Homes w/Soul

Thank you for the comments on my last post. 

The Dog's Mother - Kudos to your daughter! I am discovering more and more of her generation truly appreciate the craftsmanship which went into the old houses.

Mittens - I love to hear stories about people who have lovingly restored these glorious homes. Hubby and I have always been on the 'other end' of the house restoration - we restore the house and then end up selling it and moving on to the next one. This is the first time we have owned a house which has already been restored (at least 95%). There are some things we wish to do to give it that "POP". We want to restore the gingerbread around the front eave, upgrade the front porch light, new picket fence. 
All minor details. But then, The Devil is in the Details......

Soul-less Houses

There's a saying, "The Devil is in the Details". 
This couldn't be more accurate when it comes to the Victorian Houses found in small towns across the globe. It used to be main-stream thinking to demolish these old beauties and put up some under-engineered stick built dwelling. In many locales, these houses are seen as a boon to the community and they have been lovingly restored. In some towns, developers have gotten hold of these homes and have kept the exterior but have completely 'modernized' the interior. Tearing out and not replacing beautiful woodwork, ornate doorknobs, or other details which add to the charm, the Soul of the House. 
Those are the Soul-less Houses.

A house in Cripple Creek that was recently sold

The interior of the above house could be an apartment
or small condo located in Anywhere, USA

When gaming was established in Colorado. There was a new kind of land rush to the state. People focused on making a quick buck swooped in, bought up real estate (both commercial and private), and then did their darnedest to turn a quick profit. I understand that the commercial establishments had to do a fair amount of remodeling in order to bring old buildings up to the modern building safety codes. But I think that a little more care could have been taken in designing the brand new buildings so they blended in with the old ones a wee bit better.

Proposed expansion for a local casino

To me, the details say it all about a house. And all the people, who over the years, have left their mark on that house. Our house was purchased, along with several others, by a retired gentleman in the 1990's, not long after gaming was established. This man did his best to modernize these houses and yet retain as much of the old charm as he could. I commend this guy! And it is because of his attention to detail that we have a home with a Soul.

Original light fixtures (modernized) with embossed wallpaper on ceiling and walls, crown molding, chair rails all add to the original ambiance of the house

Seeing Pink!

In honor of Valentine's Day, I am showcasing all the pink homes here in Cripple Creek. 
I have often wondered on the frequent walks I take around town, why there are so many pink homes. 
Was there a sale on Pretentious Pink at the hardware store?

 

What's Up With Those Houses?

When Cripple Creek was built, the original part of the town was built on the hillsides so as not to disturb the valuable pasture land along the creek bottom. That was just in case the gold strike didn't 'pan out' .  
And just like developers today, the land planners of yesterday wanted to get as many homes and people into as little space as possible. So homes were built extremely close to each other. So close, that sometimes the roofs would hang over each other.  Making it very difficult to paint between the houses (probably a chore for the children).

Building houses this close together was fairly common in old mountain mining towns. And created a unique set of problems, besides the painting and maintenance, you can hear the neighbors. Their alarm clock. Their phone. Their...well...you get the idea. The picture below is between my house and the neighbor's. I'm just glad I have nice neighbors. Hope they say the same about us! There is enough room between our homes that a grown person can walk. 

Of course, that means any windows that face this space could potentially open onto the neighbor's window. Like our bedroom which opens onto our neighbor's bedroom window. The green seen through the window is my neighbor's house.

And while we do have some breathing room on the west side of our house, this wasn't always the case. There used to be a boarding house next door - situated on what is now my side lawn. I can't even begin to imagine .....

Her Name

Our home is next door to a large Victorian home which is owned by the City of Cripple Creek. It is used as housing for the actors, actresses and stage crew for the local repertory theater, The Butte Theater.

The house is only inhabited 6 months out of the year. So it is almost like not having neighbors. This year's crew has been fun and our dogs have greatly enjoyed the extra hands which so eagerly reach over the fence to pet them. 

View of The Victorian Lady from my side yard

The house is gorgeous, with leaded windows and all sorts of detail work. It was built in 1898 by a Charles N. Miller. The house has been named The Victorian Lady. 

Well, not wanting our lovely home to feel left out, hubby named our house The Painted Lady. While the name may reference the "Women of the Night', it is in no way derogatory. The women who worked the bordellos were often kind hearted and generous. And very much misunderstood. But that is all for another post...

Winds of Change

This year has seen a lot of wind in this area. Crazy, strong winds! At least two of the storms brought us wind over 70 mph - that's hurricane force winds! 

Many Indigenous cultures believe that the wind is the Creator talking - that the wind will blow when a person is trying to be told something. Well, I should have been listening harder because those winds were telling us that change was in our future.

We've moved. But this time the move was into our own house. Not on our property in the mountains but very close by. In the quaint and quirky little town of Cripple Creek.

The Town of Cripple Creek as seen at the overlook

A lovely Victorian House chose us to come live within its walls. (I swear there was a bit of magick involved, but I will expand upon that in later posts - gotta have something else to write about)

Welcome to The Painted Lady.

Yes, that's a white pocket fence that you see. The house was built in 1900 and still has many of the original features - doors, transoms, wood molding, brass light fixtures and the gorgeous fireplace with the original firebox. Though it burned coal not wood.

Front entry with original doors

Dining Room with original light fixture

In the coming weeks, I will share things about our new home, the town, and the 'neighbors' who live around us.

Click on the pictures to enlarge and see details.