Latest news with #Italianate-style
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New owner of Portsmouth events venue once went to school there
Giovanni Donatelli used to walk the halls of Portsmouth Catholic High School as a young boy. Now, almost four decades later, Donatelli is the new owner of the renovated and renamed building, Cambridge Hall. An entrepreneur who moved to the U.S. in 1982, Donatelli is the founder and CEO of The Language Group, a Virginia Beach-based translation service company established in 1999. His company employs 70 fulltime employees and 600 linguists skilled in 225 languages. The Language Group also has a secondary office in Hamburg, Germany. In early April, Donatelli purchased the building at auction for $660,000. There was also a separate transaction totaling $25,000 to buy the intellectual property rights for the business, including the event hall, website, furniture, artwork and baby grand piano. William J. 'Billy' Summs Sr., auctioneer with Atlantic Asset Management Group, said Donatelli was the perfect buyer. The Italianate-style building was transformed into a wedding and event venue in 2022 by Ed O'Neil, an insurance agent with New York Life in Norfolk. Donatelli plans to reopen it this summer as an event hall to host family and company functions. An immigrant from the east coast of Italy, he said he identifies as a local boy from Portsmouth and cherishes the building. 'I stood where my locker used to be and you can see where the desks used to sit,' he said. 'I can almost see myself sitting in the classrooms again.' Armed with ideas, Donatelli said he will continue to operate it as a rental event hall for now — including employee functions for his business — but he is also thinking about using part of the more than 6,000 square feet for nonprofits. Overjoyed with the amount of care the two most recent owners put into the building following years of neglect, Donatelli, a resident of Virginia Beach, said it's now up to him to be a proper steward of it. 'I would love to have a reunion to celebrate the different classes that graduated from there — back in their own building,' he said. 'And I'd like to make a wall to honor the school with a copy of all the yearbooks.' Situated at the corner of London and Washington streets in Old Towne Portsmouth since 1892, the structure was originally St. Paul's Academy for Boys, then St. Paul's Catholic High School before it became Portsmouth Catholic High School in 1964. The Donatelli family's journey to Hampton Roads began in the late 1970s when his father, Otero, a tailor in his native land, was recruited by Morris Rapoport, late patriarch and founder of The Quality Shops. 'They couldn't find anyone in the U.S. so they extended their search and found my father,' Donatelli said. Rapoport sponsored the family's visas and after 6 years they applied for their citizenship. Donatelli's mother, Grace is known throughout Hampton Roads for her seamstress skills. Donatelli and his younger brother, Sandro began their schooling at the now defunct Shea Terrace Elementary where he fondly remembers they learned to speak English. His love of languages only grew from that experience. When Donatelli was in seventh grade, he started his studies at Portsmouth Catholic. An altar boy in Italy, Donatelli said he continued his faithful service to the church every Sunday, serving mass at St. Paul's Catholic Church adjacent to the school. 'I used to play right there and fly my kite on North Street in the parking lot,' Donatelli said. 'It's my home; even though I'm an immigrant, I really grew up in Portsmouth.' Portsmouth Catholic shuttered in 1991 and Donatelli graduated from Churchland High School the following year. 'It feels right; the sentimental connection is there, and it's really special that I was able to do this,' he said. 'It's really nice to feel like I can offer something back to the community by buying my old schoolhouse.' Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836,
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago sells Kenwood mansion to University of Chicago surgeon for $1.1M
A nine-bedroom vintage Renaissance Revival-style mansion in the South Side Kenwood neighborhood was sold in late March for $1.15 million by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago to a University of Chicago surgeon. Built in 1905 and designed by noted Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt, the mansion was built for Homer A. Stillwell, the general manager of the Butler Bros. catalog firm, at a cost of $35,000, according to a Tribune article from Feb. 26, 1905. The house broadly would be characterized as Renaissance Revival-style, but it employs a variety of other architectural styles, including a Colonial Revival-style front door, Italianate-style quoins, and even a Gothic Revival-style oriel window. Stillwell sold the mansion in 1914, and for close to 60 years, from 1966 until 2025, the home was owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, which used it as a residence for members of its Focolare movement. It's located across the street from former President Barack Obama's longtime home. The 12-room mansion largely has its original layout, along with 3-1/2 bathrooms, a primary bedroom suite with a library, original plaster, original millwork, original doors and a porte-cochere. The home sits on a 0.73-acre lot. The archdiocese first listed the mansion in October for $1.4 million and never budged on its asking price. It struck a deal with the buyer in February. Catherine Rosenberg of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices represented the buyer. She declined to comment on the transaction. Listing agent Pasquale Recchia also declined to comment, referring queries to the archdiocese.
Irish Examiner
17-05-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
€920k Rushbrooke period home was a heady mix of Fianna Fáil politics and pleasure
A SPRAWLING Italianate-style villa, The Grove in Rushbrooke was tailor-made for a Brady Bunch-size family who had a welcome on the mat for everyone, including visiting politicos. Joe Dowling, entrepreneur, lifelong Fianna Fáil devotee, and onetime chair of Cobh Urban District Council, was in the thick of political activism, while his wife, Ursula, managed their busy household. The couple had been living on Murmont Avenue, in the Cork city suburb of Montenotte, when an auctioneer took Joe to see the sprawling Italianate-style villa, west of the port of Cobh. 'I was smitten,' Joe says. Ursula, heavily pregnant with child No 5, took a while to warm to the notion of moving to Cobh. 'I saw the house shortly before having my fifth child, and at that stage, I wasn't in love with anything,' she laughs. Nonetheless, the contracts were signed on the day their baby was christened. 'By the time our sixth child came along four years later, I was well settled into the house,' Ursula says. Built c 1880, the villa's first occupant was a Church of England minister, followed by a medic, Dr Scully. Next up was the Ronan family, with ties to the legal profession. After the Dowlings pounced, The Grove was introduced to a mix of business, politics, and pleasure. In 1974, six months after the arrival of their fifth child, the Dowlings moved in. On a then five-acre site, and with 4,000sq ft to play around in, the kids had a ball. They could roam about the grounds or lose themselves around the house, avoiding detection for hours. With two staircases and a glut of rooms, it was tailor-made for hide-and-seek. One staircase — wide, brightly lit and elegant — served the main house. The second is a throwback to the days when service wings were bolted on to the main residence to house the servants. The service bells are still visible at The Grove. The difference in look between the main home and the service wing is marked: Expansive rooms, high ceilings and plentiful windows versus smaller, darker spaces. Living room Ursula liked to escape to one of the smaller attic-level rooms where she could indulge her passion for sewing and cross-stitch. She still has a Bernina sewing machine, 'the Cartier of sewing machines', she says, bought secondhand in Wales, originally registered to an owner in Zambia, as per the certificate of guarantee. In between cross-stitching, politicking, running a business and a household, the couple still managed to fit in entertainment. Family room They recall black-tie dinners at The Grove, 'everyone in dresses and dress suits and dickie-bows', segueing between three elegant ground-floor reception rooms, or out onto the delicate ironwork veranda and gardens, while the kids watched from the safety of the stairs. Aerial view of cast iron veranda 'You could hear them scattering when anyone approached,' Ursula says. They had political visitors too. Taoiseach Micheál Martin and EU Commissioner Michael McGrath would have paid a courtesy call on the campaign trail back in the day. There are photos of Joe with the late Jack Lynch and the late Charlie Haughey, who flew in by helicopter for a press conference outside The Commodore Hotel in Cobh, on the occasion of the general election in 1987 (see pic, below). Joe Dowling and the late Taoiseach Charlie Haughey outside the Commodore Hotel in Cobh in 1987. Joe was chair of Cobh UDC The house and grounds are too big for the couple now, even though the site is a more manageable 1.6 acres, as plots were sold off over the years. Johanna Murphy of Johanna Murphy & Sons is handling the sale and expects national and overseas interest. 'I expect queries from the UK, the USA, and Dublin. It's a versatile property and could suit residential or commercial use. 'It could make a great wedding venue or a corporate HQ, or continue as a wonderful home,' Ms Murphy says. While new owners will need to invest, The Grove has retained many of the components that make it a beautiful period home, including that exquisite ironwork veranda, definitely worth salvaging. The grounds, which face the harbour, are in good order. Outbuildings include an original coach house, stables with loft space, and a separate store house. Rushbrooke Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is just across the road from The Grove and Bunscoil Rinn an Chabhlaigh (primary) is at the top of the road. The train station, with regular commuter links to Cork City, is a 10 minute walk away. 'Houses like this only come on the market every 40 or 50 years (the Dowlings are a case in point) and people buy them to rear their family. When you buy a home like this, you are buying a piece of history,' says Ms Murphy, who is guiding The Grove at €920,000. VERDICT: A home of charm and character worthy of investment. Period elegance in spades
The Guardian
03-05-2025
- The Guardian
A legendary romantic retreat: explore Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's Osborne
When you're a queen – especially one with many children – finding time for romance is virtually impossible. With this end in mind, Queen Victoria, and her husband Prince Albert, started to build Osborne on the Isle of Wight in 1846, to be, in Victoria's words, a 'place of one's own – quiet and retired'. The house, its gardens and private beach were used by the family to escape, and to celebrate special occasions, particularly the royal couple's summer birthdays. Today, this royal retreat is managed by English Heritage, and it is every bit the romantic escape for thousands of visitors as it was for the queen and her consort. Filled with opulent furnishings and surrounded by splendid gardens – and even a private beach – it's a dreamy summer visit for couples and families alike. And the house's history as a private getaway for the two royals is every bit as charming as the place itself. After falling for the Isle of Wight and its mild climate, Victoria and Albert bought the Osborne estate in 1845. The existing house was too small for the entourage that comes with being a monarch, not to mention their growing family, so they knocked it down and built a new one. Working with master builder Thomas Cubitt, Albert designed an Italianate-style mansion with private rooms for him and Victoria, royal nurseries for their many children, a household wing for the queen's advisers, stables for their 50 horses and carriages, and even a landing house for the coastguard. If that wasn't enough, in 1854, Albert added the Swiss Cottage, an Alpine-style chalet, designed as a private world for the royal children. Here was a place that the young princes and princesses could play at being adults, away from the raised eyebrows of judgmental courtiers, and learn important life skills, such as housekeeping, cookery, and gardening. There was a kitchen with a real stove, a dairy to make cheese, a fruit and vegetable garden complete with monogrammed wheelbarrows and miniature tools, and a museum where they could house and display their natural history specimens, fossils and antiquities. And, very astutely, Albert designed everything at three-quarter scale, making them children-sized. With the children happily entertained, Osborne gave Victoria and Albert the opportunity to put their own spin on date night. One of their favourite activities was to sit out on the terrace on a summer's evening and listen to the nightingales, but they were also known to enjoy a walk in the colourful, Italian-style gardens, ride in the royal park and spend time at their own private beach – there was even a bathing hut for privacy. Birthdays were an important feature at Osborne, and Victoria and Albert, who celebrated theirs on 24 May and 26 August respectively, were usually there for them. As you'd expect, these were over-the-top, lavish affairs. Since childhood, Victoria had had a 'birthday table', covered in gifts and flowers. Often, these tables were an art form all of their own, with the queen even commissioning artists to paint them in watercolour and, later on, photograph them. At Osborne, birthday tables were initially placed in the 'horn room', named for its stag horn furniture, but, by the 1850s, the presents had become so large and numerous, that a spare bedroom was established as 'the present room'. The couple gave each other artwork, furniture and jewellery, much of which remains at Osborne today, providing a glimpse into Victoria and Albert's personal tastes and styles. The family's birthday traditions weren't limited to gift-giving though; forget a lie-in, Victoria's birthday always started loudly, with the Royal Marines band playing a hymn, or choral piece, sometimes composed by Albert, below her window. The children then brought in flowers and, after a family breakfast, performed music and recited poetry they'd composed themselves. The afternoon saw everyone go for a drive and perhaps take a photograph on the terrace, before settling down for a family dinner and more entertaining, whether dancing or a concert. The days of children reciting their own poetry may be in the past, but Osborne still offers a great family day out. A highlight, if the weather's playing ball, is the sandy and shingle beach, where the royal children learned to swim from a pontoon moored off the shore, as well as the Swiss Cottage with its outdoor play area and museum full of curiosities. Be sure to check out the five-legged deer! In the main house, take some time to browse the opulent state rooms, which entertained 19th-century heads of states, monarchs and inventors, and have all the pomp and ceremony you'd expect of the Victorian era. But Osborne was where the family enjoyed a life away from being royals. Here, you can see what Victoria's bathtub looked like, how the children were cared for in the nursery and Prince Albert's private suite, which the queen left untouched after he died, an indication of how much she loved and missed him. Visit Osborne to find out why Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had such happy times there – you can even rent a holiday cottage there. On an Isle of Wight stay, you can also visit Carisbrooke and Yarmouth castles
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Once anchored by a McDonald's, 150-year-old Delaware Building tops Preservation Chicago's most endangered list
For the first time in the 22-year history of Preservation Chicago's annual ranking of the city's seven most endangered buildings, a former McDonald's restaurant has cracked the list – sort of. No, it's not a classic golden arches burger joint, but rather a shuttered first-floor McDonald's restaurant that may be threatening plans to renovate and repurpose a 150-year-old Loop office building, which tops the endangered list for 2025. The Delaware Building at 36 W. Randolph Street, an eight-story, Italianate-style building that was among the first to rise from the ashes of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, is nearly vacant, deteriorating and stuck in redevelopment limbo. McDonald's, which closed the restaurant during the pandemic and never reopened, has a half-century remaining on a 99-year lease, which the Chicago-based chain has yet to relinquish. 'It just seems like various plans have fallen through because of the McDonald's space,' said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago. 'They're making it very hard for the repurposing of this building. A McDonald's spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Designed by architects Wheelock & Thomas, the ornate Delaware Building features a cast-iron base topped with a concrete facade. It was completed between 1872 and 1874, with an 1889 remodel by architect Julius H. Huber, adding two floors to the top and a dramatic steel-framed interior atrium. The Delaware Building was listed on the National Register in 1974 and designated a Chicago Landmark in 1983, offering protection against demolition. That hasn't prevented underutilization and decay, however. Plans to convert upper office floors to residential or perhaps sell the building have been stymied by the ongoing McDonald's lease for the first two floors, Miller said. He is hoping the Chicago-based fast food giant will step up in a spirit of civic responsibility and give up its former space. 'We'd like to see McDonald's open to the idea of turning over their lease, realizing this is a landmark building in downtown Chicago,' Miller said. The other Chicago landmarks that made the group's most endangered list this year: 2. Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge Designed by famed Chicago architectural firm Burnham and Root, the bridge, originally known as the Columbia Drive Bridge, has spanned Jackson Park's lagoon since 1880, offering picturesque views and passage to the lakefront. It predates the nearby Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, whose building was part of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. In 1957, the structure was renamed for famed Chicago attorney Clarence Darrow, a Hyde Park resident who frequented the bucolic bridge while contemplating cases. Jackson Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and the bridge also falls within the boundary of the 1994 Chicago Landmark designation for the Museum of Science and Industry. But the stone bridge has fallen into disrepair in recent years, with the Chicago Department of Transportation cordoning it off to pedestrian traffic in 2013. Renovating and reopening the bridge while preserving its historical elements has proved elusive to date, especially for CDOT, Miller said. He is hoping a new Jackson Park neighbor, the Obama Presidential Center, which is set to open next year, will take up the cause. 'It'd be wonderful if an entity like the Obama Presidential Center, which is building very close by, would participate in helping to fund this in a very sensitive way,' Miller said. 'It needs to be sensitively addressed and very carefully restored.' 3. J.J. Walser House Built in 1903, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed single family home in the Austin neighborhood, is an unusual location – the only one of its kind on Chicago's West Side – and an exemplary representation of the architect's Prairie Style. But it has fallen on hard times. Tucked within a narrow urban lot, the modest home has been lauded for its simplicity, free-flowing efficiency and organic naturalism. The home, which has been sold a dozen times, has been remodeled by various occupants over the years, but was essentially preserved with only minor changes under its last owner for more than 50 years. Since the passing of that owner, Anne Teague, in 2019, the house has been unoccupied and deteriorating. The property is in foreclosure and burdened by a reverse mortgage, which has hampered efforts to find a new owner to restore and preserve the house, Miller said. Designated a Chicago Landmark in 1984, the property was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2013 for its significant design by Frank Lloyd Wright. The vacant house is protected from demolition, but not from harsh Midwestern winters and occasional vandalism, Miller said. Preservation Chicago is looking to get the house out of foreclosure and sell it to an owner that would commit to its restoration. The complicated financial situation may take a year or more to navigate, Miller said. 'It's really sad to see a Frank Lloyd Wright structure like this in such disrepair,' Miller said. 4. Olivet Baptist Church Located in the Bronzeville/Douglas neighborhood, the Olivet Baptist Church houses one of the oldest African American congregations in Chicago. Built in 1876, the Gothic Revival church has long been a cultural landmark, but the building itself at 3101 S. King Drive never achieved that formal status. Clad in rough ashlar veneer, trimmed in Joliet limestone and topped with a 160-foot steepled tower, it nonetheless remains a prominent architectural feature with a storied history. But as the congregation has dwindled during the new millennium, the building has begun to deteriorate. Preservation Chicago is recommending the the church pursue designation as a Chicago Landmark as a first step towards restoring the building to its historic glory. 5. Central Manufacturing District Clock Tower For more than a century, an 11-story, red brick and terra cotta tower has stood watch over the brawny Central Manufacturing District, the nation's first planned industrial development along Pershing Road in McKinley Park on the city's Southwest Side. Financier and railroad magnate Frederick Henry Prince created the Central Manufacturing District by his Chicago Junction Railway switching yard and the South Branch of the Chicago River. It began to take shape in 1902 with the construction of the U.S. Leather Co. building and expanded west along Pershing Road, ultimately covering more than 350 acres. At its height, more than 250 companies, from Wrigley to Westinghouse, operated out of the buildings. Activity dwindled as tenants fled to suburban industrial parks that sprung up along interstate highways, turning the manufacturing district into a memory and the buildings into targets for redevelopment and preservationists. Like many buildings in the development, the Clock Tower is vacant and deteriorating. The Central Manufacturing District and its buildings have been on the most endangered list several times over the last decade. Recent effort to sell the buildings have proved unsuccessful. And last year, the 104-year-old Continental Can Building fell to the wrecking ball. Preservation Chicago is recommending Chicago Landmark status for the Clock Tower to incentivize its preservation and restoration. 6. Western Boulevard Industrial Buildings Eight historic buildings along Western Boulevard in the Back of the Yards neighborhood form a century-old industrial corridor designed by some noted architects. Original occupants included Inland Steel, Whitney & Ford, Grinnell and O-Cedar. Some of the buildings are in use by new tenants, while others are unoccupied. Mostly two- to four-story red brick buildings, some feature ornamental stone and terra cotta elements, original signage and rooftop water towers, once a standard requirement in the wake of the city's Great Fire. While all of the industrial buildings are part of the National Register-listed Chicago Park Boulevard System Historic District, many are showing their age. In addition to keeping the buildings in operation and addressing needed repairs to restore the historic elements, Preservation Chicago is recommending a Chicago Landmark designation to prevent demolition or changes that would destroy their character. 7. St. Martin's Church The former St. Martin de Tours Church at 5848 S. Princeton Ave. in the Englewood neighborhood is returning to the list and still in danger. Originally built for the German Catholic community, the church closed in 1989, reopened as an Evangelical Black congregation in 1998 and shuttered in 2017. The century-old Gothic church building is deteriorating after years of deferred maintenance. Distinctive features include a 228-foot stone steeple, limestone exterior and original stained glass windows, although much of the church's interior wood-carved details have been lost. Preservation Chicago is hoping a new congregation might might move in and restore the church, or the building could be repurposed as a community center, among other potential adaptive reuses. As with other endangered structures, Preservation Chicago is recommending it be designated a local landmark to prevent demolition and encourage restoration. Missing from this year's list after three years at the top are the Century and Consumers buildings, a pair of century-old Loop skyscrapers that were threatened with demolition by the federal government, which acquired them in 2007 as a buffer and potential office expansion for the adjacent federal courthouse. The vacant buildings in the 200 block of South State Street, among the last vestiges of the Chicago School of Architecture, were earmarked for demolition in 2022 after a proposal for a $141 million mixed-use redevelopment was shot down over security concerns raised by neighboring federal judges. But after years of efforts by preservationists, the General Services Administration, which manages the government-owned buildings, determined they should be saved from the wrecking ball and repurposed, with development teams submitting proposals for adaptive reuse in January. 'We at Preservation Chicago are grateful for this determination, and we look forward to working with the GSA towards any type of revisioning, reuse of these buildings with whatever team they pick,' Miller said. rchannick@
