Winner in the Best Interior Renovation & Habitat for Humanity Resourceful Renovation categories:
Tom and Lisa McHenry for
740 Washington Street
The previous owner of Tom and Lisa McHenry’s circa 1893 home at 740 Washington Street (winner in the Best Interior Renovation and Habitat for Humanity Resourceful Renovation categories and Honorable Mention in the Best Bathroom Renovation category) had lived there since the 1950s. Over the decades, circumstances required that she convert and divide the home’s three full floors into four rental units. Such was the state of the house when purchased by the McHenrys. Undaunted, their love of old houses compelled them to buy the monumental “fixer” with the goal of restoring it to its original grandeur as a single residence. In researching the three-story, stone Richardsonian-Romanesque style house, they discovered it was the work of well known Denver architects Ernest Varian and Frederick Sterner. Together from the1890s until 1901, Varian and Sterner completed several high profile projects, including the 1889 Denver Athletic Club and perhaps their most historically important work, the Tears-McFarlane House, which Historic Denver, Inc. was instrumental in saving from demolition. Sadly, much of the interior of 740 Washington was in poor condition. Crumbling plaster walls throughout required that all except the third floor walls be replaced, and the walls constructed to subdivide the spaces into rental units had to be removed, leaving a messy wake. With the exception of this, and a few logistically necessary and code-required changes, the McHenrys tried to stay as true to the original footprint and layout of the house as possible. (A 1960s/70s addition off the back was kept stylistically appropriate to the period of its construction and was not considered in the contest.) Restoration work falling under the heading of “going above and beyond for the historic principle of it” included the painstaking removal of many layers of paint from striking Eastlake brass hinges, door knobs and woodwork throughout the house, and closely replicating what was left of the original 12-inch high baseboards. Rebuilding a destroyed double hung window (part of an unfortunate 1960s remodel) instead of replacing it with a new window, and repairing rather than replacing an upstairs bathroom window that required two weeks of meticulous labor to restore its severely damaged woodwork, were choices that earned them bonus points in the contest’s judging process. Wherever possible, they made the decision to save and repair rather than replace, something preservationists champion. Choices like these often require more effort and patience, and finding skilled artisans can be a challenge, but the McHenrys are clearly not afraid of a challenge! We are pleased to acknowledge their hard work and thoughtful choices, and hope the respect they have shown their historic house and neighborhood serves as inspiration for other historic renovations, be they mansion or bungalow in size and scope.
