Holiday House Tour Spotlight: 142 W. Boscawen St.

142 West Boscawen St.
Christ Episcopal Church
House Chairman: Chris Ferguson

Christ Episcopal Church has been in continuous use as a sacred site in Winchester since its construction in 1828. The Gothic Revival-style building is dominated by the three-story bell tower crowned with finials and quatrefoil balustrades. A pointed-arch accented with a flower motif surrounds the double-leaf paneled wood doors. Of particular interest and beauty are the stained glass windows, installed in the late 19th century by the Gernhart Company of Baltimore.

Before entering the church, visit the side yard which contains the tomb of Lord Fairfax, the proprietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia. The original church building was situated at the corner of Loudoun and Boscawen Streets on land given by Lord Fairfax. In 1827, the Parish took the name Christ Church and began the relocation process to the present location on Boscawen Street. The fashionable new church was built with the proceeds of the sale of the original church.

The interior of the church is lined with plaques commemorating rectors and parishioners from the 18th to 20th centuries. In the chancel, a glass top case holds silver and pewter pieces; one of the oldest being a pewter communion cup inscribed “Frederick Parish 1746.”

Visit Christ Episcopal Church online for more information about their history and parish programs at www.christchurchwinchester.org. Further history may be obtained from the book The History of Christ Church, Frederick Parish, by Katherine L. Brown, et. al., available at the Handley Regional Library.

Holiday House Tour Spotlight: 109 Amherst St.

109 Amherst St.
House Chairman: Thomas “Wilke” Green

This charming office was once part of the Federal-style dwelling facing North Braddock Street erected circa 1820 by Samuel Brown. From 1856 until the Civil War, the building was home to a school for girls run by Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Powell. The ell containing 109 Amherst Street was later converted to a single-family dwelling. The whimsical asymmetry of the façade draws the eye to the single-leaf, paneled wood door flanked by five-light sidelights.

Holiday House Tour Spotlight: 106 N. Washington St.

106 North Washington St.
House Chairman: Mark Lore

Constructed in stages from the early 19th century on, the present house is the home of Harry and Debbie Smith. Its external appearance is typical of late 19th century Victorian remodeling with German wood siding, bracketed eaves, and a center gable highlighted with fish scale wood shingles. A half-hipped porch roof supported by fluted Tuscan wood columns covers the front entry.

The paneled wood front door with lights, topped by a three-light wood transom, opens to an entry hall with living room to the north and family/sitting room to the south. Continuing through the family room leads you to leading to the dining room, which is the site of the original small stone dwelling on this lot that was built in the early 1800s. The stairways, mantels and pine flooring are original elements from the 19th century enlargement of the house.

Harry and Debbie Smith were honored with a PHW Award of Merit in 2009 for the renovation of their home, which including stripping the pebbledash stucco siding from the exterior to reveal the original wood siding beneath. Before you enter this home on the tour, be sure to note the slightly asymmetrical facade that resulted from the expansion of two bays to the north.

Holiday House Tour Spotlight: 302 W. Boscawen St.

302 West Boscawen Street
House Chairman: Bruce Downing

The professional office of J. Douglas McCarthy & Associates is constructed in the Queen Anne style with Eastlake influences. Below the spired slate roof and ornamented eaves, a porch supported by chamfered posts leads to the double-leaf front door.Through the front door, guests are greeted in the entry hall by a classic gilded female figure atop a tall incised oak newel post. Her upraised arms support a milk glass globe lighting the oak staircase with its turned double balusters and wide gradual steps.

Flanking the entry hall are double oak doors leading to the parlor and the dining room. Both rooms are lit by front rectangular bays with floor- to-ceiling 2/4 sash windows. The parlor is highlighted by a grand walnut over-mantel with beveled mirrors backing bric-a-brac shelves. The dining room fireplace mantel, though less ornamental, is carved with turnings and simplified geometric designs in the English tradition of Charles Locke Eastlake. The carvings of this mantel repeat the design of the front double doors.

This engaging structure is located on the site of the Winchester Medical College. The first College opened in 1827 but was closed shortly after. The second attempt in 1847 proved more successful and the College remained in operation until the beginning of the Civil War. The buildings were put to the torch in 1862 by Union General Nathaniel Banks as retaliation for the dissection of cadavers from John Brown’s Raid. Charles L. Crum subsequently purchased the lot to construct his residence, the current building, in 1881.

Holiday House Tour Spotlight: 324 W. Boscawen St.

While we wait for tickets to go on sale later this month, PHW will be releasing information on the tour stops for this year’s event on December 3 and 4. We have a fabulous selection of homes, offices, and sacred sites for you to visit this year.

324 West Boscawen Street
The Cabell House
House Chairman: Patrick Farris

This Late Federal-style dwelling was built for Mrs. Elizabeth W. Cabell around 1843. The clean lines of the facade are accented with rosetted corner blocks on the window lintels. Delicate fluted columns in the manner of Minard Lefever surround the front entrance.

The stately symmetry of the Federal Style exterior is seen in the two parlor rooms flanking the entry hall with its main staircase composed of delicately turned balusters and a boxy, geometric patterned newel post.

Large 5-paneled doors with box locks open into each room with classical fireplaces made with Winchester knife-shelf mantels supported by Tuscan columns. In the center of one fireplace is a carved classical urn panel and on the other is an American eagle in profile. The west room has a cast iron decorative stove insert.

This home is featured in Garland R. Quarles’ book The Story of One Hundred Old Homes in Winchester, Virginia. If you fall in love with this property on the tour, it is currently for sale, just waiting for a new owner to use the building for office space or convert it back to residential use.

Winchester French & Indian War Foundation Annual Meeting

The Winchester French & Indian War Foundation Annual Meeting will be held on November 13, 2011 at the Godfrey Miller House, 28 S. Loudoun St. Norman L. Baker will present remarks on “Braddock’s Road, The Final Thrust: Fort Cumberland to the Monongahela, A Definitive Mapping of Braddock’s Route.”

The event is free and begins at 2 PM. For more information on the French and Indian War Foundation, visit frenchandindianwarfoundation.org.

Mark Your Calendars for the Holiday House Tour

It’s that time again! PHW’s 35th Holiday House Tour will be held on December 3 and 4. The Preview Party will kick off the event from 6-9 PM on December 3. Daylight tours on December 4 will run from 1-5 PM. The Bough and Dough Shop will be open that weekend at the Winchester Little Theater for your holiday decorating and gifting needs.

Tickets will go on sale in about two and a half weeks. Stay tuned for more info on the tour stops, ticket sales, and more in the interim!

Catch the National Preservation Conference Online

If you couldn’t attend the National Preservation Conference in Buffalo this year, the National Trust has announced that you still have a chance to catch livestreams of plenaries and general sessions on Ustream. The scheduled broadcasts are:

• Opening Plenary (with keynote speaker James Howard Kunstler)
Wednesday, Oct. 19
4-6 pm EST

• General Session: Preservation in the Age of Sustainability
Thursday, Oct. 20
8-9:30 am EST

• General Session: Thinking about Shrinking
Friday, Oct. 21
8-9:30 am EST

• Closing Plenary (with keynote speaker Isabel Wilkerson)
Saturday, Oct. 22
10:30 am-12 pm EST

You can catch these livestreams — as well as links to other social media coverage of the conference — on the National Preservation Conference homepage at www.preservationnation.org/resources/training/npc/.

Updated Architectural Survey Forms

The updated survey forms for the Winchester National Historic Register update process are now available at the PHW office for researchers. The forms provide a starting point for the historic tax credit process to determine eligibility, as well as being a valuable starting point for more in-depth exploration of the history of a building.

As we know, there are more historic properties in Winchester than just the downtown. To view the full list of registered properties, visit the Virginia Department of Historic Resources at http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Cities/register_Winchester.htm.

Countdown to Civil War Weekend and Preservation Conference

It’s almost time for two of the most anticipated events in the history and preservation community from September 24-27. The activities begin with the Civil War Weekend on Saturday, September 24, with nine sites and programs at various times and locations.

The Preservation Virginia Conference begins the afternoon of Sunday, September 25 in Winchester. The conference registration is nearly full; for inquiries on reservations, please call Alexis Feria at 804-648-1889, ext. 300 or e-mail aferia@preservationvirginia.org. The preliminary conference program is available for download at http://preservationvirginia.org/Conference/preliminaryProgram08.pdf.

We hope to see you there!