Restoring the Inn

Purchase History and Overall Renovation

We came across this house in April 2000 and fell in love. The minute we entered we knew it had potential and decided then that we would renovate the home and restore it to its original splendor in the hopes of someday turning it into a Bed and Breakfast. When friends and family first saw the house, they had a hard time sharing our vision, but we believed it had tremendous potential.

This home was built in 1902 and enjoyed a very large property that faced the St. Johns River. Unfortunately, over the years, the property was divided and sold, the house was turned into an eight-unit apartment complex, and an addition was placed on the original front of the property to add more apartment units. This defaced the property and it no longer had a main grand entrance on Riverside Avenue. When we purchased the house, the interior had been completely destroyed and what was left had to be stripped down to the two-by-fours. In doing so, we were able to locate the original walls and ceiling heights via heart pine stud walls and joists. This also allowed us to completely renovate by installing new electric, plumbing, heat/ac, fire sprinkler system and foam insulation.

At the time we renovated, there were no known photographs of the original home that we were aware of, but we tried to restore it to what we believe existed in 1902. Because the main entrance was closed off with the addition of the apartments, we located the original wrap around porch within the covered walls and recreated the entrance on the opposite side of the house. This gave us a 70-foot wraparound porch and a new address on Oak Street. We were recently lucky enough to receive a photo of the house as it looked in 1905, from the granddaughter of the owner. It was thrilling to see what we had recreated as the wraparound porch on Oak Street, looked exactly like the original wraparound porch that once faced Riverside!

Renovations on this 6,000 square foot home took 18 months to complete. During this time we recreated the original trim baseboard, ceiling, door and window molding using remnants of the original pieces; duplicated the railings and balusters; refinished the original heart pine floors; refurbished the double hung sash windows and restored the four fireplaces making them gas operable. There were only two original doors left in the home. We brought in 24 solid eight-foot cypress paneled doors from a New Orleans 1908 home to complete our project.

Physical and Historical Significance

The William M. Angas House was constructed early in the development of the Riverside neighborhood after the Great Fire of 1901. The building's original address was 1501 Riverside Avenue when the house enjoyed an unobstructed view of the St. John's River and held a place on "The Row" (a local nickname referring to Riverside Avenue's prestigious homes). Riverside is one of Jacksonville's oldest and most historically significant residential neighborhoods.
Notable features of this three-story 1902 Wood Frame Vernacular home include a steeply pitched gable roof, two cross-gable extensions, a mansard extension, a hip extension, shed dormers and an irregular ground plan. The eaves line is also embellished at the gable ends with a flared mansard treatment. The exterior wall fabric is drop siding. Fenestration consists of 1/1, 12/12, 12/8 double hung sash windows and a sliding window with four lights. Other features include a tripartite window on the east gable end and balcony on the east elevation.

By the 1980's, a two-story concrete block structure was added to the south elevation. The main structure was divided into eight apartments. This addition combined with the eight apartments converted the house into twelve apartment units. After the concrete block addition, there was no main recognized entrance to the house that once faced Riverside Avenue and the St. John's River.

At the time of our acquisition of the house, it had been gutted down to the two-by-fours. The first floor interior was divided into three great rooms with three fireplaces as well as a sun porch with seven twelve-pane double hung windows. The impressive original staircase to the second floor led to a main landing with three large rooms, one with a fireplace. The back servant's staircase from the second to third floor led to the attic-like floor with pitched ceilings and two generously sized rooms with additional nooks.

Top