1734 Josephine St.

Staff Recommendations: 

In August 2023, it was discovered by the inspector for the area that quite a bit of work had occured at the property without a building permit or CofA. If a building permit had been applied for, this would have triggered HDLC review, as this building has been a designated Landmark since 2010. However, no permit applications were submitted for this property. After a site visit with staff and several correspondence, some of the unpermitted work has been permitted and corrected. The owner is now requesting retention of the remaining items that includes post-hurricane Ida repairs. The outstanding items include applied ornamentation at the fascia, columns, newel posts and throughout the house, applied decorative cornices above the doors and windows, replacement of the newel posts on the second-floor porch with posts that do not match the previously existing, and replacement of the handrail pickets throughout the first and second-story that do not match the previously existing.

Per the Guidelines, the addition of ornamentation that did not historically exist on the property is not appropriate and is a Commission appeal for a Landmark building. Further, Staff feels that the applied ornamentation and cornices create a false history of the building and there is historic photos that show that this ornamentation did not exist at this building. As the removal of the ornamentation will not harm historic fabric and because there is no historical evidence it existed on this building, Staff recommends denial of the retention of the applied ornamentation and cornices. 

The previously existing newel posts on the second-floor porch aligned with the columns below creating a rhythm that is typical of buildings of this style. The new newel posts, as constructed are not in the same location as the previously existing, do not match the previous profile and have further applied ornamentation and dentils that did not historically exist. The current newel posts appear to be a later addition, as they do not correspond to any of the existing historic elements, as such, Staff recommends denial of the newel posts as constructed and recommends that the newel posts be reconstructed to match the previously existing condition. 

At the second-floor front porch, the decorative turned handrails were replaced with skinnier and more decorative handrails. At the side porch that faces Brainard St, the historic plain square picket posts were also replaced with the skinnier, highly decorative turned handrails. This not only changes the hierarchy of the two different porches, with the rear historically being more of a service porch and less decorative, it also creates a false history. The HDLC Guidelines require historic architectural elements to be replaced in kind, including dimension, profile, location, etc. As such, Staff recommends denial of the retention of the handrails as installed. 

Overall, it is important to remember that this building is a historic architectural Landmark and changes to the key architectural features like ornamentation, columns, newel posts, handrails, etc. can obscure the history of the building and is the main reason for the Staff's recommendation of denial of all items.