On December 4, 2012 the Rapp Houses closed to the public. That week a team of movers removed all of the large artifacts and put them in storage on site. Structural work began on December 17th. Contractors removed floor boards in the Trustees room, the main hallway of the George Rapp House, and the former George Rapp bedroom, as well as insulation in the south cellar to investigate the structural integrity of the house’s sill. Water intrusion problems, large visible cracks, and settling had raised concern. This was the perfect time to investigate and prepare to repair the house.
Movers from B.R. Howard & Associates remove Christ Healing the Sick from the George Rapp parlor wall.
Furniture from the Rapp Houses repose in the Robertson House.
Designers are currently reproducing some of the original wallpaper that was pulled off of the walls in the 1960s. There will be some new papers that we haven’t seen before in the houses, as well as some of the old paper to which we are accustomed to seeing. Some walls in utilitarian rooms will not have wallpaper. All of the papers will be block printed in the same way as it was in the early nineteenth century.
Carpets are also being reproduced. Although there are no original carpets from Economy in the collection, we have a splendid collection of antique carpets from the first half of the nineteenth century that are being reproduced and installed in the better rooms of the houses.
This post was published almost in its entirety in The Harmonist (Winter 2013) newsletter of the Friends of Old Economy Village.
For other posts please see the main blog page.
