NORFOLK — It’s often said that “they don’t build houses like they used to.”
Whether that’s true or not, there are certainly some things in older homes that you won’t find in newer, more modern homes.
Located in Norfolk’s historic Colonial Place neighborhood is a unique 1914 Dutch Colonial Revival house that features a slate-covered gambrel roof with flared eaves; generous amounts of beautiful woodwork inside; and a second-floor “sleeping porch,” something that has long ago gone out of style.
“The home was built in two phases but retains most of the original woodwork, original wood floors, and the fireplaces still work,” said Claudia Mackintosh, the listing agent with Chandler Realty. “While it’s Dutch Colonial outside, inside it almost has more of an arts and crafts feel.”
Inside, dark wood dominates the coffered ceiling while doors and windows are framed by it. The fireplaces are brick, but the mantels are made from dark wood. A shelf for displaying plates — also in dark wood — runs around the walls of the dining room and the living room. In the dining room, there’s a built-in curio cabinet with lead-trimmed glass.
The living room and dining room are divided by a large wood feature that includes two floor-to-ceiling columns and small display cabinets on one side.
Original French doors, also dark wood, lead from the living room out onto the screened-in porch overlooking Mayflower Road and Knitting Mill Creek.
“It’s built on the water so, of course, the focus is on the water,” added Mackintosh.
Heading upstairs the numerous newel posts are also solid wood, as are the spindles and railing.
The upstairs sleeping porch — so called because in the days before air conditioning families could sleep on them during the long, hot summer nights — has since been converted into a playroom with glass windows instead of screens.
There are also a number of original light fixtures remaining in the 103-year-old home.
Colonial Place was platted in 1903 by George W. Dillard, president of the Sterling Place Development Company and was intended to be a “high-class” development. However, between 1903 and 1912 less than 20 homes had been built. Restrictions lessened and between 1912 and 1941 an additional 750 buildings were constructed.
In 2002, Colonial Place was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Its street names harken back to colonial times (Mayflower, Plymouth, Colonial, Newport) and to the original 13 colonies (Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, etc.). The neighborhood is bounded on three sides by water: Knitting Mill Creek, East Haven, and the Lafayette River — which was originally known as Tanner’s Creek.
Despite being so close to the water, Mackintosh said the home doesn’t require flood insurance.
For more information about this Connecticut Ave. home visit Chandler Reality.
