Tuesday, November 16, 1999
Historic homes slowly return to former glory
By Bill Whitaker
Although the city’s clash with a local attorney over controversial
improvements to her historic home is promising to end badly for
everyone, members of the Abilene Downtown Homeowners Association
have every other reason to be upbeat.
While association executive director Pebbles Lee and others
of a historic bent strenuously resisted more modern changes to
Vicki Johnson’s home at 618 Hickory — at least, till
the battle threatened to collapse into a time-consuming, legal
quagmire for everybody — Pebbles prefers to concentrate on
changes for good in the area.
By that, she means Abilenians who have moved into vintage,
long-neglected homes near downtown Abilene and slowly but surely
fixed them up, all while remaining true to each home’s unique
historic character. Most importantly, that means keeping the façade
of these old homes lovingly intact.
It’s a slow process, but if you haven’t driven about
the old downtown residential area between North 9th and South
8th, do so. You’ll be surprised at what you see. While some
homes remain run-down, others once in decline boast spruced-up
yards, cleanly restored facades and interiors good enough for
any posh magazine on interior design to include on its slick pages.
“We kind of celebrate each house as it returns to its
former glory,” Pebbles, 35, remarked the other day. “That’s
really how you do it — one house at a time.”
Crazy idea
Fortunately, there is a good start in the old neighborhood
to build upon — homes such as Hazel Chapman’s stately,
pecan-shaded home at 425 Merchant, which is marking a full century
of existence. Thursday night the 45-member association will gather
there at 7 to hear state Rep. Bob Hunter speak on local and state
historic preservation issues.
Neighborhood triumphs are easy enough to spot. Take, for instance,
the 1910 Victorian home that Granville and Maria Griffith painstakingly
beautified years ago. Today 36-year-old Cody Rhodes of Trik Trux
and wife Belinda live there. They moved in last September after
continually searching for an old home in the neighborhood.
Cody admits he had to sell his wife on the idea, especially
considering some of the run-down houses in the neighborhood.
“To be honest, we were expecting our second child and
we had a two-bedroom house and thought we needed a three-bedroom
house,” he said. “And, well, I liked the idea of moving
into an old house. I mean, you don’t have to make it a home,
it already is a home. And so one day I saw this real old house
on North 3rd and Victoria and I told my wife I wanted to go see
it.
“Well, she thought I was crazy because it looked like
it was going to fall down!”
Cody and Belinda never could get the owner to terms but, after
trying to obtain a couple of other homes in the historic neighborhood,
Cody one day discovered the Griffith home at 208 Merchant was
for sale. The Griffiths were among the first new homeowners to
move into the old neighborhood. They made great strides in setting
an example for future homeowners, too.
Cody didn’t have to think twice when he saw the home’s
exterior.
“I stopped at the front door,” he said. “I just
said, ‘Yes.’ I didn’t even need to go in.”
Admittedly, few homes in the historic neighborhood have been
as well kept as that once owned by the Griffiths. Other homes
— especially those that have long been used as rental properties
or have been owned by residents in their twilight years —
have occasionally been allowed to deteriorate badly.
Stable marriage
Fortunately, there are many young couples with the resources
and diligence to restore these grand, old homes. Few couples,
however, bring the vision and knowledge to a home restoration
project that Kevin and Brenda Coleman do.
Which is why the association is excited about the couple’s
work on a creaky yet engaging 1910 colonial revival home at 1842
North 5th. Kevin is director of Habitat for Humanity of Abilene,
succeeding wife Brenda in that post. While the work they’re
doing to their new “old residence” is extensive, they
have the resources and staying power to finish it.
Asked why the Downtown Homeowners Association and Abilene Landmarks
Commission (on which Pebbles also sits) backed the Colemans despite
extensive changes they’re making to the home, Pebbles said:
“We’re much stricter on the front of the house. That’s
what the community sees, and for the historic overlay you really
want the front of any house to keep its façade.”
The Colemans are remaining true to that aim.
Homeowners venturing into the realm of restoring old homes
in the neighborhood certainly have City Hall on their side, at
least in regard to property tax breaks. However, a break on taxes
isn’t enough to explain the drive more and more young professionals
are displaying regarding historic homes badly needing tender loving
care.
“It’s kind of what we tell everybody,” said
Pebbles, who with her husband has lived in their restored 1919
home at 220 Mulberry six years. “We tell everybody that working
on our house is our hobby. And if it’s going to be your hobby,
if you’re very creative, and if you have a very stable marriage,
this is an absolutely great thing to do.
“But if that’s not the case — don’t do
it!”
Bill Whitaker, who once lived in the historic neighborhood
but had to move out before the Abilene Downtown Homeowners Association
could truly flourish, can be reached at 676-6732 or whitakerb@abinews.com.
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