The current owners of the house put in a fence along 42 Hawthorn.

It's a sad day today at NINA, as we had to say good-bye to the gingerbread version of 1 Imlay Street.  We knew this day would come, but we were compelled to reach it today because of signs of deterioration in the confectionary as well as signs of curious mice having visited overnight.

How much for fun is this?  The gingerbread version of 1 Imlay Street now resides at NINA's offices, and so we are able to present now a much, much closer look at this masterpiece of the culinary arts.  The team that put this together did an extraordinary job, and we're pretty sure it was robbed of its deserved victory at the auction!

Mike Marshall at Aetna informed us today that the gingerbread version of 1 Imlay Street came in second place at Aetna’s charity auction, with a bid of $250.  The $250 will go to Hartford Habitat for Humanity as a charitable donation.  Just one more example of how much non-profit peers and our corporate partners can accomplish together!

How cool is this?  Our executive director came across this today, 1 Imlay Street rendered in gingerbread by a group of Aetna employees.  Their project is part of a charity auction that will be held to raise money for local Hartford non-profits.

We didn’t hold an open house for 1 Imlay because we were under contract long before we finished the house, so today, in partnership with the new owners, we opened the house to our friends and neighbors from Asylum Hill.

One of the people who stopped by for the open house today was Karen Pannone, architect with Clohessy Harris & Kaiser.  After our bosses came to their agreement on the height the windows should be, Karen was dispatched to meet me and to take the measurements for the third floor windows.  So, while I may have been the measure, it was really Karen who set the standard!

Today we bid farewell to our house at 1 Imlay Street -- it now belongs to Hartford's newest homeowners.  This was a great project, and we are very proud of how it turned out, especially because we were able to take it almost all the way back to how it would have looked in 1875.  We hope the new homeowners will have as much fun living here as we had rehabbing it!

A dreary fall evening.  A warm, inviting new home in Asylum Hill.

In case you've ever wondered whether any single person could have an oddball effect on anything, here's the proof of it!

Not sure why, but we hardly ever show the north and west sides of 1 Imlay -- so here they are!

Some shots of the interior at 1 Imlay, showing more progress on the restoration.

The kitchen has started to go in at 1 Imlay Street, and along with it we are working on some of the other finishing touches, primarily flooring.  The tile has been installed in the bathrooms, the hardword floors are being sanded, and the new main staircase is ready for its new stain.

Our paving contractor started work on the front and back walks at 1 Imlay Street today.  The design and materials were selected in consulation with the future homeowners.

It’s too bad that the banner is kerfuffle, but again, this is a pretty remarkable shot.  Maybe because the house faces east?  It’s just dawning on me (ha!  It is the dawn, and 1 Imlay is the east) that every other house NINA has ever worked on orients north to south.  Now how about that?

Okay, I know it’s bragging, but I’m going to say it anyway – it really is pretty impressive that we have three houses moving along so nicely, all at the same time.

The finishing touch on the restoration of the exterior of 1 Imlay Street.  Many thanks to Jeff Giddings!

Right time to be there:  dramatic shot!

Painting underway.

The wall board arrived this morning, and as you can see we took out the window in the second story hallway in order to accommodate the delivery.  My days of sunlight playing through the framing are just about over!

Before we get to the demolition, though, how about that new stained-glass window?

Today is the big day:  the former Capitol Liquors will be demolished!  Here are the wrecking devices in place, a front-loader with a claw and a dumpster.  It is hard to believe that this is all it will take, but I’m assured that it will be.

The front-loader started work by knocking itself sideways into the south wall.  It crumpled easily.

The exterior is coming along nicely, although today it does a good job of matching the sky.

I won’t lie, I like the way the sun comes through the framing, especially on the second floor.  Most of these photos are from the second floor bedrooms, but there’s also one looking into the kitchen and one looking up the main staircase.  I also made it up to the third floor.

Jeff Giddings is hard at work here on the front porch, which is coming along very nicely, but he and the other carpenters have also been making steady progress on the other historic elements that we are restoring to the house.  The brackets, crowns, and new windows are now being painted.

Not sure when demolition will begin, but the old liquor store has begun to demolish itself.

The new exterior window frames at 1 Imlay Street, as our effort to turn back the clock proceeds.

Sorry these shots are blurry, but they were taken on the fly – and on the sly!  This is a bit of how we make the sausage at NINA:  that’s Ken on a table, getting a bird’s eye view of the window crown we recently uncovered at 1 Imlay.  And that’s Mike, catching me out of the corner of his eye, as he knows all of what I’m about.

Things are moving along nicely at 1 Imlay.  The new bay window is taking shape, and the rest of the house is gradually returning to its original footprint.

Laser-cut from the original we found.  This is going to look awesome.

We do have amazing carpenters, don't we?

Not sure every photo is easy to follow, but the rooms are now in place.  The most impressive shots, though, are up on the third floor, where you can get a solid sense of the work done to return the roof to original appearance.  Also, some work around the outside, chipping away at the later additions that extended the house beyond its real footprint.

The future look of 1 Imlay is becoming easier to see.

The carpenters are moving along.

Nearing completion on the new roof.  Also, some views that aren't meant to last.

It's not as distressing as it seems.

The exterior is taking shape, and the new floor plan inside is emerging.  The shape of the roof to come is now discernible -- and with the new framing underway on the third floor, you can also get a clearer picture of how we determined the shape of the historic roof.  Basically, any old boards that are straight on the third floor are new.

Demolition underway, inside and out.  We’re starting to uncover some very interesting stuff.

Some preliminary demolition has been done, mostly to see what was beneath the newer material, but the break room has arrived, which means work is imminent.  Although some of the new stuff, like trim, has been removed, this is probably the last best look at the house in its “pre” state.