Hidden windows discovered in old home

Eileen Murphy and a group of volunteers were surprised to find two old window openings that had been sealed off when they removed metal siding from her historic West Central neighborhood home earlier this month.

In a project known as an “unveiling,” Murphy and members of the Spokane Preservation Advocates organization stripped the prominent neoclassical home back to its original wooden siding in a June 14 work project.

“We discovered two windows no one knew about under the metal siding,” Murphy reported in an e-mail. “The old siding is in better condition than I expected,” she said, although some of it will need replacing.

The two windows that had been covered by the metal siding apparently were not original to the 1905 house because they do not show up in a 1950 photo of the home obtained by preservation consultant Linda Yeomans, who is working with Murphy on seeking a historic register listing for the residence.

Murphy is in the early stages of restoring the home that occupies a prominent location at Shannon Avenue and Belt Street. Yeomans is researching the history and Murphy is working with a contractor on the exterior renovation.

Murphy said that the house lost some of its wood trim work underneath the metal siding, but that she plans to replace it. She reported that a contractor who looked at the home said that the exterior restoration is possible.

Murphy has already rebuilt her front porch and had reinforcing wooden beams placed inside rectangular front porch columns. The columns hold up a second-story, open-air porch and the front of an overhead gable. Murphy is also planning to paint the house after the siding is removed. She wants to improve the landscaping and install a sprinkler system as well.

Preservationists said they are excited about Murphy’s project because it brings historic renovation to an area of the city that is rich in residential history, but could benefit from having more documentation and historic listings of homes.