Popular Woodworking 2006-12 № 159, страница 65

Great Woodshops

The renovation of the Blacker house is complete. Many of the original furniture pieces have also been reproduced, and more are planned.

"There's a subtlety to this furniture that you really can't get unless you've seen a lot of it up close," Ipekjian says.

His curiosity goes well beyond solving technical problems. Discussing the mechanism of a drop-front desk, Ipekjian questions where the details came from: "Did the customer ask for this, or even notice it? It could have come from the guy who made it, or Henry (Greene) may have had it all drawn out."

Ipekjian can't keep from talking about the details - how something is put together, what lies behind the detail, and what that detail

THE BLACKER HOUSE

Many of the homes designed and built by Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene have suffered cruel fates. Some were torn down; others were thoughtlessly remodeled or left to rot. Before the revival of interest in the work of Greene and Greene that began in the 1970s, no one seemed to know or care what treasures these houses and their furnishings were. After the revival it was often too late to undo the damage and dispersal that had been done.

The Blacker house, in Pasadena, Calif., one of the finest examples of the Greene's worked once seemed doomed, but it is now in the middle of a happy ending to its sad story. As long as the original owner and his widow lived in the house, Henry Greene saw to it that the property was maintained, and wrote to his brother Charles in the 1930s of how good the interiors looked after being "gone over."

Shortly after Mrs. Blacker's death in the late 1940s, the five-acre site was subdivided and new houses were erected in what had been a majestic backyard garden. Much of the furniture was sold off in a yard sale, and years later reappeared in museum and private collections.

By the mid 1980s, the Blacker house looked more like an eyesore than the centerpiece of a posh neighborhood. New shingles had been placed directly over old ones, and the roof had deteriorated. Exposed rafter ends had begun to rot, and the once-colorful structure had turned a moldy looking black.

The worst blow to the house's dignity came in 1985 when the property changed hands. A new owner had purchased the house after learning that the light fixtures

and art glass windows were worth more than the property itself. Immediately after closing, trucks appeared, and more than 50 exquisite wood and art-glass light fixtures were removed and sold off. The city of Pasadena passed legislation preventing the future removal of fixtures and furnishings from historic structures, and negotiated with the owner to replace art glass windows he wanted to sell with exact reproductions.

The property was sold again to an owner who wanted to restore it, but who wasn't up to the task. In 1995, the current owners began their restoration. James Ipekjian was first asked to reproduce the light fixtures that had been removed. As the restoration of the entire house proceeded, it became evident to the owners that an experienced, knowledge-

These planes, including a very rare Stanley No. 164 smoothing plane, originally belonged to Charles Sumner Greene.

able craftsman needed to be in charge, and Ipekjian oversaw the project for two years before beginning work on the lights.

With more than 50 lighting fixtures completed, Ipekjian began reproducing the original furniture. In the dining room, breakfast room and living room, most of the furniture has now been reproduced, and the remaining pieces originally made by Peter and John Hall will likely be completed in the next few years.

The Blacker house is not open to the public, except for occasional private tours. The restored interiors have been featured in several recent books. The only discernable difference between Ipekjian's reproductions and the original pieces is the patina that comes with 100 years of age. — RL

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Popular Woodworking December 2006