Clean your shoes!

Known as a "decrottoir" in French, which literally implies the need to remove excrement...

more humbly known as a "boot scraper".

Very few streets, if any were paved.  The streets were dusty, dirty, rutted and 

when it rained there was mud. 

More noticeably there was horse poop.  There I said it...poop!

From utilitarian...

to those with some beautiful architectural merit. 

A great article...

Be it ever so humble. 

It Felt Like a Holiday!

March 26 2013...it was amazing that it managed to be kept a relative secret for 2-3 days.  Due to security arrangements and such, the few that knew couldn't say anything until it had been published in the paper.  Some received emails from the White House to attend the event (tres cool).

This was the view out the window of Vino Veranda the day before (I did zoom just a bit): 

The Sheriff's House all dressed up to receive.  Purchased by the National Park System and designated a historical monument.  This makes the land it sits on basically a "National Park" which also includes the New Castle Court House Museum, The Arsenal, and the Academy Building.  Unofficially included is Immanuel Church on the Green.

 

We lined up an hour before time. It was an unexpectedly cold day. The line queued up behind us and trailed down Delaware St. 

 

When the snipers exited from behind the Court House building, they were not subtle.   No, not in any way.  They climbed up to the roof of the Court House and there they observed.

New Castle County Police Department on display.  The horses waited almost an hour.  Quite well behaved.

Members of the City Council and community waiting...everyone was smiling and happy!  Anticipation was in the air!!!

Congressman Castle and Mrs. Castle being met by a Secret Service Agent as they walked up past the Arsenal into the secured area.  As he approached, the waiting audience stood and applauded.  

Friends Jim and Barbara...smiles and anticipation!

The Arsenal...a topic for another post, but this day it provided a splendid and beautiful backdrop for this event as did the steeple of Immanuel Church on the Green. 

Don Reese, Mayor of the City of New Castle, who spoke about the National Park and Monument designation and then introduced...

Congressman Tom Carper. He was instrumental in getting this designation pushed through.  He introduced...

Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, who has since retired.  This designation was a priority to him.  The designation is signed by the President of the United States.  And in turn, he introduced....

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden"; who is a hometown boy despite being born in Pennsylvania...lol. 

Working the rope line...

It is hoped that with this designation, a formal national park appointment will come in time.  Funding is the issue...isn't it always?  The growth and sustainability of our town is dependent on visitors, local and afar.  The more amenities we have to attract them, the more businesses that will consider filling our empty storefronts.  

More Difficult Than It Should Be...

...picking a color for the door or shutters of your house. It's a cross between being fairly "historically accurate" and expressing some individuality.  Luckily, color is not regulated by the Historic Area Commission (HAC) as it is in some other historic towns.  

The door has been stripped down to bare wood.  Our door has been renovated before as it only had one coat of paint on it and a patch in the lower right hand corner. 

Other neighbors and I have agreed it is difficult to pick a color.  I think I want a red; MM picked colors that well...I wouldn't consider. One suggestion I've heard is teal-blue but I'm not sure how well that will go with Forest Green Shutters.  I'm willing to consider options outside the box however.  I did want to change the color of the shutters to Charleston Green, but with 13-14 sets of shutters to paint...not right now.  Let's get through the doors.  Doors are easier to repaint than shutters.  Especially louvered shutters. 

This was from yesterday.  I'll be curious to see if any other suggestions are written down when I get home...lol. 

Anatomy of a 140 Year Old Shutter

Well it's been some time since I posted here and I am going to try to do better. 

Since the last post, our new  home now has conventional air conditioning on the first floor.  No high velocity, no mini splits on the wall...conventional duct a/c, but the duct work is all in the basement, and remarkably so, is not in the way.  Mark the Magnificent is indeed "Magnificent"!  

By no means the first project (an entry on the courtyard will be forthcoming), I give you the "Anatomy of a 140 Year Old Shutter".  Now these door shutters are from the Harmony Street door henceforth known as the "Harmony Door" or "Harmony Door Shutters":  

Before we realized we had hot air guns for stripping, we were hand stripping, no gel application yet.  Mark began working to remove the rotted wood. 

It's fun to reveal what is underneath...what color were the original shutters?  We found the lighter colored green, followed by a black, and then the current dark green.  There were hints of yellow and gray...maybe two toned at one time?

More black. 

More black and the hints of wood rot to come. 

Only the beginning of clearing the rotted wood.  When done, the whole section was rotted all the way through, and revealed cracked side rails which had been covered up with pain, or somehow cracked under the paint.  Hence a discussion followed regarding replacement. 

Between last night and this morning, many measurements were taken and in the process we realized that the style of the Harmony Door Shutters was slightly different than the Ivy Door Shutters.  

The mid rails are different sizes and placement.  

 

Inspection of the Ivy Door Shutter "appears" to not have as much wood rot.  Of course that could change once we begin working on them.  However, it looks that as if they just need cleaning, sanding, perhaps judicious application of some epoxy, then repainting and rehanging.  Considering this, the replacement of the Harmony Door Shutters will be in this style. 

As always...the adventures and joys of historic home ownership.