"BRICKYARD"
We beat back the vines above Washington Park and found "Brickyard", The C.B. & Ora Dell Crabtree House, a Dutch Colonial "kit house" built in 1920! We call it "Brickyard" because as we were renovating, it seemed that everywhere we put a shovel in the ground, we found ANOTHER brick!
OUR FAMOUS NEIGHBOR
That may make sense when you realize that "Brickyard" sits right next to The Sherwood-Menton House (built in 1846) -- established by The Rev. Adiel Sherwood as The Cape Girardeau Academy - a Baptist school for boys; then later, The Washington Seminary for Young Women; next home to the lawyer Mr. Matthew Moore, who was editor of the Southern leaning newspaper, 'The Cape Girardeau Eagle', who fled with his family when Cape became occupied during the Civil War, leaving the house fully furnished. Seized by The Union as "Southern contraband" it served as officers' quarters and a Civil War hospital. We have one of the most storied and historic houses in Cape Girardeau as our neighbor!
GOING DUTCH
The architectural style of "Brickyard" is Dutch Colonial Revival, a style of architecture popular in the Hudson River Valley with the early settlers of New York. In restoring the house we decided to explore that connection even further.
The "Dutch" influence gets repeated throughout the house; from the Dutch door welcoming guests on the front porch to the many tulips and other flowers planted in the yard; from the blue and white, vintage "everyday" dinnerware called "Countryside", a Delft dinnerware pattern made by Wedgwood to the antique blue and white Delft porcelain and brass chandelier we imported for the kitchen! (Okay, "technically" our Delft chandelier came from Denmark ... but, close enough!)
THE LAYOUT
The original 1920 floorplan of this kit home on Washington Avenue was actually called, "The Washington" by The Standard Home Company.
UPSTAIRS: featured the "private" bedroom and bath spaces
* Bedroom 1: is a "master suite" with a modern Queen brass bed from Crate amd Barrell featuring Ralph Lauren (or similar quality) bed linens. Storage is not a problem with an antique armoire and two closets -- one with a shoe drawer (soon to be completed). And at the end of the day, curl up with a favorite book, throw blanket and a cup of tea in the vintage plaid reading chair or two red Chinoiserie wingback chairs alongside a large round, tufted ottoman.
* Bedroom 2: This bedroom is designed to bring the outdoors in. It is furnished with a Deco inspired, burled wood "bedroom suite". This antique set from The Commonwealth of Kentucky includes a full size bed, vanity desk, and a dresser. There are two closets in this bedroom.
* Bathroom 1: is a spacious full bath with a large walk in shower supplied with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Step out of the shower and onto a hygienic diatomaceous earth bathstone while drying off with lush 100% organic Turkish cotton bath towels from Crate and Barrel. The bathroom has great lighting as well as natural light. The toilet is discretely tucked behind a wall
* The Laundry Room - is conveniently located on the second floor and has all the essential items: ironing board, iron, spray starch, laundry detergent, Oxyclean, a place to let clothes hang to dry, and a Samsung stackable front-loading washing machine and dryer.
The MAIN FLOOR featured the "common areas" of the house for shared living.
* The Living Room - Design in the 1920's was surprisingly "modern"" reflecting the discovery of atoms and the promise of an atomic age -- note the sunburst mirror behind the sofa and the four Andromeda Sputnik wall sconces by Robert Abbey.
We also drew inspiration from the Palm Springs retreats of the starlit set who graced the silver screen. Desert Hollywood bungalows in places like Old Las Palmas held Bohemian and Hollywood glam elements together, in equal parts.
Our interpretation of that deliberate blending of styles is perhaps best expressed by the Bohemian Bamboo Loveseat and Ottoman, the antique blonde, Japanese Tansu Chest, and the elegant Ralph Lauren Kirsten Sofa that is practically a day bed -- perfect for afternoon naps or an unexpected guest.
The vintage Whittall Anglo-Wilton Persian rug called "Bird of Paradise" in the center of the room. This particular rug came from Mother Grant, matriarch of the Grant Family. This pattern known as "Bird of Paradise" was one of three matching rugs in varying sizes that Mother Grant collected. Matthew J. Whittall’s handsome and durable wool carpets were made in Worcester, Massachusetts and were sold under the name “Whittall’s Anglo-Persian Wilton."
The Living Room has the widest range of antique pieces -- from a weighted Yamaha electronic keyboard -- the rehearsal keyboard for San Francisco Lyric Opera and Urban Opera on the south end of the room to the antique, Elias Ingraham "kitchen clock" -- a wedding present given to great grandparents, Avery Rosewell, Sr, and Sadie (Hahn) Crites, -- faithfully chiming the hour on the north end of the room. Or how about the Sony Frame 50" Frame Television hung above an antique mantel (more on the mantel in a moment) while Mother Grant's rocker -- which rocked many-a Grant baby "many-a mile" -- now sits in the corner, observing all of the comings and goings at Brickyard.
Fun fact: The light gold wall stencil, shimmering behind the Kirsten sofa, has a bee in it. See if you can spot it.
The advent of kit homes brought about a standardization of certain furnishings. By 1920, most fireplace mantels in the uniquely American "kit houses" were 72" long (unless it was for an extremely large mansion or a very small cottage). Sadly, the current mantel is not the original mantel at "Brickyard"; but it is 72" in length. This vintage mantel came from a house near York, Pennsylvania. And as luck would have it, the curvature of the brickwork matches the curvature of the mantel perfectly. Sometimes, you just get lucky!
As beautiful as the fireplace is; it only smokes -- even after we added additional height to the chimney. Given the size of the living room; it will run you out in no time! Someday, we hope to retrofit the fireplace box to help it draw.
* The Dining Room - An elegant, antique Bombay chest stands in front of cork wallpaper on the accent wall and serves as a sideboard. a striking china deck filled with family dinnerware.The dining table and chairs belonged to Big Mom and Papa, Freda and Gene Grant. This was the table the family used for supper when they lived out on the farm, just north of Sikeston, in "Grant City". The table also hosted many of Papa's poker games and countless hands of Liverpool rummy with Big Mom's TWELVE brothers and sisters; the Lambert's of Sikeston. (Yes, THOSE Lamberts.)
THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Located in Downtown Cape Girardeau, “Brickyard” sits on a high bluff, overlooking two parks:
Washington Park, a neighborhood park with three acres of open space featuring a shelter with picnic tables, a large play structure with several swings and slides, and a small community garden
… and Missouri Park, featuring the city skate park and a small basketball court
LOCATION. LOCATION. LOCATION
“Brickyard” is only a few blocks from:
The Sherwood-Minton House - next door
Washington Park - right across the street
Old Lorimier Cemetery - 1 block
Missouri Park - 2 blocks
Broadway - shopping & dining - 3 blocks
The Mississippi River - 4 blocks
Century Casino - 5 blocks
SEMO University - Main Campus - 6 blocks
Main Street - shopping and dining - 7 blocks
Show-Me Center - concert venue - 8 blocks
Capaha Park - 9 blocks
SEMO Houck Stadium - 10 blocks
Mercy Hospital - 11 blocks
SEMO River Campus - 12 blocks
ACCESSIBILITY
There is on-street parking directly in front of the house. From Washington Avenue a cement staircase nestled between boxwoods and solar lumiere pathlights leads up, Up, UP fifteen steps to the front yard! The path continues across the yard and up five wooden steps to the front porch.
