20th Century Looks, 21st Century Livability

It takes a special eye, an awesome architect, a skilled contractor and a passionate owner to bring a home back to life after many years of neglect. The transformation that took place in the Hyde Park home of Allan and Carol Hallquist is nothing short of amazing. “This house was a complete mess,” Allan says. “It was packed high with junk from floor to ceiling all throughout the house.”

Architect Craig Shaw agrees. “I truly had an ‘oh, my God’ reaction,” he remembers. “There were enormous amounts of trash everywhere. We couldn’t even see the floor. But I could tell that this house had magnificent bones. If you looked over the top of the junk, you could see nice things about this house.”

The Hallquists had an offer on another house in Hyde Park at the time, but that deal was falling through because of inspection issues. “A neighbor took me into this home when the owners were out to dinner,” Allan says. “Despite the mess, we could see the beauty. I stood in the living room and said, ‘I want this house.’”

That was in 2000. The couple spent a great deal of time hauling away junk once the house was theirs. Then it was time for the renovation. The 7,000-square-foot, three-story house was built in 1912 and had eight bedrooms and seven fireplaces. And although the house does indeed have good bones, many repairs had to be made.

“The house was dilapidated, it had water damage, and it was also damaged from rodents that had lived there,” remarks contractor Gary Fischer, owner of G.A. Fischer Company. “The good thing was that there was no structural damage. It wasn't a tear-down type house.”

The boilers to the heating system and all the wiring and plumbing were replaced, sagging floors were repaired and five central air units installed. “The ceiling in the living room was falling in, so we repaired that, too,” Allan says. “Then we added bathrooms on the second floor.”

Some of the bedrooms were converted into studies, with a second-floor reading room enclosed by three walls of glass. New molding had to match what was already there, so it was custom-made. Plaster repairs were made, and tile was chosen to give the house an old feel.

“I specialize in working on older homes,” Gary notes. “This home was modernized, but it still has the flavor of a 1912 home.”

The Hallquists had renovated homes before and knew exactly what they wanted, which was a big help to Craig. “It was my job to articulate what they wanted and transform those thoughts into a three-dimensional reality,” he explains. “We started trying to get space for the family to actually live in. No one wants a 1910 bathroom or kitchen. We needed to keep the home's integrity and make it livable for this century.”

The cramped kitchen led to the idea of building an addition to the home. There simply wasn't enough space and virtually no opportunities for cabinets, so several schemes were drafted to expand the house. “These older homes oftentimes have a 12- by 12-foot kitchen that has eight doors leading into it. And there were no other spaces for the family to gather on the first floor. So the need for expansion became obvious,” Craig says.

The size of the original kitchen eventually tripled, with a hearth room off it that the Hallquists love. Windows were custom-made to match what was already there, and the outside brick was matched as closely as possible.

“Working with older homes is sometimes a challenge because you're not just buying something off the shelf and installing it,” Gary says. “Old houses have so much more character than new ones. I like bringing a house back to what it was 100 years ago.”

Bringing this magnificent home back to life and discovering what was there so many years ago has been enormously satisfying for everyone involved. “This is a great house, and it would be fun to talk to the original architect and hear about all the parties that were held here during World War I,” Allan says.

“I'm really glad that someone made that commitment to Hyde Park,” Craig adds. “This is one of the homes of which I am most proud.”