Saving a West End Home

Historic preservation is a labor of love, with individuals and small groups fighting to restore pieces of our collective past. Two families in Hartford’s West End, the Kleins and the Winkleys, have stepped up to personally commit their resources and talents to revitalize a historic home in their neighborhood. By the time they’re finished, the team will have transformed a poorly maintained and out-of-date structure into a brand new Shingle style home circa 1905.

west-end-home

For those not familiar with Hartford’s West End, the neighborhood is located at the western border of the city. Its single and multi-family housing stock was developed at the very end of the 1800s and during the first few decades of the 1900s. The homes are solidly built and range in size from about 2,000 sqft to over 10,000 sqft. Most have a level of architectural detail that is not found in more modern homes.

The property that the Klein-Winkley team purchased had been on the market for over a year before they submitted their bid. Some of the architectural elements have been well preserved, including the woodwork and fireplaces, but much of the house was in poor condition. They plan to both address the deferred maintenance on the outside and update the inside to modern tastes – all while preserving, and in many cases improving, the home’s architectural character. Learn about the effort and follow the team’s progress over the coming months as we look more closely at a project that will preserve a piece of Hartford history.

Continue on to the next installment, The Beginning.

9 thoughts on “Saving a West End Home

  1. This is a fantastic story! It is why I love the West End.

    Thanks for publicizing it via your blog, and thanks to the Kleins and Winkleys for taking on the project. It is a beautiful house, and I know they will do a magnificent job of restoring it.

  2. Thank you for publishing this blog. I am so glad that the Kleins and Winkleys have taken on this project. I grew up in this home. We moved into the home in the late 1950’s with my grandparents who had lived there and raised their 9 children. My mom and dad moved back so that my mother could help care for my elderly grandparents. I am the oldest of 5 children and have WONDERFUL memories of growing up in that home and being part of such a great neighborhood!! I am a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Wethersfield and had the opportunity to see the house when it was listed. Before going in, I was so afraid to find the house in disrepair and maybe find the fabulous wordwork on the stairs and fireplace mantels ruined or destroyed. I was relieved to see that they were intack, but sad to see the overall condition of the house. The wonderful pantry in the kitchen, where we always baked and prepared meals, was dismantled and the outside needed so much work! I arranged to show the house to my mother, my husband and daughters, and my siblings on Mother’s day of this year. It was very emotional for all of us but a great opportunity to relive our childhood! We share a fondness for that home and it’s wonderful neighborhood. My family sold the house in the 1970’s. Because none of us are really in a position to have bought it and make the needed repairs, I am truly grateful to the Kleins and Winkleys who have made the commitment to restore this deserving house to a wonderful home again.

  3. Thank you Donna, for sharing this story! How wonderful to know that somehow you found out about our project! David & I were reading your comment last night and just couldn’t stop saying “Wow!!!” We have lived next door at #75 for 24 years. If we could share emails through Amy & Kyle Bergquist, we’d love to hear more of your memories (and about who lived in OUR house) while you were growing up at #79!

Comments are closed.