Isn't it curious. There I was, visiting in the South, which is country with a lot more history than the West. Well, maybe not that much more, but certainly it preceded the Civil War. Yet as I peered at the various older houses while exploring Cajun country and Memphis, I saw few towers! Even as a little girl, I wanted a tower room of my very own. Which is why my search pattern is in good working order. If there's a tower, I see it!
And so I had to return to Prescott to collect pictures of wonderful old houses with towers. Nor was this a matter of just hitting Mt. Vernon Street. Actually, the beautiful blue above and the hard to see big round corner below were the only examples from our famous street of period Victorians.
Cortez Street examples are equally cool. The blue above and the white below sit cheek by jowl just down the street from Cupper's. In the past, the blue house served as a B&B, while its handsome companion houses a business, I believe. Aren't the mullioned windows on the white building especially lovely?
Yes, there is a Victorian special on Grove Street and, below, on Marina, if I'm not mistaken.
You'll find two of the most outstanding houses with towers on Union Street, that short mid-block street climbing the hill up from the Courthouse.
Over on/near Coronado is a small cluster of old-style homes dating from the 90s. The 1990s, to be exact. They were a pet project of a contractor who had a yen to create new Victorians from the old Sears house plans he had the good luck to locate. He managed to sell seven at the Coronado site and a handful elsewhere, but unfortunately, the local market for new housing was more attuned to McMansions.
Another of the new old houses. The tower cap sits atop what we called an
octagon front in Chicago. One of my friends there threatened to buy a new modern-style row house built as part of Hyde Park urban renewal; her idea was to
improve it by adding an octagon front.
This particular house was built for a woman who had a fancy Georgian doll house with a central square tower. Another of the new-old structures.
Not every Victorian in town has been gentrified! I believe that this house was still renting out rooms when I took the picture a couple of years ago.
Nor is every tower sprouted from the second or third story. Sitting over on McCormick is the restored house that had belonged to a famous madam in Prescott's earlier days. As for the Leroux Street building below, my daughter-in-law's Aunt T., a delightful little woman who moved to Prescott for 2-3 years, lived briefly in a old converted apartment which included the dormer window. It was while driving the city with Patty on Thursday that I discovered gentrification was well underway. No idea whether its future is as housing or as a business location.
As a final note, this post is dedicated to Mari-Nanci who
photographs the wonderful mansions in New York's fashionable Saratoga Springs. I thought she would be interested in some of our historic houses.
Linkage: If you like to eat out, you should read the current post by Lemegeton, who recently moved to town and has been sampling downtown eateries. Prescott Arts Beat is currently posting three podcasts, interviews with Tsunami-on-the-Square honchos; the event is coming very soon (June 10).
This is the third year that Cookie Brinkmeyer and friends have organized a Victorian Christmas boutique to end all boutiques. Next Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 13, 14, 15) in the beautiful old Victorian house at the corner of Park and Gurley. To give you an idea of the kinds of goodies, almost all of them handmade, that will be on sale, here are pictures from the 2008 boutique. Lots of stuff there I'd like to have!
Old fashioned tree ornaments...
...plush, posh pumpkins for seasonal fall color...
...and a reminder of our other favorite American holiday, Thanksgiving.
I think the gents are supposed to be Thanksgiving pilgrims, but I find they look remarkably like Snoopy.
Looking for a gift? How about classic and simple wooden vehicles for a boy child...
...and dolls for the girls, if you're willing to give them away. Personally, I like the cat in its fancy dress, although that sulky rag doll suffering from an excess of ennui also gets my vote.
More primitives for the collector. And how about those cute little bats!
Jewelry and seasonal bags.
A fine selection of hot pads (above) and a basket full of smiley heads (below -- they might be sachets, for all I know!) Also there will be fresh baked goods (my kind of goodie), fleece blankets, sachets, decorative pillows, as well as a master knife maker who will demonstrate his craft.
One of the charities supported by the boutique is the Citizens Cemetery restoration.
Did I happen to mention that this is your chance to get a look at the inside of the historic Brinkmeyer home (above)? That, by itself, is worth the visit to the boutique.
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