Keeping historic homes authentic can be a struggle

Richard Brian

Homeowner Jack Gaal stands at the entrance to his home at 540 Birch St., in the historic home district of Boulder City. Seen here in 2008, Gaal spent two years renovating his residence.

By Jean Reid Norman (contact)

Tuesday, July 7, 2009 | 1:59 a.m.

Owning an old house in Boulder City isn’t always easy.

If a doorknob or window latch needs to be replaced, a trip to one of the town’s two hardware stores — or even to one of the home improvement warehouses in Henderson — is not likely to help.

No one makes the brass hardware on the historic homes in Boulder City anymore, but many owners are committed to keeping their houses as authentic as possible.

Many of the homes were built in 1931, as workers moved to town to aid in construction of the Hoover Dam.

Neighbors find they can sometimes turn to each other for the odd part that may be stashed in a garage. Now the city’s Historic Preservation Committee is trying to find a way to help those neighbors find one another and the parts they need on a more regular basis.

The committee has enlisted the help of the Boulder City-Hoover Dam Museum as the caretaker of any leftover parts that might be donated and is trying to get the word out that material might be available.

At the June 24 meeting of the preservation committee, museum curator Shirl Naegle said the board of the Boulder City Museum and Historical Society, which operates the museum, voted to work with the committee on the issue.

“There’s not a lot of storage space at the museum,” he said. “But through the generosity of the (Boulder City) library, we have a lot of things stored down there.”

The museum’s involvement is crucial, city planner Susan Danielewicz told the board, because legal issues prevent the city from maintaining an inventory of spare parts, either through her department or the preservation committee.

“It’s too much of a liability for the city,” she said. “If the city becomes the owner of the goods, it cannot just give that stuff away.” A formal process is required for the disposal of city property, she said.

A storehouse of materials were recently removed from city property at the Los Angeles Water and Power Building after the committee was told the city couldn’t take on the liability, members said.

The materials had been collected from homeowners by historic preservationist Mimi Rodden and stored at the Water and Power Building at the invitation of previous city officials, Rodden said. Once current city officials said the city couldn’t maintain control of them, she moved them to another safe place, she said.

Her collection includes a few solid doors with brass fixtures and some authentic steel casement and wood windows, as well as miscellaneous parts.

She is still happy to provide needed parts to homeowners for use on appropriate historic homes, she said.

Birch Street resident Jack Gaal, a contractor, also has an inventory of original roof tiles, doors, windows and hardware that he is willing to give to neighbors in need, as long as they are used for renovation of historic houses.

“I’ve had offers from artists to buy the windows to make pictures out of,” he said. The double-hung variety are a popular canvas for many artists. “I wouldn’t sell a one.”

The materials are left over from a two-year renovation of his own house. As a contractor, he said, he was able to salvage more material than he needed. If it were stacked properly, it would fill a couple of hundred square feet in his warehouse, he said.

“I’m willing to give it to anyone who says they will use it and use it in the historic district,” he said. “I will give it to people who will do it right and do it for real.”

One of the hurdles for homeowners who have materials and those who need them is finding one another, Historic Preservation Committee Chairwoman Susan McIntyre said. It is hard for those who need materials to know where to turn, and no one has an inventory of which homeowner may have what part stashed in a warehouse or garage.

As if to underscore the point, a couple attended the May committee meeting hoping to get some ideas of where to find some roof tiles for a repair they needed. McIntyre could not recommend a source that evening, but eventually the couple was able to get the tiles from Gaal, she said.

“One of the things that needs attention is how to get information to people,” she said.

One suggestion has been to create block associations that can share information, McIntyre said. Some residents have expressed interest, but the effort needs volunteers to organize it.

“We need someone to get it going and keep it going,” she said. “The city will do what it can, but the rest needs to be grass-roots. We just need somebody to do it and keep it maintained.”