Home of Nina Block

I purchased the original house at 2403 Van Dyke Ave in January 2010. I have lived in the Cameron Village area since moving to NC in 2006, and loved the neighborhood. It also didn’t hurt that my sister lived across the street and 3 houses down on Van Dyke Ave. My house was 950sq feet and had never been updated since it was built in 1947. The Warren family lived in the home from 1947 until 1998 when it was purchased by a neighbor who made it into a rental house.

Before:

After:

After living there for 3 years it was time to do a major overhaul on the home. After some debate and the discovery of black mold and asbestos throughout the house, I decided to tear down the house and start anew.

I worked with neighbor Steven Ureña, of Ureña Architecture, to design my new home. I wanted a bungalow style house that wouldn’t stand out like a sore thumb in the neighborhood. The new house was finished in the spring of 2014. It is 3 bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms and 2164 sq feet.

My talented neighbor Greg Readling (gregreadling@hotmail.com) designed and built one of my favorite features of the outside of the house, the big, beautiful front door.

2820 Van Dyke Avenue (The second of a pair of historically-linked houses. 2822 Van Dyke Avenue was the Home of the Month for June)

The home of Rob and Rhonda Moseley since 1994 has been the source of speculation as to its original function. Built in 1930 before Van Dyke Avenue was constructed, the home’s front entrance and interior layout orients to Dixie Trail. The story goes that the property served originally as the “carriage house” for 2822 Van Dyke, which was built in 1916 and also fronted Dixie Trail. Maps and other records have not been found yet to verify the story. Properties still exist along Dixie Trail (500, 510) that feature a long, narrow shape, fronting Dixie Trail. When the Moseleys purchased the home in 1994, the single story had been radically altered and rebuilt to a two story double-tier porch design that favors a Charleston style, with the home’s entrance still facing Dixie Trail. The interior had been gutted to the studs, with only the original pine floors on the first floor and 2nd story landing and some of the kitchen cabinets remaining. There is evidence that the original structure had an addition made to the eastern side on both the first and part of the second story many years earlier, and was where all of the bathrooms were located. Prior to that addition, it is not clear where bathrooms may have been located, adding to speculation of the structure not being a home originally. The home was listed (Section 7, page 183, National Register of Historic Places (2003) -www.hpo.ncdcr.gov) as the “Godfrey H Browne House” and described originally as a “one story, side gabled” house. Godfrey Browne was said to be a chemist.

The Moseleys inherited a failing foundation and raised the structure to replace the entire foundation before proceeding with renovating the interior. In 1996, Hurricane Fran toppled a huge oak tree that was situated where the detached garage is now located. The root ball was almost as large as the footprint of the garage.

The Moseleys are passionate about gardening and are beekeepers.

Jenny and Tony McGrail Home, 2822 Van Dyke Avenue, University Park

Our home at 2822 Van Dyke Avenue is one of the earliest examples of a Raleigh bungalow, according to an architectural survey done by the city some year ago and published by the City of Raleigh Museum. A bungalow is a one-story house type of Arts and Crafts design popular in the early 1900s. The house was built in 1916 by Professor William Hand Browne Jr. who came to teach physics and electrical engineering at NC State College in 1908. In 1916, the two departments were separated and Prof. Browne was appointed Head of the Dept. of Electrical Engineering, the position which he held until his retirement in 1946.

The house existed before Van Dyke was a street. Its original address was 408 Dixie Trail. The stone house at the corner of Van Dyke and Brooks belonged to Prof. Browne’s associate in the EE Dept., R.S. Fouraker. We believe that these were the only 2 houses in this block during those early years. When we bought the property in 1985, the house east of us at 2820 Van Dyke (now Rob & Rhonda Mosely’s lovely home) was a small yellow bungalow (also facing Dixie Tr.) which, we were told, was the carriage house for Prof. Browne’s property. We don’t know how much land he originally held, but do know that he owned the parcel at Wade Av. and Dixie Tr. which is now Hymettus Park. He kept his bees there, ergo the name — for Mount Hymettus and its famous honey in Greece. In 1969, his heir Cicely Browne gave the Hymettus park land to the city of Raleigh with specific instructions that it only be used as a park, never to be developed. It is a beautiful little corner of nature, and we hope everyone will protect and maintain it, and pay respects to Prof. Browne and his family for preserving it for all to study and enjoy.

As for our little bungalow, we have enjoyed many happy years here, always striving to maintain its original style and craftsmanship as much as possible. When we moved here in 1985, it had been rental property for quite a long time. It was very neglected and had undergone some less-than-correct “remuddles”. We are restoring as we are able, and have hopes that a future owner with more time, energy and resources will be able to do more with the bones and structure of this very historic Craftsman bungalow to showcase it as it was during the early part of the twentieth century. Apparently we are happier with our little spot in University Park than Mrs. Browne was, as she named the home “Pitysmont”. We’ll never know how or why that came about, but it certainly would be interesting. We did have one visit back in the 90’s from a granddaughter who, by then was well advanced in years and a country doctor in Appalachia. We only visited for a short while, but she recalled to us that she and her parents had moved back in with the Brownes during the Great Depression years. She recalled that they lived in the attic, and she remembered extensive flower gardens up to Dixie Trail and all the oak trees all around.

In 1997 we told the Capital Trees Program of Wake County about the majestic white oak in our back yard, and gave them some background info on our house and property. In August 1998, our white oak was presented a Capital Trees award in the Historical category. We think Prof. Browne would be pleased.

A note about the log cabin in our back yard: It is not original to the property, but was rescued from demolition and moved here in 2000. The cabin had been relocated from the mountains to the Heritage Circle at the state fairgrounds, where it served many years as the Cider House down by the lake during the state fairs. We are friends with the Lingg family who make and sell apple cider at the NC State Fair, and when they had to upgrade their building, the old cider house was put on a flatbed truck (just barely shy of being demolished) and brought to 2822 Van Dyke Av. where it has lived a quiet life ever since.

And as for Van Dyke Avenue: Professor Browne’s granddaughter also told us that when Raleigh decided to turn his driveway into a city street, they asked if they could name it for him. Being a rather modest fellow, he said “No, but you can name it for my beard”. Photos obtained from NC State University archives do indeed show that he sported a very handsome Van Dyke beard.

Home of Lewis and Cindy Penny :: 227 Furches Street

Before: After: Originally purchased in 1998 as a rental property, we are the second owners of this 1943 duplex. The duplex continued to serve as a rental until 2013 when Cindy and I decided to renovate. Having both lived in Raleigh for our entire lives, we both love and recognize the community value of Wilmont, University Park. Initially, we renovated a home on Merriman Avenue that, at one time, served as a garage apartment for a home on Clark. In 2000, we built a new home on Ruffin Street, where we lived for 12 years before deciding to sell and begin renovations on our Furches Street Duplex. We were looking to downsize, and the duplex offered the perfect solution—it provided the size we wanted while also affording the opportunity for rental income in the future. This proved to be one of the main deciding factors.

In our quest for smaller square footage, we wanted to implement custom features. This meant the complete removal and replacement of all electrical wiring, plumbing, and HVAC systems. Major interior modifications, including opening up spaces for flow improvement, the addition of a master bath, and increasing the second floor ceilings to a height of nine feet, were made. It was also important to us that our home be as green as possible. This was accomplished by installing all new windows and doors, a sealed crawl space, and an attic envelope. A free standing tub, walk-in shower, custom vanities, walk-in master closet, and frameless shower glass round-out the designer baths in the home. The main focal point of the bath is the special marble shower, which features a serpentine waterfall design. The arts and craft interior trim package sets the tone for the open floor plan. The gourmet kitchen features soapstone counters, a custom walnut bar top that opens to the family room, commercial grade gas range and custom hood, built-in refrigerator, drawer microwave and dishwasher. Exterior features include the rocking chair front porch with custom T&G stained wood ceilings, large screen porch with custom wood T&G ceilings, and outdoor grill area off the porch. Crisp autumn evenings make the custom wood burning fire pit the perfect spot to warm up and relax with friends.

Our neighbors are always welcome to stop by for a visit on the porch and an afternoon glass of wine. Lewis and Cindy Penny