Renovated Historic Homes Grace Maumee’s 12th Annual Tour
BY KAREN BERGER — MIRROR REPORTER
It’s been known as Pine Hall and even Toad Hall, but the two-story brick Greek Revival at 725 W. Broadway feels like home to Phillip Kennedy and his wife, Shelly Musshel Kennedy, who have done extensive renovations in the past 18 months.
The home, including a two-story addition, restored greenhouse and an in-ground pool with landscaping and a pergola, is one of six on the 12th annual Historic Maumee Home Tour on Saturday, October 4 from noon to 5:00 p.m.
The goal of the tour, sponsored by the Maumee Senior Center, is to showcase the historic preservation of Maumee homes, said Janet Russ Jones, tour committee chairperson. Proceeds from the event will fund programs and services for Maumee seniors.
The addition of Pine Hall to the tour is sure to generate interest, Jones said. It was believed to be built around 1845 by Henry Forsyth, then purchased by Dr. Ernst Wusterfeld in 1863, who used the parlor as a medical office. Shelly Musshel Kennedy now fills the shelves with law books and family photos, using the wood-floored parlor with six-over-six paned windows as her home office.
Phillip Kennedy explained that what began as a repainting project in 2006 turned into a large-scale renovation that included transforming the former garage into a family room with toys for the couple’s two children, gutting and refitting the kitchen with new cupboards and appliances, installing slate flooring through the back half of the home, and an addition with a garage, full bathroom, sauna and workout room.
The Kennedy home is decorated with antiques, including a large display case and counter from a Florida, Ohio, antique shop, a dining room table made of reclaimed barn siding and slate, a roll-top desk and historical lighting fixtures from Architectural Artifacts.
The greenhouse, added in 1970, has been restored with river rock, slate and stone work, while the Victorian-era ironwork on the front porch, shipped from New Orleans up the Mississippi River in the late 1800s, has been completely restored.
Up river, the porch of 604 River Rd. just cried out for gingerbread, said Elaine Niese of her 1912 Victorian cottage, which will also be on the tour.
Her husband Mike Niese said the home was “a wreck” when they bought it in 1992.
“The first summer all we did was demolition,” he said.
After gutting the walls, plumbing and electrical, they slowly restored the cottage as they could afford it.
Although the kitchen was one of their first projects, last week the Nieses completed their second kitchen remodeling, adding Cambria countertop, ceiling tin backsplashes, flooring and updated cupboards.
Using the parlor as a model, Mike finished the home with stained six-inch window molding and eight-inch baseboards.
“Everyone thinks that it’s original, so I think I did my job,” Mike said.
The parlor serves as the “silly room,” as Elaine calls it, with Coke memorabilia from Toledo’s Manhattan Fruit Bowl grocery store, once owned by Mike’s grandparents. The parlor is one of two original rooms, with the kitchen addition dating to the 1930s, a dining room in 1947 and a master bedroom in the 1970s.
In addition to the Niese and Kennedy homes, guests will be able to tour:
• The Brown/Zraik Home at 124 W. Harrison St. was built just before World War II and has been recently enlarged and renovated. The property’s back boundary is a long embankment that once held the tracks of the Toledo-Bowling Green-Southern interurban line that ran from the 1900s to the 1930s.
• The Barbara Hurt Home at 325 W. John St. was built in 1887, possibly by John Elter, an early Maumee grocer. It served as George Lytle’s Grocery Store until 1956, when it became Betty and Bob’s Delicatessen operated by the Freniere family. By 1962, the transformation to living space was complete.
• The Elizabeth Holland Home, 602 River Rd., is a brick Dutch Colonial built in 1915. Referred to as “Ivy Cottage” until the ivy was removed, the house was so deteriorated that demolition was considered, but instead it was gutted and rebuilt. A two-story addition to the rear of the home offers a splendid view of the Maumee River.
• The Wolcott House, 1031 River Rd., is a stately Federal-style house with classical details built by James Wolcott between 1827 and 1836.
The home, at the centerpiece of the Wolcott Museum Complex, will showcase the newest gift to the museum, a large oil painting by the Rev. N.B.C. Love, a noted minister, historian, artist and poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The painting shows the Maumee River with Native Americans in the foreground.
“It describes a scene that was rather common on the early frontier,” said Marilyn Wendler, Maumee Historical Society member and author.
Weather permitting, a Model A car show will be held at the Wolcott House complex.
• The Maumee Senior Center, 2430 Detroit Ave., will serve desserts and display Maumee memorabilia.
Tour tickets may be purchased for $10.00 in advance or $12.00 the day of the tour at the senior center, Jacky’s Depot, Maumee Chamber of Commerce, Maumee Indoor Theater, the gift shop at the Wolcott Complex and Dibling Floor Covering.
Parking is available at the senior center or at the First Presbyterian Church lot at Gibbs and East Harrison streets.
For more information call (419) 893-1994.