Mushroom house?
I'm under the impression that Ms. Warwick lived in Maplewood, above Wyoming Avenue, near the S.O. border.
If you think an 800k price tag includes a chefs kitchen...sadly, that is not what I saw when I was looking extensively with a family member. At least the size of the kitchen is nice. I do wonder why bathrooms arent shown.
Oct 11, 2013 at 9:23am Edited
I don't think the bedrooms are small (if their listed dimensions are accurate). Two of them are significantly larger than any second-floor bedroom in the house of my childhood in Maplewood, which was a very average 5-bedroom M'wood house in every way. The only way I can think of them being considered small is in relation to the size of the living room of this house, or in relation to what some might think a house of this level of architectural distinction ought to have, or to what $8ooK ought to buy. There are many houses in SOMA of this esthetic level that are considerably smaller overall, some of which have even smaller bedrooms.
While the house is lovely on the outside...it will require a lot of work to bring it current on the inside...bathrooms need updating, bedrooms are not that big, layout is strange and the kitchen is small and not 'gourmet' by any stretch for what you would expect in an 800K home. The yard, patio and roof were update by last owner, but the interior needs serious updating... Perfect home for very small family with $$ to make it sparkle.
pluses: great neighbors, star on the top to light up for the holidays, roll out of bed to get to the train, awesome study, perfect front yard for gardening.
Looks like a really cool house to me, tons of potential. You could find negative things to point out about ANY house out there, but overall if I had to guess what the issue would be with selling this one it would be the taxes, not only where they are now, but where they would be once you upgraded the kitchen/baths.
The roofing is actually meant to resemble thatch. I have heard these called "faux thatch" roofs. They are impressive looking affairs! The one on the corner of South Orange Ave. and North Wyoming just had its entire roof replaced. Amazing job. There is another "faux thatch" roofed house on West End Road (backs up to the South Mountain School in South Orange).
Tom_Vilardi said:
The roofing is actually meant to resemble thatch. I have heard these called "faux thatch" roofs. They are impressive looking affairs! The one on the corner of South Orange Ave. and North Wyoming just had its entire roof replaced. Amazing job. There is another "faux thatch" roofed house on West End Road (backs up to the South Mountain School in South Orange).
@Tom_Vilardi,
You gotta check this thread out:
http://forum.maplewoodonline.com/discussion/99644/mushroom-house-final-roof-decision/p1
Thanks Marylago - I just did. I live right up by the house and have been watching the progress!
I live in the neighborhood and can fill in a bit. The property is a total steal right now and I'm shocked it hasn't sold yet - If I could get a bigger mortgage I'd buy it in a second and sell my house. It was on the market when I bought my house for 70k more than its current asking price and at that time it had a fire damaged basement (the office and basement windows were literally boarded up with wood), it had wall to wall beige shag carpeting and an oil tank under the driveway. The couple selling fixed all of those things, fixed the roof and put in new copper gutters, restored the wood flooring and put in a brand new patio area. All the main structures of the house are sound - the only areas that need renovating are the kitchen and the front stone patio, the others are just up for aesthetic refurbishment. The owner selling was/is a real antiques nut and did a beautiful job preserving all the 20's/30s decor (the living room looked straight out of Boardwalk Empire when they lived there) - however that antique look and the fact that the owners have moved out are probably not be helping prospective buyers. I think if they invested in staging the place it would sell quickly. If I bought it I'd lighten it up with current Restoration Hardware look and turn the current large garage into a kitchen area with bay windows/skylights. And yes - it was aparrently built by a bootlegger and the downstairs was a speak easy. The man who build it carved his initials into the stone fireplace and the stained glass windows
Bootlegging in SO/MPLWD... now you're talking my language!
Newark had numerous full-blown breweries at the time the Volstead Act was passed and many of the folks who worked/ran/managed these establishments lived in the surrounding towns.
At midnight on January 17th 1920 the USA went "dry". At 12:59PM that same night $100,000 worth of whiskey was stolen from a train in Chicago and the "roaring 20's" began.
Volstead exempted about 200 gallons of fruit based alcohol (wine) per household and Doctors could prescribe "medicinal" alcohol each year (I'm reminded of the "recipe" from the Waltons and the fact that ship-board cooks in the still "dry" US Navy often smell of Vanilla Extract), but many of the people around Newark who found themselves out of jobs (and now working for "soda bottling plants") seemed to be able quickly to "acquire" commercial refrigeration equipment for their own homes (do you think the now unused beer trucks had something to do with that?!?!). The Kelvinator was first in use in wealthier homes around 1914, but aspiring upper middle class folks did not get refrigeration until the late 1920's-1930's.
1920 to 2013 is a long time. Alot of the things that helped get us through this "dry" period are long gone, but plenty still exists right here in our own neighborhoods. Special rooms alongside the driveway (as in my own house - known as "Grandpas Office"), special basement doors, colored or translucent (non clear glass) basement windows, and full blown bars with tack pattern initials on leather padded doors, mirrored and paneled basement walls are all indicators of perhaps an interesting past.
There was still alot of canning going on but many old houses canning rooms also doubled as wine and hard liquor storage rooms. In my own house I learned that an industrial refrigeration machine was housed under the basement stairs (the wiring is still there) to provide a cooling loop for a wood ice-box, I found a hard liquor still stashed in the garage and several just pre-repeal letters to friends in the attic talking about coming over for a few "high ones" so I know without a doubt the merry times that occurred here!
Enjoy the history of where you live. You don't have to absolutely live in the past, but I find treading lightly as you improve your homes often provides the most enjoyment.
Newark had numerous full-blown breweries at the time the Volstead Act was passed and many of the folks who worked/ran/managed these establishments lived in the surrounding towns.
At midnight on January 17th 1920 the USA went "dry". At 12:59PM that same night $100,000 worth of whiskey was stolen from a train in Chicago and the "roaring 20's" began.
Volstead exempted about 200 gallons of fruit based alcohol (wine) per household and Doctors could prescribe "medicinal" alcohol each year (I'm reminded of the "recipe" from the Waltons and the fact that ship-board cooks in the still "dry" US Navy often smell of Vanilla Extract), but many of the people around Newark who found themselves out of jobs (and now working for "soda bottling plants") seemed to be able quickly to "acquire" commercial refrigeration equipment for their own homes (do you think the now unused beer trucks had something to do with that?!?!). The Kelvinator was first in use in wealthier homes around 1914, but aspiring upper middle class folks did not get refrigeration until the late 1920's-1930's.
1920 to 2013 is a long time. Alot of the things that helped get us through this "dry" period are long gone, but plenty still exists right here in our own neighborhoods. Special rooms alongside the driveway (as in my own house - known as "Grandpas Office"), special basement doors, colored or translucent (non clear glass) basement windows, and full blown bars with tack pattern initials on leather padded doors, mirrored and paneled basement walls are all indicators of perhaps an interesting past.
There was still alot of canning going on but many old houses canning rooms also doubled as wine and hard liquor storage rooms. In my own house I learned that an industrial refrigeration machine was housed under the basement stairs (the wiring is still there) to provide a cooling loop for a wood ice-box, I found a hard liquor still stashed in the garage and several just pre-repeal letters to friends in the attic talking about coming over for a few "high ones" so I know without a doubt the merry times that occurred here!
Enjoy the history of where you live. You don't have to absolutely live in the past, but I find treading lightly as you improve your homes often provides the most enjoyment.
Oct 20, 2013 at 4:02pm Edited
Tom, that was one of the most interesting posts! Thanks so much for that, loved reading it and getting a piece of history about the area in which I have lived for 38 years.
Tom, that's fascinating. The Mushroom House does have a lot of what you describe - there is a staircase directly to the basement bar/billiard room which you can access from the side of the house and all of the basement windows were stained glass. There's also a working original pipe organ still there, lord knows what that was for. My house has none of those exciting aspects but it was built pre-refrigeration and there was a special sink in the basement for ice delivery. We also have the original subway tiles and bathroom fixtures from 1926, I'm with you - tread lightly around all the original features worth keeping
Tom is a veritable font of historic knowledge. Thanks for sharing.
The Mushroom House has a new owner - heard it sold this week. Whoever got it, got a hell of a deal. Am very jealous
PS apologies for the emoticons - they seem to be automatic and I can't control them!
New owner of the Mushroom House here. Sorry for I am joining the lively discussion 2 years too late!
Anybody with more history on the house and/ or previous owners? Thanks in advance!
gs2110 said:
New owner of the Mushroom House here. Sorry for I am joining the lively discussion 2 years too late!
Anybody with more history on the house and/ or previous owners? Thanks in advance!
Congratulations and welcome!
Welcome gs2110, I love your house and went in to look at it. Love hearing from people with unusual historic homes. I'm in South Orange and had my home on the Historic Homes Tour and loved sharing the home I love. I was fascinated by your ceiling. My living room is in the shape of an octagon and has a 23 ft. dome ceiling. Maplewood should link up with our tour! You have some great homes.
Morganna said:
Welcome gs2110, I love your house and went in to look at it. Love hearing from people with unusual historic homes. I'm in South Orange and had my home on the Historic Homes Tour and loved sharing the home I love. I was fascinated by your ceiling. My living room is in the shape of an octagon and has a 23 ft. dome ceiling. Maplewood should link up with our tour! You have some great homes.
Hi Morganna, It will be great to link up Maplewood on Historic Homes Tour. I am sure I can have a few other neighbors interested in the idea.
One of the contractors, whose brother is a ex-producer (PBS) did a screening quiet a few years ago for 'This Old House' at our place. It happened years before we got in though!
unixiscool said:
did the pool table come with the house?
Yes, it did! Have you visited the place before?
There is an historic house and garden tour in Maplewood which typically features five or six homes each year. I believe it is sponsored by Rotary but I am not sure.
For information regarding the history of your house, check with the folks at Durand Hedden House and at one of the open house events at their archives at Hilton Branch Library. The latter are usually held on Saturday afternoons.
gs2110 said:
New owner of the Mushroom House here. Sorry for I am joining the lively discussion 2 years too late!
Anybody with more history on the house and/ or previous owners? Thanks in advance!
Guess the house was just waiting for the right owner? Congratulations and best of luck to you in your new place.
joan_crystal said:
There is an historic house and garden tour in Maplewood which typically features five or six homes each year. I believe it is sponsored by Rotary but I am not sure.
For information regarding the history of your house, check with the folks at Durand Hedden House and at one of the open house events at their archives at Hilton Branch Library. The latter are usually held on Saturday afternoons.
Much appreciate the insight. Will look into these over the next couple of weeks.
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