Sometimes I think I’m so darn lucky with the places my real estate career takes me into.
I happen to LOVE heritage buildings and for some reason, I can feel the lives and living that have occurred in the years gone by. (Warning: I also imagine that I know what dogs are saying). It’s as though the walls come alive.
Recently, I listed the only remaining house smack in the middle of Collingwood’s downtown. Amidst plazas and banks, there is this two storey old home that was used residentially until a few years ago. The occupant was born in the house and lived there for over 90 years under unusual circumstances but that’s another story. Today, descendants of the original owners from 1897 still own the house giving a continuity of stories rarely found.
Stunningly, an old wooden addition across the back is believed to have been built in 1830, pre-dating the town itself. That is likely the oldest structure in Collingwood. There is an old barn on the property, century old trees and a full-width verandah across the front with unusual, profiled pickets. Approaching the property, I could immediately imagine a pioneer family toiling the land which was then known to be swampy to the waters edge. Later, I could imagine the family sitting on the front porches watching the bustling commerce of an emerging town with carriages trotting by and ships sounding their bells as they approached the harbour.
Today, the house is vacant, vandalized and boarded up. It was tremendously exciting for me to wander inside with a flashlight and even in the semi-darkness, I could feel so much life gone by. The old wooden portion is sadly rotting away but one can still see the tiny partitioned rooms and the ladder leading straight up to what was likely a sleeping platform. Inside the main house, the paper thin wallpaper, the porcelain chandeliers, the filigreed designs on the wooden staircase the light dappling through transom windows helped me to imagine cooking in a wood oven, cold nights without central heat, a hand-cranked Victrola and lace tatted cushions.
Thankfully, this precious testament to days gone by is located within the Heritage District and cannot be demolished easily. As it sits on a full quarter acre of land zoned for downtown commercial uses, I hope a creative developer will come and breathe new life into it so it will stand for the next century.
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[...] Collingwood Council has announced a new Heritage Grant Program. Owners of designated heritage properties can apply to receive a grant toward the conservation and restoration of the heritage features of their properties. Grant amounts of one half of eligible costs up to $3,000 are available. I’ll bet this would qualify. [...]