If you’ve been waiting for the perfect Gillespie Park house, 1629 Seventh St. may well be it. It’s got everything: perfect location (on the fancy block of restored bungalows), the original 1925 floor plan, the original wood floors, doors, hardware, windows, etc.—the things most restorers spend so much time and money trying to replicate. The kitchen and bath have been remodeled but the rest of the house is a virtual time capsule. It doesn’t even have central air.

Among the pluses, the kind of touches you rarely find when searching for an old house: a great pantry with the original built in cupboards, a breakfast nook with more original built-ins, the original medicine chest and lighting fixtures in the bathroom, and a fireplace in the living room which may or may not work. The front porch has been enclosed with jalousie windows, but they could easily be removed.

Of course, this untouched condition means that you’d be living the way they did back in the 1920s. What on earth did people do with their clothes back in those days? This house has two small closets, although there’s a back porch that could be re-thought as a walk-in closet. And I guess you could tear down walls and re-configure, but the exciting thing about this house is the original floor plan, with all its eccentricities. 

 

It’s priced at $195,000, which seems a little high to me, but then you never, and I mean never, find a house with so many original features so well preserved in such a perfect location. Apparently they already have some sort of offer, so if you’re interested, call Valerie Wadsworth immediately at (941) 780-3858.

 

In a similar vein, you might be interested in another 1925 cottage at 828 Myrtle St., right across from Jungle Gardens. I’ve written about this house before, back when it was an untouched wreck on the market for $99,000. Well, now it’s been all gussied up and is priced at $182,500. And when it comes to restoring an older house, whoever did it did a great job.

 

It’s got two bedrooms, one bath, a tiny living room with a fireplace, a wonderful sun porch, a big formal dining room, and a charming country kitchen. The quality of the design and finishes is excellent, with everything white and blue and airy. It sits on three lots but the code won’t let you build on them, so you have a big charming backyard in which they could film commercials for Blue Bell Ice Cream. Just about the only drawback I can think of is the siding—it’s either vinyl or aluminum, I’m not sure which. But it looks great, and that’s the most important thing.

 

For more information call Barb Pratt at (941) 350-5324.