Take a look at this historic, nearly 200-year old brick home located in the Washington Square neighborhood of Philadelphia. It’s on the market for $1.5 million and features 3 fireplaces, 4 bedrooms and 4.5 baths. Expecting the inside to match the out? Then you’re in for a surprise.
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This is one of the strangest remodels of an historic old home I think I’ve ever seen. They’ve opened it all up and added these sweeping curved staircases. I wonder if there’s any actual living space left?
View from the second-floor landing:
I’m baffled by this renovation. It reminds me a little of the old house I showed you a few months ago that had been given a similar “updated” interior to include a two-story family room that hadn’t been there before. Remember that? (When Bad Remodels Happen to Good Houses.)
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Oh my goodness. That is the saddest thing I’ve seen in quite a while! I can’t believe people would ruin the integrity of an old home like that. I sure hope that someone comes in and restores it back to it’s rightful design!
MissCaron’s last blog post..Manic Monday
All I can think is “echo….echo…echo…..”
Wow, what a disappointment. I hate when people ruin these homes. They tend to do this, then wonder why it doesn’t sell. It is just so depressing.
I sure hope someone buys it and restores it back to it’s wonderful elegance.
Dream Mom’s last blog post..This is Not Your Father’s Hospital Bed-Part III: Looking Forward Instead of Looking Back
I think it is sad when people change the historic integrity of a structure and try to bring it into modern times. What most concerns me (as a historic preservation student) is the mortar and subsequent brick failure above the entrance. It appears like they used the wrong strength and composition of mortar with the historic bricks and it will eventually destroy the facade. It is surprising to see with a house priced at 1.5 million. Thanks for sharing this.
Totally NOT what I was expecting to see! Although the stairs are pretty, it’s sad that the interior has lost it’s historic feel.
~angela @ peonypatch
Angela’s last blog post..Heaven on Earth aka: Antigua
Wow, I LOVE it! It’s fabulous and beautiful! I love all of the exposed brick and the character that is still there. I think this is a great example of modernizing in a big while keeping some of the historical character.
Agreed! A fantastic reenvisioning thta respects the fabric of the original.
Interesting…it is like they tried to make it contemporary yet did not go all the way with it.
Things That Inspire’s last blog post..Light on Two Sides
I actually like the interior, but I’m sad that the original historic feel of the home has been completely lost.
Sarah’s last blog post..Total Money Makeovers
I love the light and air that opening the house brings but it looks like an art gallery, not a home. And can you imagine how sound is going to travel in open spaces like that?
Mary Beth (Cats, Books, Life is Good)’s last blog post..DAMN GIRL! WHAT’D YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR??!!
This would be the perfect house…if you collected stairs.
songbirdtiff’s last blog post..Why Replace When I Can REPAINT
Wow, that just makes me sad. If you want to live in a modern loft, go buy a modern loft. Don’t bugger up a beautiful heritage home to try and make it something it isn’t, and should never be.
And, what ever happened to ROOMS with WALLS?? When did they become the enemy??
I was hoping that this would be a nice remodel but I really don’t like it. I usually like exposed brick but not so much this time- and those drapes are wretched. Love the floors though.
Amy’s last blog post..So….
Yikes! The drapes AND the puny little mantle are both wretched. Maybe they didn’t have any money left after they installed the giant stairs. Oh…now I feel bad…I hate to be mean. I guess you have to give them credit for originality
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AnNicole@OurSuburbanCottage’s last blog post..Keeping it Real: A Decorating Dilemma
Why on earth do people insist on destroying the character of a house? They do that all the time in my neighborhood, they take perfect homes (Victorians, beautiful old Colonials, sweet tiny homes even that were here from the Revolutionary War!), they take these beautiful homes, destroy the footprint, and turn them into these ugly cookie-cutter McMansions inside and out. Ugh!
This is beyond sad. It is criminal
Wow. Hard to imagine ever being able to feel relaxed, warm and cozy in that kind of space. I bet furniture placement would be a nightmare too. And I can’t believe they chose stairs with gaps in between – they give me vertigo just looking at them. Shame….
Struggler’s last blog post..A tale of 2 stores: Old Bananas
That is a shame. The exterior is so lovely. Who needs furniture (or rooms) when you have stairs?!
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HA! Love the two comments: “echo echo echo” and “be great, if you collected stairs.” I kind of like the foyer with the staircase, but, jeez–enough already with the stairs and landings. Bottom line: They’ve totally ruined the integrity of the house. It’s a shame.
poor, poor house. I feel sad for the house… what were they thinking?!
What in the world?! WHY?
Makes me sad, too!
Natalia at FLHomeBlog’s last blog post..Happy Birthday Josh!
Yikes. What’s done is done…would it kill ‘em to add a few area rugs to soften what living space is left?
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I cant believe they would ruin a beautiful old house like that!!! They took away all the original character and warmth.
I think it’s beautiful, but such a waste of space! I’d love to see what it looked like before the remodel.
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ooo—don’t think I like it. That front room could be so beautiful. Too much wasted space. I love the exterior though!
Amanda @ Serenity Now’s last blog post..Tasty Tuesday: Strawberry Pretzel Delight
Ouch. I don’t appreciate this kind of renovation. I understand opening up spaces but this is too much.
In my opinion, it is not tasteful. It is along the same lines as 80′s decor (formica, etc)…in a few years the owners or new owners are going to wonder what the heck they were thinking & try to put it back to it’s classic style. What a shame.
melissa’s last blog post..There’s No Crying in Baseball!
What is up with the contemporary renovation (shudder) & the teeny weeny furniture? Their art, lighting, drapes & furniture do not go with their redesign. Time to refurnish…
melissa’s last blog post..There’s No Crying in Baseball!
Wow- that’s a lot of brick. I don’t excpect people to live in a museum, but if you want a house with a modern feel buy a new house or a condo- don’t destroy a perfectly good historic home. I wonder what the next owners will do with it- try to add historic charm? Aaaaah, to be able to live in Washington Square. It’s my dream part of the city to live.
Laura’s last blog post..Nothing Special
Yikes – it looks like the back lot of a film studio… those railings with the fleur-de-lis? Fugly. I’m so sorry for the house…
Jane @ Beach House’s last blog post..More birds… all around
Wow. I was so looking forward to reading this post because I love interior stone and brick, but I have to agree with the other comments – sad. Interesting, however, and love your blog!
I agree with someone above…if you wanted a loft like feel, why didn’t you *buy* a loft and leave a historic house to someone who loves them.
This is the scary part about historic renovation. I have seen houses completely gutted and then rebuilt with the ‘latest’ wood or granite (popular in the early 2000′s), or perhaps recessed ceiling tiles (popular in rehabs in the 70′s), etc. How can they not TELL when something is just wrong! I had a neighbor pull out 100 year old heart pine floors because beetle bugs had damaged them “slightly” in the past 100 years – they had such character with those marks ! And the bugs were long gone! The new interior for that Victorian is modern everything.
The Old Post Road’s last blog post..$1 House
y’know, I actually like it. Which surprises even myself.
I’m normally all for preservation, and respecting old structures, but if you’re going to do it, do it, and don’t hedge around.
For one, I get the impression that this is in a downtown historic district with lots of historic homes that are well preserved. If you want to live in a place like that, but don’t want that style, I don’t think you should be tied to it. I appreciate a transformation like this much more than ripping it down and starting over.
And who knows what it looked like when they started? Maybe someone in the 60s gutted it and turned it into apartments with shag carpet, or a dry cleaning office…
As for the ‘where are the rooms’ comments, it looks like the ‘atrium’ in these pictures is only the front half of the first two stories (count the windows). We are not even seeing three-quarters (plus the attic on the fourth floor) of the house.
Finally, I do not think that the interior walls are the same brick as the exterior. The exterior has a LongBrick-shortBrick-longBrick-shortBrick pattern. Maybe a double-thick wall with bricks laid perpendicular? The interior is all long bricks. I’m not sure how I feel about the exposed brick if it isn’t actually ‘the exposed brick’ if you know what I mean. hrm…
PlantingOaks’s last blog post..The almost walnut door
Do people actually live in it?? It looks so cold and sparse.
I have no problem with the inside of a house not reflecting the outside — I’ve seen some great modern renovations done to old homes. But this one just looks really confused, like it can’t decide whether it’s modern or traditional. And it’s not welcoming at all.
It COULD be made to look really nice with some vision and a lot of work!!
Kelly @ DesignTies
DesignTies’s last blog post..Blog blues…
I’m not so crazy about the brick walls. It doesn’t feel warm to me at all, and those Philidephia winters last a long time!
I just can’t imagine taking up all that amazing space with those ever-flowing stairways!
Brenda
Brenda Kula’s last blog post..Two For One
Ugh, definitely not my style.
I think it’s cold and ugly and hate the stairs. It would give me vertigo.
This looks more like an office building than a home.
Uhmmm yeah, nooooo!
PlantingOaks mentioned the brick, and that’s what I was going to comment on too. I don’t think it’s technically “exposed”. I think they added it on the inside as part of the remodel. It’s a different color than the exterior, it looks entirely too modern, and the fireplace wall? The building next door, which this one is attached to and one would assume would be the source of the ‘exposed’ brick, does not have brick on that side.
And that fireplace does not go with either the historic side of the house, or the contemporary remodel. It’s like a 1980 ranch house fireplace. Totally missed the mark.
Holly’s last blog post..Housekeeping
Perhaps someone will buy it and turn it into a gallery? I can see no other use for it.
Okay, I’m a bit freaked out by this. Hmmmm…
One word. Bizarre.
jeweledrabbit/Maureen’s last blog post..I’ve Won a Blog Award
Now that is strange! I would think doing that remodel really brought down the house value.
Jenny’s last blog post..Thinking About Homeschooling?
It makes me sad. And what a way to suck the value out of a property.
As a practicing architect and preservation architect, I must say, with shock “Oh, my God!”
Individually some of the aspects of it are pretty. The brick for instance would work well on a much smaller scale somewhere else. I like the floors as well. But the whole package put together like that is to stark, bland and overwhelming and doesn’t work for that house. The outside is really beautiful.
Onlinehandyman’s last blog post..Enter the CSN Rug Giveaway
That is a LOT of stairs!! I wonder if the rooms are really tiny? That is odd!!
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mmmm… i’m not linking this one at all.
i suppose being physically there i might “be enrolled” into this spacious design.
i do love old brick walls, but this all together really doesn’t make me tick.
oh well, to each his own, right?
guylaine
This almost looks like a gallery. But who wants to live in a gallery??? Cuckoo!
the BLAH BLAH BLAHger’s last blog post..Conquering My Fears
I have to say, if you had shown just the inside I would have said, “WOW! Love what they’ve done with a loft.” ‘Cause I do love lofts. But now I’m desperately wishing I was there the day the 200 year-old woodwork got put out with the trash…
laura @ the shore house’s last blog post..Hooked on the OG Flea
It looks like the house has been turned inside out. Weird. Some nice furniture but I’d keep feeling like I was standing on the porch waiting to get in.
lucyatfourwallsandaroof’s last blog post..Ode to Orange
What?! Why did they do this? Shame on them.
It doesn’t even look good. It looks like you are living in a big, brick box.
I’m a bit like Planting Oaks. I rather like lofty contemporary conversion of old buildings. Now, this one seems a bit much, but part of me kind of likes the slight “jarring” of the design. It does feel a bit self conscious or maybe exhibitionistic, though. Sort of like, “Look at me! I have buttloads of money and I’m ever-so-hip!”
Now in defense of changing floor plans and changing a building’s integrity, you really never know what they started with. When we did our 150 y/o house we came in with the notion of saving the historical integrity, but once we got into it, we realized that there was one. In fact, what there was, was unpleasant to live in.
A house is supposed to serve you, not the other way around. It works best if you can honor it’s history and quality, but if the quality is gone and some of the history doesn’t work for you, then make the place what you want it to be, guilt free. IMO.
Oh … you KNOW how I feel about this! LOL Ah well, like someone commented.. at least they didn’t tear it down.
rue’s last blog post..The reluctant model for a very good cause
I actually said: “Oh, my gosh!” out loud when I saw the hideous interior. How could they butcher such a beautiful house like that? Even if they walked into some horrifically tacky 1970s-reno-gone-bad, I just can’t believe that they thought *this* was better.
*sigh*
What a shame.
Sarah’s last blog post..Party Preparations
What a disapointment, if you’re going to go modern why not go all the way and have some large striking artwork to hang. The tiny oils just don’t work in the space and the furniture isn’t scaled to fit the area or the modern open feel. If you’re going to ruin a perfectly grand historic home at least make it a stunning architectural statement.
Looking at the outside I wondered how it only had 4 bedrooms – it looks like you could fit at least 6 into a 4-storey house like that. Then I saw the interior shots – I sort of like the huge open room but then you realise how much living space you’re losing for no real reason! That mezzanine level could be so much bigger but as it is, it’s just wasted space. You don’t even get a view out of those windows….
I love this site! I just happen to find it after a search for info on the “Mary Tyler Moore Show” house. Great topics!
I do know a little back story on this house. It’s located a few blocks from where I live in Philadelphia.
The neighborhood where this house was located was in a decline for years, and the houses were often neglected and in disrepair. The accompanying info on the link provided says it was moved (saved) for the construction of the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia in 1978. Hopefully, someday, a thoughtful restoration of the house will be considered.
http://diamond.temple.edu:81/search~S10?/Xhouse+moved&searchscope=10&SORT=R/Xhouse+moved&searchscope=10&SORT=R&SORT=RZ&extended=0&SUBKEY=house%20moved/1%2C8%2C8%2CB/frameset&FF=Xhouse+moved&searchscope=10&SORT=R&1%2C1%2C
Wow. I love it. ANd would love it even more if that brick were a different colour. Definitely haven’t seen anything like this before.
I like to call these “remuddles”
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