Page 27 - Ma 2023 Galveston Monthly

ceiling.
Remnants of the tastes of homeowners in other eras
were also revealed when they removed the sheetrock
from the kitchen and bathroom.
“There was intact ivy patterned borders and wallpaper
there, probably from the 1930s. The only holes in the
wallpaper in the kitchen were from the nails holding up
the sheetrock that was applied over it.”
“To get back to the original board walls of the kitchen
we had to pull out thousands of tacks that had held the
cheesecloth up. The paint on those boards was a mustardy
ochre, which was kind of neat.
“The bathroom had a wallpaper on it that looked like
a kind of tile with fish, that had an Asian look. I think
it’s fascinating to imagine what the house looked like in
different times.”
“We’re going to put the bathroom back like it was
originally. you can see ghosting on the wall where the high
tank commode was located. It once had a claw foot tub,
high tank commode and wall-mount sink.”
The cottage has several small but welcoming rooms,
some that offered the couple a design challenge
including a living room with 45-degree angle corners, two
doorways, and three walls of walk-through windows. The
residents enjoy an on-going search for period- and style-
appropriate items to accent the décor.
“We wanted appropriate furniture, though the parlor suit
is a little bit earlier than the house. The hall piece is totally
period.”
“The original owner was German, so a wall hanging in
the hallway is German. Where the grocery store is now
on the corner, was once a German Lutheran Church, and
the two-story structure across the street from it was a
German corner store,” the current resident said.
“According to our research, almost every house on the
block was once owned by a German family and they
probably spoke German, which is neat.”
The earliest layout of the house included three chimneys
and fireplaces: one for the front room, a second shared
by the two bedrooms, and a third for the dining room
and kitchen. There is currently only one chimney, but the
couple plans to add two ornamental chimneys to replicate
the original appearance.
Work continues on the house, with plans to restore
basement spaces, replace roof slates and cresting, finish
hand replicating the porch balustrades, matching panes of
rare patterned colored glass, and numerous other more
tedious projects.
The residents continue to find reminders of previous
owners, including the words “My sister lives here, I live
Photos by kathleen maca on 38 Street” beneath the house, along with a date from
th
the 1940s.
Clayton would be proud that the current caretakers of his
creation are paying homage to his work with a meticulous
restoration. GM

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