"Brickyard" Remodeled 1920's Dutch Colonial Revival in Downtown Cape Girardeau

"BRICKYARD"
We beat back the vines above Washington Park and found "Brickyard", The C.B. & Ora Dell Crabtree House, a Dutch Colonial "kit house" built in 1920! We call it "Brickyard" because as we were renovating, it seemed that everywhere we put a shovel in the ground, we found ANOTHER brick!

OUR FAMOUS NEIGHBOR
That may make sense when you realize that "Brickyard" sits right next to The Sherwood-Menton House (built in 1846) -- established by The Rev. Adiel Sherwood as The Cape Girardeau Academy - a Baptist school for boys; then later, The Washington Seminary for Young Women; next home to the lawyer Mr. Matthew Moore, who was editor of the Southern leaning newspaper, 'The Cape Girardeau Eagle', who fled with his family when Cape became occupied during the Civil War, leaving the house fully furnished. Seized by The Union as "Southern contraband" it served as officers' quarters and a Civil War hospital. We have one of the most storied and historic houses in Cape Girardeau as our neighbor!

GOING DUTCH
The architectural style of "Brickyard" is Dutch Colonial Revival, a style of architecture popular in the Hudson River Valley with the early settlers of New York. In restoring the house we decided to explore that connection even further.
The "Dutch" influence gets repeated throughout the house; from the Dutch door welcoming guests on the front porch to the many tulips and other flowers planted in the yard; or from the blue and white, vintage "everyday" dinnerware called "Countryside", a Delft dinnerware pattern made by Wedgwood to the antique blue and white Delft porcelain and brass chandelier we imported for the kitchen! (Okay, "technically" our Delft chandelier came from Denmark ... but, close enough!)

THE LAYOUT
The original 1920 floorplan of this kit home on Washington Avenue.was actually called, "The Washington" by The Standard Home Company.

UPSTAIRS: featured the "private" bedroom and bath spaces
* Bedroom 1: is a master suite with a modern Queen brass bed from Crate amd Barrell featuring Ralph Lauren (or similar quality) bed linens. Storage is not a problem with an antique armoire and two closets -- one with a shoe drawer. And at the end of the day, curl up with a favorite book, throw blanket and a cup of tea in the vintage plaid reading chair or two red Chinoiserie wingback chairs with a large round, tufted ottoman.
* Bedroom 2: is furnished with a Deco inspired "bedroom suite" from The Commonwealth of Kentucky and is evocative of zebrawood. There are two closets.t
* Bathroom 1: is a spaceous full bath with a large walk in shower supplied with shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Step out of the shower and onto a hygenic diatomaceous earth bathstone while drying off with lush 100% organic Turkish cotton bath towels from Crate and Barrel. The bathroom has great lighting plus natural light; whilst the whilst the toilet is discretly tucked behind a wall
* The Laundry Room, is conveniently located on the second floor and has all the essential items: ironing board, iron, spray starch, laundry detergent, Oxyclean, a place to let clothes hang to dry, and a Samsung stackable washer and dryer.

The MAIN FLOOR featured the "common areas" of the house for shared living.
* Living Room - The 1920's were surprisingly modern with the discovery of atoms and the promise of an atomic age.

Note the elegant Ralph Lauren Kirsten Sofa that is practically a day bed -- perfect for afternoon naps or an unexpected guest.

We drew inspiration from the Palm Springs retreats of the starlit set who graced the silver screenk
The Desert Hollywood bungalows in places like Old Las Palmas were Bohemian and Hollywood glam in equal parts. The vintage Whittall Anglo-Wilton Persian rug called "Bird of Paradise" in the center of the room.

Note the elegant Ralph Lauren Kirsten Sofa that is practically a day bed -- perfect for afternoon naps or an unexpected guest.
*Matthew J. Whittall’s handsome and durable wool carpets were made in Worcester, Massachusetts and were sold under the name “Whittall’s Anglo-Persian Wilton,” were very popular in homes, theaters and hotels. Their exotic Orientalist designs and rich colors, made them perfect for a wide variety of settings --- from homes to hotels, from theaters to the White House.

Whittall was one of the first carpet manufacturers to use “programmed” looms (of a sort) to quickly produce his complex and colorful patterns. Wooden “cards” were punched with holes which instructed the loom when and where to insert a particular color of wool yarn. These cards would be linked together (in a chain) and, as the cards were fed into the loom, the loom would insert the programmed color of yarn.sywash, shampoo, and conditioner, ansd plush linens; a while the common areas: the living room *, dining room, kitchen, two porches,Nsyj and a seasonal, outdoor half bath are on the main floor.

Bohemian Bamboo Loveseat and Ottoman

Mother Grant's Rocker

The advent of kit homes brought about a standardization for certain pieces. By around 1920 unless the house was and extremely large mansion or a very small cottage, most fireplace mantels were 72". The current mantel is not the original mantel at "Brickyard". The major portion of this mantel came from York, Pennsylvania. As luck would have it, the curvature of the brickwork matches the curvature of the mantel perfectly. Sometimes, you just get lucky!
o the living room
As beautiful as the chimney is, it only smokes and given the size of the living room; it will run you out in no time! We added height to the chimney to try and get it to draw. No dice. Someday, we hope to retrofit the fireplace box to help it draw.

Dining Room:: Featured in the dining room is a china deck made in celebration o the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976. Fun fact: it is probably not by accident that it is 76 inches tall. The collection of dinnerware displayed are examples of patterns purchased by many Americans who, in the mid-20th Century, with modern conveniences like indoor plumbing and some extra money in their pockets, believed that, with a little effort, they too could afford more than one set of dishes -- what may have seemed like an extravagance a generation or two before.

Therefore,.during the last Century, people in this region became quite soliolMiddle-Clas
The Ki

THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Located in Downtown Cape Girardeau, “Brickyard” sits on a high bluff, overlooking two parks:
Washington Park, a neighborhood park with three acres of open space featuring a shelter with picnic tables, a large play structure with several swings and slides, and a small community garden
… and Missouri Park, featuring the city skate park and a small basketball court

LOCATION. LOCATION. LOCATION
“Brickyard” is only a few blocks from:
The Sherwood-Minton House - next door
Washington Park - right across the street
Old Lorimier Cemetery - 1 block
Missouri Park - 2 blocks
Broadway - shopping & dining - 3 blocks
The Mississippi River - 4 blocks
Century Casino - 5 blocks
SEMO University - Main Campus - 6 blocks
Main Street - shopping and dining - 7 blocks
Show-Me Center - concert venue - 8 blocks
Capaha Park - 9 blocks
SEMO Houck Stadium - 10 blocks
Mercy Hospital - 11 blocks
SEMO River Campus - 12 blocks

ACCESSIBILITY
There is on-street parking directly in front of the house. From Washington Avenue a cement staircase nestled between boxwoods and solar lumiere pathlights leads up, Up, UP fifteen steps to the front yard! The path continues across the yard and up five wooden steps to the front porch.