My passion for historic preservation has taken me to communities across the nation. My professional involvement began at age of 10, some 60 years ago.
As a 10-year old in 1963, I advised the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur on fund-raising opportunities for badly needed roof repairs for Ralston Hall, 1860s-1870s, the William Chapman Ralston mansion south of San Francisco. Under construction in phases from 1864 to 1875, it remains one of the largest (55,000 square feet) and finest Victorian mansions in America.
I have advised on the restoration of John Philip Sousa’s country house, ‘Wildbank,’ on long Island, New York.
As a University of Colorado student, I organized the effort to stop the demolition of the 1880s-1900s ‘Old Quad’ on the Boulder campus. I was curator of the 30 building open air South Park City museum in Fairplay, Colorado, worked on the restoration of the ‘Unsinkable Molly Brown’ house in Denver.
I have volunteered on many projects where my clients could not afford to pay a professional. I offered free structural and historical evaluations for any realtor or prospective buyer interested in saving endangered historic structures. As part of that work, I engineered the preservation of the Gothic Revival Methodist Church in Rolling Prairie, Indiana, and organized the historic properties survey for central Biddeford, Maine.
I organized the effort that saved Wallingford House in Kennebunk, Maine, built circa 1804-1808 for a framer of the Maine state constitution.
I worked on the renovation of the American Embassy in Tokyo and the restoration of the Rainbow Room in New York.
I was also consultant on the preservation of the auditorium at the Veterans Memorial in Lompoc, California.
Historic Preservation continues to be the primary interest in my life.
Obsessed with the 1870s and 1880s! Love the Aesthetic Movement!
The more detail and layers the better!
Its not about ostentation. It's about adding art and design to everything!
I'm the owner of Old House Dreams. I live in a home built in 1901 with my husband and dog, Sissy.