Here at Old Economy Village the restoration of the Rapp Houses has come to a slight pause, but in other parts of the country, people are working very diligently on preparing furnishings for the houses. Adelphi Paper Hangings in Sharon Springs, New York is busily block printing the remainder of the wallpaper for the George Rapp House. Langhorne Carpet Company in Penndel, Pennsylvania is weaving three carpets for both houses. And Riley May Restoration of Columbia, Tennessee is painting two wall to wall floor cloths for two hallways. Once these items are completed and arrive at Old Economy, we’ll start to see more going on at the Rapp Houses again.
There are quite a few things that need to happen at Old Economy Village for the restoration. We need to paint some small floor cloths, re-string some Venetian blinds, find some period roller blinds, make some curtains, locate some antique cook stoves, determine UV protection for the windows, and make some items in the wood shop. Some of this may require finding funding sources. There are some bigger things on the to-do list that will probably have to happen after the houses reopen to the public. These are conservation of historical artifacts and creation of an exhibit for one wing of the George Rapp House.
We are very excited to have the Rapp Houses reopen to the public in the near future. There might be some gaps in posts on the blog while everything is in production, but we will definitely keep you tuned about what is going on. For now, let’s look at some more pictures of the wallpaper that has been installed and the new porch addition.
The George Rapp Formal Parlor wallpaper is now completed. The last post didn’t show the paper underneath the chair rail.
Jim Yates of Historical Wallpapering Specialties, Johnson City, Tennessee hangs the new wallpaper for George Rapp’s main hall.
The new porch (deck) on the north side of the main block of the George Rapp House will provide handicap accessibility to the Frederick Rapp House.
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