Day Two

The disassembly continues. After the non-historic add-ons to the house were taken off yesterday, the workers from Milner and Carr Conservation began taking out the windows, doors and some of the other fixtures. So far all the windows have been removed, along with both doors and their wooden doorframes. The original prefabricated wooden windows, including frames, sash, and panes, have been bundled in preparation for their restoration. We hope to keep as many of the original materials as possible, so they can be used in the reassembly, and remain a part of the historic structure. By the end of the day the windows were packed up in preparation for their trip to Philadelphia, where the restoration work will be done.

In addition, the copper roof on the entry portico has been taken down, and the non-original chimney was taken off.

On the inside, the removal of the screen has returned the living room-kitchen-dining area to its original space, a much more open plan. This gives us more of a sense of how it would have originally looked, although of course now it is much more cluttered with construction equipment.

The bathroom has also undergone major changes. The window, which had been filled in while the house was inhabited, has been knocked through again allowing natural light in the bathroom for the first time in years. The toilet, not original to the house, has been removed, along with the medicine cabinet and lavatory, which are original.

When the cabinets were taken off of the wall in the larger bedroom and next to the back door, the steel walls underneath were still in perfect condition. The wooden cabinets helped preserve the walls behind them allowing them to stay in good condition even when the house was neglected and the rest of it began to fall apart. It was exciting to see what the original walls would have looked like when Rusty was first built, and the General Houses logo was even still on the wall of the bedroom. We also discovered that there is no wall separating the entry space/living room from the smaller of the two bedrooms, another way the builders maximized available space and cut down on use of materials.

We’re off to a good start with the disassembly and we hope to learn more about Rusty as we get further into the process!