Cazenovia, NY – Dr. Joseph Catania ends his breakfast on the veranda on the lake, his historic house in Czenovia in the 71 Forman Street when he goes to the phone for the interview for the house this week.
It was a hot, susceptible morning, but his day started a bit calm than the rest of us. A light breeze blew from Lake Czenovia.
“It's always a bit cooler here,” said Catania.
It is no wonder that this 3.3 hectare property with a 260-foot level Lakefront has been a popular summer short place for so long.
“It's a magical place to live,” said Catania. “Nobody can replicate that.”
And thanks to his almost 30-year efforts, the Victorian of the colonial revival with five bedrooms probably never looked better.
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The history of the house dates from 1892 when the American industrialist William G. Park from Philadelphia built the famous architect Stanford White the three-story house, boathouse, stables and polo for $ 33,000.
Park, which called the property “Park Place”, went to Manlius by train and then by StagoCoach to Cazenovia to defeat the summer heat.
The property was sold ten years after his death in 1909. During the ban, it was called “Shore Acres”, a popular bed and breakfast with a speakeasy.
“A number of adorable parties are administered to Shore Acres in Czenovia,” said the Syracus -Herald 1923.
When Catania found the property in 1996, it was desperate “danger”.
“It was in decay,” he said. “It took a basic restoration.”
Fortunately, the house had found the right person in Catania to save it.
“It fell there,” he said. “I have to save it. I never looked at another home after I bought it.”
This would not be a typical redesign, in fact Catania is very off. His work would be a “historical restoration”.
It would not cut it for supplies to the Home Depot. Everything had to be done correctly in order to maintain the authenticity and the architectural majesty of what Catania calls this “timeless art”.
The foundation was repaired and it updated the boiler and the historical windows and columns.
Dr. Joseph Catania has this historical photo of his house when it was “Park Place”, the nickname, which was built by its original owner, the American industrialist William G. Park, which was built in 1892.With the kind permission of Dr. Joseph Catania
A garage with 12 cars with heated floors was attached, the boathouse, and each of the six and a half bathroom has been restored.
The kitchen was equipped with wolf devices from a commercial class, a granite island, heating drawer, two ovens, two sinks with garbage disposal and increased panel cups from Mennonites.
Catania is called the current “steward” of the house and he demands that no corners are cut there.
“It is like living in an antiquity,” he said. “I became a consumer of improvement journals so that I could do it right.”
His work bears an appreciation for the craftsmen of the past who have created this “timeless” piece of architecture, of which he believes it cannot be replicated.
From the extra wide corridors, not the corridors, not the breathtaking front staircase, which for the first time made it fall in love with the more than 11 feet high ceilings, and the way the lake is framed by the entrance to the lake on the lake, he loves and is passionate.
“Everything was made on purpose,” he said of the original builders of the house.
He calls his careful restoration a “senseless homage” to the house, which sometimes borders on the “delusional”.
“It is a persistent love,” he said. “There is no other way to do it. I'm never worried about dollars and cent.”
Although the house looks a lot like a great museum piece, it is also a “living” breathing structure that a family needs in it.
“It's a family home,” said Catania. “Children need the music.”
He raised his four children there, each with their own spacious bedroom on the second floor. He even built “study stations” so that they do their homework.
The primary bedroom has a private bathroom from Carrara Marble with a heated towel shelf, toilet seat and floors. The bedroom has access to a dressing room that has an effect on a balcony on the street.
The first floor has a sun -filled solarium, a frontsalon that it uses as a home office, a cozy living room and a formal dining room, which it calls “perfect Thanksgiving”.
“It's enchanting,” he said. “You want to come here in your sweater and put on pants.”
A laundry scare wears dirty clothes in a laundry room on the first floor, which has a “service” shower in which he can clean up after a long bike tour.
The first floor is complete with a home fitness studio.
The third floor, once full of holiday guests, was transformed into a private theater room that is ideal for watching films.
The children in Catania grew up and have moved away, so that the over 5,800 square meter house is mainly empty.
“Another family is needed to hold it together,” he said.
He wants to make it clear that he is as “happy as a lark” who lives in his “most wonderful home”, and says that “this is not a sale of despair”.
He just wants a “modern family” the next steward. Someone who appreciates him appreciates a good, historical architecture.
It is waiting for exactly the right buyer who wants to “make his own 30-year memories” in this unique timeless home.
You can find more information about this property from the Realors Marisa Montreal Wright and Gerald Morrissey from Finger Lakes Sotheby's International Realty. You can find your contact information below.
The details
Address: 71 Forman Street, Cazenovia, NY 13035
Price: $ 3,950,000
Size: 5,832 square foot
Area: 3.3 acres
Monthly mortgage: $ 20,622 (based on the national average rate of 6.81%, according to Freddie Mac on June 19 for a 30-year-old mortgage with a down payment of 20%.
Taxes: $ 37,287 (based on an estimated value of $ 950,000)
Built: 1892
School district: Cazenovia
Kitchen: As almost everywhere in this historic house in Czenovia, the kitchen was carefully restored. His seller, Dr. Joseph Catania, thought about his plans and did not cut corners to bring them to the bear. The kitchen has granhole counters, including the table in the turtle table shape. Commercial devices were installed. Catania jokes that the kitchen has almost two of everything. This comprises two sinks, two ovens and two garbage disposal. There are warming drawers and the pantry of a butler. The increased panel cabinets were made by Mennonites.
Living areas: Enjoy over 5,800 square meters of elegance and sophistication in this late 19th century house. It mixes both the nostalgic beauty of the gilded age with modern details that today's families appreciate. The front foyer runs the entire width of the house and if you enter the house from the side with a view of the street, you can look directly through the lake with a view of the lake. The beautiful and wide main staircase was what Catania in love for the first time. The formal dining room is perfect for large family meals and public holidays. The cozy living room has blue Venetian plaster walls and ceilings. Wood fuel fireplaces and handkerchief doors can be found everywhere. The first floor has a front rectile that Catania uses as a home office. A sun-filled solarium could be a children's scope with ping pong and pool tables. From the garage there is a washroom with a “service shower” that he uses after cycling. All efforts were made to keep the authenticity of the house, the paint plans, columns, plaster and windows near original.
Bedroom: This former bed and breakfast has five bedrooms on the second floor. The stately primary school has access to a dressing room and a private bathroom. The changing room that affects a balcony on the street could be used as a kindergarten. Each bedroom has a assigned bathroom and is “super quiet”. He had “study stations” built for his children, where they could do their homework.
Bathroom: There are six and a half bathrooms in this house. The primary bathroom has been restored with Carrara marble and has a glass shower and heated floors, toilet seat and towel shelves. A bathroom has a restored bathtub of the claw foot, which is original for the house. Another has a new shower that has never been used.
Outside: Enjoy the peaceful calm of Lake Czenovia in this 3.3 hectare property. Booting, kayaking and canoeing are easy from the restored boathouse. The property has 260 feet Level Lakefront. The Massive Dachveranda at the lake of the house is ideal for reading, eating outdoors or simply from the sun or the rain. Catania had a garage for 12 cars attached. It has a heated floor. The village of Czenovien's shops, restaurants and schools is only a short walk away.
Agent: Marisa Montreal Wright and Gerald Morrissey, real estate agent
Finger Lakes Sotheby's International Realty
Address: 44 East Genesee Street, Skaneateles, NY 13152
Telephone: (315) 391-0265 (Wright) and (315) 730-0295 (Morrissey)
E -Mail: marisa.mwright@fingerlakessir.com and jerry.morrissey@fingerlakesir.com
Website: Marisa Montreal Wright and Gerald Morrissey
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