of stairs to the other part of the attic

It's a beautiful home that could really do the double duty of cafe/bakery/home. She just needs a TON and I mean a TON of work...
The Realtor said someone quoted $100,000 to do the roof work alone because it's slate. That lead me to wonder if since the building was landmarked, if there was any money from the landmark folks. She didn't think so. I started to wonder if then the landmark rules stated that the roof HAD to remain slate or if it could be replaced with something a little more current and long term and sensible. (and half the cost!)
I'll have to do my homework on that one. I'd say for all the work that needs to be done including the roof you are looking at at LEAST $200,000 worth of repairs. I don't have anything to back that up other than I know that roof damage didn't happen overnight and I'm sure there is damage to the walls and the insulation and even perhaps some of the wiring.
I know it needs a new coat of paint, some brighter light bulbs and a really really good corners to rafters cleaning.
It's truly a very special, one of a kind property and I'm working very hard to figure out how to make her my own...she's that special. I'd hate to see her go to some soulless corporation who will gut her completely, throw up some recessed lighting and make either offices or condos out of her.
She needs someone who can love and respect this type of home and give her the attention she needs.