1896 – Salisbury, NC – $225,000
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Added to OHD on 2/19/21 - Last OHD Update: 2/19/21 -
Added to OHD on 2/19/21 - Last OHD Update: 2/19/21 -
For Sale
National Register
The Napoleon Bonaparte McCanless House is a unique rusticated granite-block 3-story house. Most distinctive features are rounded tower, wraparound porch, and mansard roof w/slate shingles. Exterior of house remarkably intact. Interior integrity ranges from good to gutted, yet many features survive. 1st floor front reception & parlor retain original form, including parlor's curved walls. Main stair leads to 2nd story w/4 bedrooms & sitting room. Front BR retains curved walls, baseboard, mantel w/ tile hearth, closet w/shelving. 3rd floor retains original framing, layout, narrow wood flooring, & molded window surrounds. Kitchen building retains 2-rooms, central chimney w/fireplace. Large treeless lot. House needs complete rehab. Could be live/work space, brewery, offices, restaurant - a blank slate with endless possibilities. Extra lot 015-399A included; extra lot is partially in flood plain. Property listed on National Register of Historic Places, eligible for tax credits. Sold AS-IS
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Listing details may change after the posted date and are not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Independent verification is recommended.
State: North Carolina | Region: South (South Atlantic)
Period & Associated Styles: Eclectic Era, Victorian Era | Misc: Commercial/Business Use, Extreme Fixer, Fixer-Uppers, National Register
Period & Associated Styles: Eclectic Era, Victorian Era | Misc: Commercial/Business Use, Extreme Fixer, Fixer-Uppers, National Register
12 Comments on 1896 – Salisbury, NC – $225,000
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Commenting means you've read and will abide by the comment rules.
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OHD does not represent this home. Price, status and other details must be independently verified. Do not contact the agent unless you are interested in the property.
Chestatee, GA
2019 article although maybe someone will find something newer:
https://www.salisburypost.com/2019/06/20/historic-salisbury-foundation-becomes-proud-owner-of-napolean-bonaparte-mccanless-house/
Poor house. I really how someone comes and can see past this. It really makes me feel sad seeing a place that was once a solid creative artistic building to the state of decay it is in now. But there still is hope and I just hope someone sees that.
Interesting! It says a lot that the local historical foundation would buy and stabilize the house. Since it will need all new systems anyway, a reuse probably makes the most sense at the Main St. location, and it would be a cool project to be involved with. Or you could live in a stone castle in the middle of town!
Ok, so I would like to know what was kept behind the door that has a board nailed across it and a vent in the middle of the door.
Didn’t notice that the first time. Kind of scary. I do like the stairway, though.
Smalltown, OK
😳😳😳
Did you notice the air vent made into the door? The mystery intensifies.
Otis Orchards, WA
It’s sad to see it in the state it’s in. I hope this home finds it’s savior.
EAST WENATCHEE, WA
I think the door with the board is probably the basement. This poor old house. I wish I had the funds to buy it and restore it.
Lakeland, TN
Looks like some folks stole many original things in the house – including a floor!
I also hate to see this. It is a huge project, and I hope someone with alot of money and know how brings her back to life.
Cadiz, OH
Over time, I’ve discovered that taking a Streetview tour near any given house (when available) can often provide clues about the house itself as well as the terrain context where it stands. It seems that at one time this house was but one of a number of grand homes built along South Main going towards the downtown commercial core. A few contemporary period homes still remain but they are very isolated and their residential context has all but disappeared. Sad overall, as MJG mentions, because there’s few places where an isolated house like this one can successfully be reused again as a private residence. It also appears that the town is not growing rapidly enough to fill in all of the vacant lots and numerous parking lots along this stretch of Main which also diminishes its potential, IMO.
Probably best in this case to consider this former home for post-renovation use as a law office or for another professional use. A Streetview trip to the north end of Main away from downtown shows a more cohesive old residential area so the prospect for maintaining a neighborhood environment there are better. When this house was built in the pre-automobile era, there was an advantage to living close to the central commercial core of town and that is evident in town after town across the country. That proximity advantage went away when automobiles made it possible to live miles away from the central business district yet still able get to stores and businesses within minutes. Very old urban films often show crowded sidewalks in downtown areas with many people seen walking. Walking seems like an almost forgotten practice these days as dependence on automobiles even for short distances has become the norm. For this house to have commercial value, undoubtedly parking spaces will need to be created because the old sidewalks date back to a time when this area was more dense and today they seem almost redundant.
Rhinebeck, NY
With your knowledge of 19th century buildings, do you think there is merit in speculating that this was originally a Second Empire house of the Civil War era that was given a last decade of the 19th century makeover into a more fashionable Romanesque Revival house? The tower strikes me as making something of an awkward transition into the bulk of the structure, and the stonework seems to march rather statically past regimented windows that would look more at home with clapboards between them. Architect designed Romanesque houses exhibit variation in fenestration size for artistic effect, and complex sash light arrangements for Shavian quaintness. Only one window on the tower seeks to achieve this. The banality of the window arrangement of this house suggests to me an earlier carpenter-builder origin.