1999-2000 Roseboro Progress Summary
A very special thanks to Bank of Richmondville for their courage and foresight to finance much of the Historic Main Street business revitalization.
The reason for the great lapse in entering photos and updates has been obvious to those in the region driving by the Roseboro...I haven't had time!! So much has been happening ...
The main porches (piazzas!) have been painted...which took us 6 weeks in the late summer/fall of 1999. Check out the highlighted sunburst on the entry gable. We've decided to keep the entire place white. It's much grander that way and emphasizes its enormousness. Perhaps a bit of color on the very top shingle gables...but we're still deciding on that. The porch floors were sanded & finished in a Marine Spar Varnish. Floors were finished by Arnold Olmstad, and a really fine job too. Paint and varnish are from Passonno Paints of Watervliet. To set up the bar, we had Arnold sand the floor area where the bar sits. We were surprised at the warm tones of the wood. It's absolutely gorgeous. Arnold will be refinishing the rest of the flooring on the main level this spring/summer.
The bar has been assembled and it's stunning in its natural deep cherry and black walnut. The back bar still needs to be built, but we're gaining on it. The floors in the bar were jacked up properly Autumn 1999 and a new foundation wall replaced the collapsing under the lobby bathrooms (whew! Thanks Peter Gray and Woodford Brothers)
I refinished the lobby desk, scraping off all the white paint used to "modernize" it in the 1920's, restoring it back to the variegated walnut and fir with solid cherry top from 1896.What a difference! Can't wait to get those floors redone. Now that the wall is firmly under the bathrooms, we'll move forward on the plumbing. Our favorite electrician, Jim Dougherty, affectionately dubbed, "Sparky" these days, is putting in another panel this week for the new kitchen. Drywall will be going up there soon to comply with fire codes. The bistro menu is coming along nicely. Something for everyone and nothing like anyone around has!
The Howland House wing...that really saggy 4 story part along Main Street, is now completely cribbed underneath (with support) and the footer for the new foundation wall is in. Been having so much rain, it's been impossible to pour the concrete. Hopefully, we'll see that wall go up this week (May 20th 2000.) We got the ok from the ZBA to move forward on the porch replication in front of the Howland House wing...the old porches were collapsing and so were demolished in the late 1960's(?.) This will connect with the current huge porch. The new porches will access the new storefronts. We should get about 5 shops or 7 smaller shops, leaving the walls, doors and wainscoting intact. It will be set up as a gallery/collective of shops with a meandering center hall. Very intriguing and fun!! Rents are cheap so call soon and reserve your spot!! We've spent late winter99/spring 2000 gutting out the entire Howland House wing and the connection between the center Roseboro wing. Why is demolition so gratifying? We'll be painting the entire front of the Roseboro, including the Howland House this summer.
We've had many offers from volunteer workers...thank you thank you thank you! We need you! I've started scraping the woodwork in the bar room...it was one of those moments...I couldn't help myself. I know I said I was just going to paint over the old paint, but it started to pop right off the varnished woodwork underneath and you know once you get started scraping you just have to keep going....(it's a sick obsession) But it's going to be beautiful. I'm also trying to take the two coats of cool blue paint off the frescoed plaster walls. Can't tell if it's deteriorated oil paint or calcimine. Any ideas of how to accomplish this without destroying the plaster would be appreciated. The fresco is a fabulous mellow yellow gold tone, which compliments the floors completely. I must be crazy...do you know how much wall there is to strip? Ah well, I'll look back and laugh someday (yeah, right, just like labor pains.)
When are we opening? Well...still not sure. But perhaps we can take her for a test drive later this summer. We'll have a Halloween party for sure. Hopefully, the heating system will be in! We know we'll have the grand opening in 2001.You know you'll get a free tour if you stop by anytime.