Blackwood
Associates, Inc. - Architects and Planners, was selected by the Fairmont Community
Development Partnership to provide architectural services for the historic
rehabilitation of the former Hutchinson House residence. The Hutchinson House is located
at 701 Benoni Avenue in Fairmont. The rehabilitation efforts consisted of returning the
exterior facade back to its original condition and renovating the interior residential
space.
BAI
was notified that the Hutchinson House project, the General
Contractors, Home Pride
Enterprises and the Owners, the Fairmont
Community Development Partnership were awarded the 1999
AIA Craftsmanship Honor Award for their
efforts on restoring the exterior of the Hutchinson House. Click on
any of the thumbnails to view detail shots of the Hutchinson House.
The Story
This turn of the century
residential structure was designed by architect Andrew C. Lyons for local
coal baron Clyde E. Hutchinson, his wife Lydia, and their eight children.
It was reportedly constructed by a ship building crew. The Hutchinson
House was purchased in 1998 by the Fairmont Community Development
Partnership. A non-profit group, the Partnership's primary goal is the
rehabilitation and revitalization of residential communities in the
Fairmont area. This property was the first historically significant
project undertaken by the Partnership and has become the crown achievement
of their
efforts.
The condition of the property when purchased was dismal. Renovations
performed by previous owners had turned the single family residence into a
seven unit apartment building. Lack of adequate maintenance and overuse
had allowed much of the structure to deteriorate to the point of near
collapse. Well-intended but poorly planned attempts at preserving the
striking exterior had resulted in a mish-mash of quick fixes and mis-matched
materials. Most of the recent construction efforts lacked any real
attention to detail and Fairmont was left with an eye-sore along a major
traffic artery.
Extensive research
provided background information not only on construction techniques of the
era but specifically for this structure. Using early photographic and
postcard evidence, particular attention was paid to maintaining the
original, and often unusual, framing configurations and construction
techniques. During the discovery and demolition portion of the Project
structural details and techniques were noted and recorded so that new
construction would match the original. Whenever possible new materials
matched old and when a material was not commercially available custom
tooling re-created the evidenced detailing of the original structure.
Portions of
the stone foundations were reset to accommodate for 100 years of settling
and weather abuse. All subsequent interior partitioning was removed thus
opening up the rooms to the original arrangement. Three chimneys were
removed and rebuilt using the original brick - some of which had been
stored off site for nearly two decades. The existing slate roof, built-in
gutter system and much of the underlying wood structure were replaced. The
cold soldered copper flashing, crickets, valleys, trim, gutters and
downspouts were also replaced with new copper to match the original. Four
large porches, including two odd, octagonal porches, and the porte cochere
were removed to subgrade and replaced to match the original. A
staggered/crimped-seam copper roof with cold soldered joints was
re-installed on the porches also to match the original. Much of the
exterior siding was replaced, as was the majority of the decorative wood
trim and panels, dentil molding, corbels, and columns, pilasters and
associated capitals and bases.
Finally the entire structure was repainted with a scheme based on the
primary color of the original paint job. The detailed care and respect
paid to this House is self-evident. It is one of the premier examples of
historic preservation in the State.
