Preservation Matters: 24th annual Candlelight House Tour Dec. 6

Preservation Matters
1 Fifth Avenue
Samantha Bosshart, Executive Director
November 14, 2013

24th annual Candlelight House Tour Dec. 6

 
Each year on the first Friday of December the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation rings in the holidays with the Candlelight House Tour.  During my time as Executive Director, the Foundation has been fortunate to have Carrie Hansen and Bruce Dick share their homes – yes, plural – on the tour.  In 2009, they participated in the tour for the first time by showing their house at 655 North Broadway that had once been divided into five apartments and that they restored back to a beautiful single-family residence.  Two years later, they opened their charming home, 24 Fifth Avenue. This year, the Foundation is once again pleased to share another wonderful home owned by Carrie and Bruce, 1 Fifth Avenue.

“We love the challenge of these historic homes,” says Carrie. “We make every effort to be historically correct.  We love to go into an old home and try to figure out its original layout. That’s really our expertise. We do everything we can to keep the original feel of the house, while at the same time making it more livable.”
To renovate 1 Fifth Avenue was “more fun than a challenge,” she says, adding that this is her favorite of the three Saratoga Springs homes that she and her husband have owned. “It’s just such a comfortable home, and we love the proximity to downtown,” she says.
The house is one of a dozen buildings in Saratoga Springs designed by prominent local architect Samuel Gifford Slocum, who also was responsible for  the Algonquin Building on Broadway, The Annandale and its two sister houses on Clinton Street, and several residences on North Broadway.
Built in 1883, the three-story Victorian residence reflects the success and optimism that infused Saratoga Springs as it was developing into one of the country’s most fashionable resorts. People like Robert H. Trim, a plumber and gas fitter who bought the corner lot at Nelson Avenue and Phila Street from Charles and Elizabeth Wellington, wanted to live in houses that reflected their success.  They gravitated to the neighborhoods east of Broadway and north of Union Avenue, where the wealthy summer residents had their homes. In many cases, they even hired the same architects who built the striking homes on North Broadway and Union Avenue to build scaled down versions of those homes.
In 1901 Robert Trim would move to Boston, but his wife and two daughters would remain in the home.  Following his departure, the house was known as the “Trim Cottage,” a boarding house operated by his wife Margaret.  Margaret passed away in 1919 and her daughter Clara continued to operate the boarding house until her death in 1924.
Clara’s sister, Margaret, continued to live in the house. In 1911, Margaret opened the Skidmore Tea Room.  After several different locations, Margaret moved the Skidmore Tea Room, also known as the Trim Tea Room and House of Trim restaurant, to 1 Fifth Avenue in 1926. The Tea Room remained open until 1960. Two years later, Margaret passed away.  In 1963, Willard J. Grande purchased the house and two years later sold it to Tim and Carolyn Weatherwax, who owned the home until 1981. After that the house had multiple owners.
Upon acquiring the house in June, 2012, Carrie and Bruce immediately started a top-to-bottom renovation that included the putting in new insulation, wiring, and central air-conditioning; expanding and remodeling the kitchen; creating new family rooms on each of the three floors; and erecting a decorative metal fence around the perimeter of the property.
One of the great joys of the project, says Carrie, was ripping up layers of linoleum in the kitchen and discovering original wood flooring underneath. She was delighted also to find a place in the home for a sink that she salvaged from 655 North Broadway and a carriage door from 24 Fifth Avenue.  “It’s been really fun to bring the house back,” she says.
The one feature of 1 Fifth Avenue that Carrie Hansen appreciates most is its spectacular wrap-around porch, which is rumored to have been added in the 1930s by George H. Bull, president of the Saratoga Race Association.  Bull never owned the house, but rented it during the racing season for ten years before his death in 1943. According to the magazine The Blood-Horse, of Bull’s varied duties, his favorite was entertaining. “He was a peerless host and his luncheons and parties for society’s sporting element upheld the Spa’s long-standing position in the social world.”  Undoubtedly, during that time the porch was the scene of many lavish post-race parties.
When asked why she and her husband so readily offer their homes for the Candlelight Tour, she says, “That’s simple. The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation has supported us through all of our renovations, and I’m happy to give back.”
The Candlelight House Tour is Friday, December 6^th and features festively decorated houses of Saratoga Springs’ east side and an after party and silent auction at Union Gables Bed & Breakfast, 55 Union Avenue.  Houses are open to tour from 5pm – 9pm.  The after party starts at 7:30pm and goes until 10:30pm.  Tour and After Party tickets are $75 for members and $85 for non-members.  Tour-Only Tickets are $40 for members and $50 non-members.    Tickets are available for purchase online at www.saratogapreservation.org, by phone (518) 587-5030, or at Foundation offices at 112 Spring Street, Suite 203.
Founded in 1977, the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation is a private, not-for-profit organization that promotes preservation and enhancement of the architectural, cultural and landscaped heritage of Saratoga Springs.
This article originally appeared in The Saratogian.