Read the Blog
The interior of the Rapp Houses were restored between 2013 and 2014. The houses finally reopened for tours in November 2014. Read more about the restoration in the blog posts that were written during the restoration.
Open for Tours!
How exciting! The Rapp Houses are finally open for tours once again. Reviews are glowing! Time to come out to Old Economy Village again and see the magnificent changes. Just to give you a glimpse of what you might see, look at the pictures below. But, we don't want to give too much away, because [...]
Furnishings!
This past week saw all of the large furnishings moving into the Rapp Houses. Brian Howard of Carlisle, PA and his crew did the hard moving job. Also this week, White Marsh Interiors installed curtains and bed hangings in George and Frederick Rapp's bedrooms. Thanks to Bert Laudenslager and David Sell for their beautiful work! [...]
The Carpet is Beautiful!
This week four of six rooms and two staircases received carpeting. The room carpets are facsimiles of original ingrain carpet from the Old Economy Village collection produced by the Langhorne Carpet Company of Penndel, Pennsylvania. The stair carpets were woven by Family Heirloom Weavers of Red Lion, Pennsylvania. Two more carpets are still at the [...]
Artifacts are moving in
The staff at Old Economy Village has recently begun to move the historical artifacts back into the Rapp Houses. Packing and removal of artifacts began in the summer of 2012. The house was closed in December 2012 when the large artifacts were removed. The curator has started with the small items, and the large [...]
The wallpaper is done!
We can hardly believe it ourselves, but yes, the wallpaper is done! The wallpaper reproduction project began in 2002, and now, 12 years later, we are proud to show off the results. And I might add that what you are going to see is BEAUTIFUL, especially to those with an early 19th century eye (wink, [...]
Wallpaper!!!
Yes, the wallpaper is finally being hung in the Rapp Houses! Everyone is so excited to see it, because we've waited and worked on this for YEARS! We are still in the production phase for three wallpapers, so more will come probably in September. But for now, take a peak at the new look of [...]
Update
It has been eight long weeks since the last post (sorry about that - I've been extremely busy putting together two exhibits: Two Centuries of Music at Economy and A Style of Their Own: Clothing and Textiles of the Harmony Society - two must-sees!) An update about the Rapp Houses restoration is LONG overdue. The [...]
The Plastering Is Done (for now)
It's a little bit of a slow time for photographs inside the Rapp Houses right now. The plaster work is done for now. We're looking at a little bit more plastering before this project is complete. The painters are still painting inside the houses. Carpentry and electrical work also continues. Old Economy Village will be [...]
Who lived in the Rapp Houses?
We've taken a 2-week break while 2 exhibits have been taking up all of my time. Harmonizing at Economy: Two Centuries of Music opened at the end of March in the Visitor Center lobby, and Their Own Style: Clothing and Textiles of the Harmony Society is set to open Thursday, May 8th at 7 PM [...]