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By BECKY WRIGHTTudor-revival style among homes on tour
INTERACTIVE MAP: Historic Home Tour
The Gochnour family's historical home may be small in size compared with today's houses, but it's big on detail -- in one case, giant detail.
The home will be on display next weekend, when it's one of seven Ogden houses open to the public for the Weber County Heritage Foundation Tour. The tour starts at 10 a.m. Sept. 6. Funds raised from the $15 tickets support historic-preservation projects.
The Gochnour home, at 2703 Hill Drive, was built in the early 1930s for Dr. Frank Bartlett and his wife, Mary. Designed by Ogden architect Art Shreeve in the Tudor-revival style, it has a steeply pitched roof and half-timbering reminiscent of old English buildings.
The details start at the front entry, where bargeboards on the gables feature floral carvings. The boards are carved on both sides, which is a bit unusual. The Gochnours questioned a grandson of Bartlett about the carving, and were told it was probably a mistake -- the craftsmen turned the boards over to start again. Then again, because of the Great Depression, Bartlett was able to get quality craftsmen at a good price; maybe they wanted to do a doubly good job.
The details continue on the front door, where the oak is decorated with the original hand-wrought iron strap hinges. The dooropens into the main hall, through a faux-stone Tudor archway. Another hand-painted archway decorates the entry into the front room.
The details in the front room, and the attached library, make them the most spectacular rooms in the house, according to Greg Gochnour.
"It's all original, in terms of the original paint and original wall surfaces," he said. "For an 80-year-old house, that's pretty neat."
The walls had a close call, when the former owners decided to paint them white, but then were transferred and had to sell.
"Painters come in here, and they're just kind of floored," said Caitlin Gochnour. "They say this would take months to replicate, because they stretched canvas on the walls, then painted the canvas."
The ceiling has four darkly stained wood beams, stenciled with diamonds, circles and other shapes, in muted tones of red and green. The stenciling, too, is original to the house.
"The other thing we like is the Batchelder fireplace tile work. Batchelder was a prominent tile maker from California in the early part of the century," said Greg Gochnour. "It's a grape leaf pattern, with grapes and vines, and it's one of the things that needs to be seen."
Also on the main floor are a half-bath, with its original ceramic sink and light fixture, and a dining room and kitchen. The kitchen cupboards are original; only minor changes have been made to modernize the appliances and countertops.
Period decor
Greg and Caitlin Gochnour have used a lot of period furniture to decorate their home. Where light fixtures weren't original, they replaced them with period pieces salvaged from other buildings.
If the family decides to include the second floor in the tour, visitors will see a bathroom that still has its original tile and pedestal sink. The master bedroom has pioneer-era furniture, including a Mormon couch with a pull-out seat that converts into a bed.
The furniture Caitlin Gochnour grew up with is now in her daughter's room. It was hand-painted by her uncle, in Scandinavian folk style. The bed is the only thing that survived a fire when a family hunting lodge burned down about 100 years ago.
Protecting heirlooms is important to the Gochnours.
"We hope our kids can catch that spirit -- that you preserve things," said Caitlin.
However, one of the oldest-looking pieces in their home is actually modern.
While staying at the Park Grove Inn, in Ashville, N.C., Greg Gochnour fell in love with the resort's large clock. He measured it, downsized the plans to fit his home, and asked his brother to build it. His brother, Chris Gochnour, is the craftsman who built a desk for Utah's governor, using trees downed by a tornado on the Capitol grounds in 1999. He was able to make a very faithful reproduction of the clock.
The landscape
Landscape enthusiasts will also have plenty to see at the Gochnour home. Most of the landscaping was done by Frank and Mary Bartlett. Dr. Bartlett is said to have tied ribbons around the Gambel oaks and instructed the builder to work around them.
The terrace on the southeast side of the lot is new, courtesy of Greg Gochnour, who is also a doctor. He tore out fitzer bushes and put in a few grape vines. Inspired by a visit to George Washington's home, Mount Vernon, he planted apple trees and pruned and trained them to grow espalier-style, with branches in straight lines on a fence.
The giant detail, in the backyard, is what sold Greg Gochnour on buying the home.
The family was living in Southern Utah when the house went on the market. Caitlin Gochnour grew up just around the corner from the Bartlett house, and was visiting Ogden when she found out it was for sale.
"I came and looked at it, and called and said, 'Greg, you've got to drive up.' It's four hours, but I said, 'You've got to see this, it's pretty neat.' "
He walked through the house, liking what he saw, but was not quite sold.
"Then he came outside and saw the sequoia and said, "OK, I love it,' " Caitlin Gochnour remembered.
That's how Greg remembers it, too.
"From the street it has nice appeal, but the thing that made me buy it was after I went out back into the yard -- the giant sequoia."
The Gochnours sometimes marvel that everything works perfectly in their friends' new houses, but they wouldn't trade.
"I think they're so much a part of our history," Caitlin Gochnour said of old houses. "We need to preserve them, and live in them, and treasure them."
PREVIEW
WHAT: Weber County Heritage Foundation Historic House Tour
WHEN: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 6
WHERE: Seven Ogden homes between 27th and 29th streets, from Taylor to Fillmore avenues
TICKETS: $15. Advance sales at the Union Station Gift Shop, Rainbow Gardens and the Eccles Community Art Center; day of tour at 27th Street and Hill Drive, Ogden. 394-9751.
Add Your Comment
I would like to ask Ms Caitlin Gochnourif she would be willing to send me some photos of her daughter's bedroom furniture. I am looking for handpained details suitable for the Scandinavian market. Her furniture sounds great. I am an Irish guy working in Romania and making hand painted furniture for local markets and for UK. My artists are just brilliant and love to work to new ideas. I need to export more as my traditional markets are challenged by the Chinese. Anyway heres hoping. My email address is vernonwg@gmail.com My web page ( currently under construction ) is www.ailesbury.ro Many thanks. Sincerely
William Vernon, SC Pinemob Srl. 3 Strada Uzinelor, Oradea, Romania.
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