Blog Archives

walking on air

4/30/2011

Who knew you had to master circus skills to be a painter?

"I did," volunteers Jason, from his perch on stilts. He is almost single-handedly peeling back the walls of Holleywood to barest bones. Here he is in the Master (Tower) Bedroom, having stripped off the wallpaper, about to attend to sagging plaster in the 10 ft. ceiling.

loch legend

4/28/2011

It turns out that the story of a sunken plane at the bottom of Lakeville Lake is...only a legend. Bill Littauer, President of The Lake Wononscopomuc Association, sets the record straight for those who weren't there 40 years ago. Too bad there's no Snopes category for local lore. UPDATE, January 1, 2012: Brian Doyle reports in a comment that there's enough plane wreckage left at lake bottom to make for a very interesting scuba dive. He dived to the wreckage in approximately 90 feet of water in the center of the lake.

On Friday, September 18, 1970, a twin engine Cessna 337D was on a flight from the Westchester County Airport in White Plains to Glens Falls, New York, when a small fire apparently broke out in the cabin.

Witnesses said the pilot circled the lake once and appeared to be trying to land on the water. One wing tip touched the water. That forced the nose of the plane down and the craft immediately broke apart and sank in about 40 feet of water. Two men fishing nearby and several people from the Grove sped to the scene in small boats, but were unable to find survivors. They did manage to attach a grappling hook to part of the wreckage.

There is a myth that the plane wreckage remains on the bottom to this day. However, that is not true. The next day the Grove swimming float was fitted with a winch and a tripod and towed to the scene. Divers attached a hook to the tail section. The wreckage was towed to the beach where it was examined and removed. Parts of the wreckage scattered in 60 to 80 feet of water, but most of it was recovered by divers.

The bodies of the passengers were not recovered until the next day, Sunday, September 20th. They were 39 year old Vincent A. Nastasi of 135 Beverly Terrace, Yonkers, New York, and Jonel E. Jorgulesco of S.W. 13th Terrace, Miami, Florida.

Investigators later determined that a short circuit in a wire leading from a transformer in the rear of the plane to the front probably caused a small fire in the carpet of the cabin. That is what may have led the pilot to try an emergency landing on the lake. Witnesses speculated that the landing attempt may have failed because the pilot was trying to avoid hitting the fishing boat.

--Bill Littauer, President of The Lake Wononscopomuc Association

letter from a friend

4/27/2011

I'm delighted to discover that a faithful reader of this blog is a neighbor in the city, chair of our co-op lobby decorating committee, with whom I am privileged to serve on the board.

I just wanted to tell you (and I bet your wonderful decorator knows this, too, and probably better than I) those 'acorn' lamps as you call them are either electrified originals or electrified copies of 18th century night lights.

Originally, they were hung at the bottom of stair cases or in hallways leading to bedrooms. They were hung on chains so the lamp could be raised and lowered which made them accessible for cleaning and filling them partially with lamp or whale oil which would almost burn away by dawn. There would be a floating wick which would be lit. They were meant to be both decorative and practical.

The most famous of these night lights in the Hudson River Valley is at Boscobel. It is cobalt blue, and hung at the foot of the stairs. A photo is attached.

You lucky dog, you!

the lights fantastic

4/26/2011

Oh, the illumination a designer can bring to a project. Chris Brennan went shopping in the same lighting store where I deliberated last week, but she brought back finds that never caught my eye: one-of-a-kinds, period-perfect and suited to each space, reflective of the house's unique sensibility. The candelabra I took on approval (remember?) will go back to the forbearing purveyor.

To illuminate the dark-ish entrance hall, we'll hang glass acorns etched with Greek key design to echo molding detail.

This unique billiard with glass shades comes in a pair which will overhang an 11-foot island in the kitchen.

Antique double sconces on master bath walls will throw enough light for reading in the clawfoot tub.

In the upstairs hall, we'll hang two glass acorns that were gifts from old friends (and new neighbors.) Thanks, Voldstads.

housewarming present

4/24/2011

Our friends Barbara and Pedro had us over for drinks yesterday. "I have something for you," Barbara said, disappearing into her bedroom. What could it be? We aren't in the habit of exchanging gifts, and surely not for Easter. She reappeared with a lovely painted wood jewelry box. "I bought it at the tag sale last summer. It belongs to the house," she said, handing it to me. I demurred at first, but she kindly insisted. And so we've received our first housewarming present.

let there be light

4/23/2011

Of course, the fun part of a renovation is decorating. We're not nearly there yet, but I've already made a trip to my favorite lighting store: PW Vintage Lighting in Great Barrington. We don't need many fixtures. We plan to keep the simple brass mounts that were installed on walls and ceilings in 1915, when (luckily for us) there wasn't much choice in fixtures. How surprised the householders who installed them would be to discover the price those fixtures fetch today!

We do need more light in the center hallway, however. Adam, PW's excellent proprietor, sent me home with this arts and crafts candelabra on approval. Our friends Tom and Karen help decide how it looks. Imagine persuading a store clerk in the Bowery to let you take home a fixture and try it out before paying.

vernal pools

4/20/2011

Suddenly, we have ponds. (Or, a pond and a half; the other half belongs to a neighbor.) The caretaker says they come and go with Spring rains. He calls them vernal pools, a term I'd never heard but one which sent my husband (an environmentalist funder) into paroxysms of pleasure. Apparently, vernal pools host endangered fauna and flora. Really? All I can see in them (apart from lovely reflections) is sodden grass and a few ducks. To me, they are giant puddles. That look nice from afar.

Holleywood, reflected.

The path dividing the ponds (or puddles) was formerly used as an entrance drive.

if walls could talk, they'd speak Italian

4/18/2011

Meeting today with contractor and designer to discuss placement of kitchen appliances and choices for tile and bathroom fixtures. The designer, Chris Brennan, is especially taken with a patch of faux marble beneath paint in the center hallway. She imagines the walls were faux finished after someone made the Grand Tour and, impressed by marble walls in Italy, decided to import the fashion to this Italianate home.

up the down staircase

4/14/2011

This stairwell was moved from the front of the house to the back, when the house was expanded in 1860. The move created a quirky space between the spiral and windowed back wall. It's a wonder that generations of children have grown up here without falling through. We'll keep the space but add railings to prevent what happened to the seller's uncle when he was a toddler: he fell from the third floor, right down to the first where he happily soft-landed in a basket full of laundry.

Here, you can see the original moss green paint uncovered by the painter who is stripping the wallpaper.

April 14, 1915

4/14/2011

Today, the painter who is stripping wallpaper discovers a signature dated exactly 96 years ago. Unlike other signatures which are small and in pencil, this one is grand and loops ostentatiously across a wall. It's in red crayon which has faded, so the name is barely legible. Quite legibly above it, however, is a comment by a subsequent paperer: "crook."