This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Is Woodside This Old House Magazine material? You bet!

It’s old news that Woodside, Maplewood’s oldest building has been selected to appear on the back cover of the year end issue of This Old House magazine.  It’s a slot reserved for historic properties that are special enough to warrant an appeal to the nation and beyond for rescue from their current situation.

Reader Chrys Kramer deserves the credit for contacting the folks at This Old House magazine earlier this year.  She and Patch editor Doug Miner have been invaluable to this effort.

If you’re wondering what I could possibly say about Woodside that I haven’t already said in a previous blog, be tolerant.  Let me get this one out and then I hope to post a few more about other historic Maplewood buildings.

Find out what's happening in Maplewood-Brentwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

When a This Old House editor asked me to photograph the interior and exterior of Woodside, I was apprehensive as to what conditions I would find inside.  I was last in the building a few years ago with some prospective buyers that didn’t pan out.  It was still in pretty good shape at that time.

Well I’m happy to report that very little has changed on the inside.  The generous, anonymous roof donor is the true savior of Woodside.  It is interesting to see how little effect missing window panes have on the building.  Truly the only negative changes are a few more broken windows and some missing siding.

Find out what's happening in Maplewood-Brentwoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Woodside has no structural problems that it didn’t have when I was working on it in 2004-6.  The foundation is a very good one and hasn’t moved one iota.  Part of the reason could be that I had dug trenches around the house to drain rainwater away from any adjacent low areas.  Also Jeff Todisman, Peter Williams and I removed two large concrete slabs that had been pored right next to the house.  They had been threatening the wood sill.

The enclosed porches on the western end of the house are in terrible shape and should be removed.  They were poorly built but their collapse has in no way affected the structure of the house proper.  In fact left alone long enough, it appears they would remove themselves.  But we’re not waiting that long

I’m optimistic about the future of Woodside for the first time in a long awhile.  The renewed effort sparked by the council’s vote has attracted the attention of folks who have known success in this area.  It was the council’s vote that did it.  Do you think they may have been hoping things would go this way?





We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Maplewood-Brentwood