Bringing Back Holleywood
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    • open house 10/27/12

writing on the wall

12/14/2015

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Tucked under the fourth floor tower is a wonderful studio where I write.  Outside the studio is a looooong hallway convenient for posting a timeline for the novel I've been working on, old school-style, with index cards. I (and houseguests) have lived with the timeline for years, but I was excited to finally take it down today. Early finished copies of the book are in! WHAT WAS MINE is a novel from Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books. The story is about secrets. (It was written in a house harboring many of them.) A childless woman takes a baby from a shopping cart and raises her as her adopted daughter for 21 years. The novel opens when the secret is out. It started out as a story, but after we acquired Holleywood, the story expanded, along with our living space. Pub date Jan 5, available here.
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Before/After
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gatehouse greetings from 1932

11/17/2013

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Turns out that writing on windows was something they did at the Gatehouse, too. Thanks to Lindsey for waiting for just the right light to capture this shot from their dining room window.
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February 22

2/22/2012

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In the west parlor window, Charles E. Rudd (the seller's grandfather) carved the date into glass on Feb. 22 1896, exactly 93 years before our younger daughter was born. Happy birthday, Katherine!
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more writing on windows

7/9/2011

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Glancing through the west parlor window at Donald on the side porch, his dark shirt makes visible writing I hadn't noticed before: the signature of Charles E. Rudd (the seller's grandfather) dated Feb. 22 '96, exactly 93 years to the day before our younger daughter was born.
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April 14, 1915

4/14/2011

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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."
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demolition

4/9/2011

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In the living room, a closet next to the fireplace will be opened to provide access to the kitchen.
We arrive this weekend to discover that much progress has already been made. Walls denuded of wallpaper reveal many ghosts, such as holes for stovepipes (see white patch near ceiling), shadows of former doors and signatures of painters and wallpaperers, including that of the seller's father who did much work on the house (including carpentry and upholstery) himself.

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Upstairs, the ghost of a former door to a bedroom.
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According to writing on the wall, papering was done in May, 1915 and again (by John K Rudd himself) in August, 1972.
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Stripping wallpaper reveals 100+ year old paint in the hallways: a rich, moss green which we may try to match.
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In the den, we'll repair a chimney so that the cemented-up fireplace on left is usable again.
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Mold in the tower necessitated removing plaster from walls and ceiling. The contractor checks for location of old chimney.
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The only plaster in the tower that won't be removed is a strip bearing signatures of painters and wallpaperers since 1923.
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Stripping wallpaper in center hallway revealed signatures by former inhabitants of Holleywood. Even Ben the Dog.
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We're updating this bathroom but will re-use the tub, a vintage porcelain the architect says weighs close to 1000 lbs.
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Two of three generous closets built by the seller's father in a bedroom will be transformed into an en-suite bathroom.
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writing on the wall

3/29/2011

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The wallpaper in the master bedroom dates from before I was born. We know because Floyd the Wallpaperer signed his name beneath a patch of it. Upstairs, on a wall of the tower, is a long list of painters' signatures in pencil, dating from 1923. Harkening back to an era when painters were artisans eager to assume accountability for their work.

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    who we are

    We are a couple of Upper West Siders from NYC who never set out to buy an old mansion in Connecticut. But the moment we walked through its massive front door, we were smitten. The info on this site is earnestly cobbled from a variety of sources, including the web. Please let us know if we've gotten something wrong, or if there's a story about Holleywood you'd like to share.

    forewords

    December 2021
    September 2021
    October 2018
    June 2018
    August 2016
    April 2016
    December 2015
    August 2014
    May 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    November 2010

    glossary

    All
    2101
    Acorn Lights
    Adrian
    Aimee Davis
    Arnoff Moving
    Art
    Attic
    Avocado
    Balcony
    Basement
    Bathrooms
    Bathtub
    Bathtubs
    Bauer Park
    Beatrice Sexton
    Beaux Arts
    Before And After
    Bell Butler
    Bell Register
    Bernie
    Bill Sigsworth
    Billy
    Bird's Eye View Of Holleywood
    Boathouse
    Bookcase
    Boot Scraper
    Breakfast Room
    Bricks
    Bringing Back The Gatehouse
    Bunny Williams
    Cappy Tatsapaugh
    Carpentry
    Charles E. Rudd
    Charles Keil
    Charlie
    Chimney
    Chris Brennan
    Cistern
    Closets
    Colors
    Cost Of Oil
    Cousins
    Craftsmanship
    Crew
    Crook
    Crops
    Ct
    Cynthia Hochswender
    Dean Meadow
    Decorating
    Decorating 70s Style
    Details
    Dining Room
    Discovery
    Dock
    Doors
    Dreams
    Driveway
    Dumpster
    Earthquake
    Easter
    Electrician
    Emma Rudd
    Extruder
    Fear Of Heating Bills
    Fear Of The Unknown
    Felling A Tree
    Fireplace
    First Thanksgiving
    Floors
    Frank Garretson
    Fresco
    Front Doors
    Furniture
    Gallery Books
    Garage
    Garden
    Gatehouse
    Gateposts
    Gazebo
    Geoff Rosano
    Geronimo
    Ghosts
    Glass Etching
    Glenwood Stove
    Gold
    Governor Holley
    Gracious Living
    Grand Entrance
    Gravestone
    Greek Revival
    Green Restoration
    Groundhogs
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    Helen Klein Ross
    Helen Ross
    Hidden Histories
    Hinges
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    Historic District
    Holley-Williams House
    Holleywood
    Hot Air Balloon
    House Closing
    Housewarming Present
    Hurricane
    Ice Carving
    Insulation
    Italianate
    Jackie Mock
    James Charlton
    Jane Lyman Holley
    Jason Hanley
    Jay Rudd
    Jinny Rudd
    John Gruen
    John Krom Rudd
    Jp Newton Market
    Juliet Balcony
    Katherine Chilcoat
    Katherine Ross
    Kitchen
    Kubota
    Kyle And Lindsey McEvoy
    Kyle McEvoy
    Lakeville
    Lakeville Ct
    Lakeville Journal
    Lakeville Lake
    Lance Middlebrook
    Landscaping
    Larry Burcroff
    Lathing
    Laundry Room
    Laurie Warner
    Lead Paint
    Leon Mcclain
    Lifetime Roof
    Lighting
    Lindsey McEvoy
    Living Room
    Locke Brothers
    Louise Hannegan
    Lucky Break
    Malcolm Day Rudd
    Margaret Ross
    Mark Niedhammer
    Masonry
    Matt Holderman
    Memorial Day
    Memory Lane
    Metal
    Middle East Uprisings
    Mike O'connor
    Miller
    Mini-museum
    Modern Realities
    Momentous Occasion
    Mott
    New England Winters
    New York Times
    Octagonal
    Old Houses
    Old School
    Old Stone
    Original Doors
    Outer Space
    Painting
    Peggy Obrien
    Plaster
    Plumbing
    Porch
    Pulley
    Pw Vintage Lighting
    Radiators
    Real Estate
    Restoration Holleywood
    Riley's Furniture
    Rob Anderson
    Robinson Leech
    Ron Carpenter
    Roof
    Roof Raking
    Rudd
    Rudd Family
    Salisbury
    Salisbury Association
    Sarah Coit Day
    Scaffolding
    Scoville Library
    Seeing The Light
    Shutters
    Sign
    Signature
    Simon & Schuster
    Sink
    Skeptics
    Snow
    Snowplower
    Soap
    Spiral Staircase
    Spirit Ballooning
    Staging
    Stairway
    St. Charles Cabinets
    Stilts
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    Susan Rand
    Team Holleywood
    Theodore O'neill
    This Old House Magazine
    Tiles
    Tower
    Tower Bedroom
    Town Grove
    Town Historian
    Trade Secrets
    Tree Climber
    Trees
    Troy Tatsapaugh
    Turret
    Upstairs Downstairs
    Vernal Pond
    Vernal Pool
    Vernal Pools
    Vintage
    Vintage Dollhouse
    Voldstads
    Wade Warner
    Wall
    Wallpapers
    Walls
    Wall Treatment
    Wall Treatments
    Welcome To Connecticut
    What-was-mine-book
    White Hart Green
    William Taft
    Windows
    Wononscopomuc
    Wood Burning Stove
    Woodchucks
    Writer's Hack
    Writing A Novel
    Writing On The Wall
    Xmas Trees
    Zordan Brothers

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