McDonald flora and fuana

Autumn is a vibrant time of year in the gardens of McDonald Mansion











and along McDonald Avenue. (floral pictures by donnajonesphotography.com)

Come see for yourself.






Enjoy your surroundings,
McDonald Mansion Martin

McDonald Mansion Historical Ball

Pollyanna

The popular 1960 Disney movie Pollyanna was filmed using the exterior of the McDonald Mansion. Starring Hayley Miles, with Jane Wyman, Karl Alden, Anne Seymour and Agnes Moorehead. Pollyanna is an orphaned daughter, of missionaries, who arrives in the small town of Harrington to live with her rich aunt, Polly Harrington. Pollyanna is a cheerful youngster who focuses on the goodness of life and in doing so makes a wide variety of friends in the community including the hypochondriac Mrs. Snow and the acidic recluse Mr.Pendergast (source: www.wikipedia.com).

There is talk about a possible remake of Pollyanna with the use of McDonald Mansion again.








Remember, in the movie, Pollyanna falls out of a tree and is severely injured.




To find out more of the use of this house and others, in the filming of the movies visit www.hookedonhouses.net.

Another web site to visit is www.mtouch1.com, the builder that has been doing the extensive rehabilitation of the mansion used in the movie.

Enjoy your surrounding,
McDonald Mansion Martin

FRAMING FOR ARTISTIC CEILINGS

Frame work for ceilings:
Arches, vaults, coves, cathedral, soffits, domes,or curves. Each one has it's own distinctive look and feel. When the finishes cover these precision framed ceilings the effect will be spectacular.

To achieve the finish look you must have great, true and symmetrical framing "bones". In this older house, it is necessary to first plumb, level, shim and plane the existing 130+ year old wall, floors, and ceilings.


















Enjoy your surroundings, McDonald Mansion Martin

Architectural Styles

The architectural form of the McDonald Mansion can be described as a adaptation of a raised Southern Cottage, designed with a single main living level over an above ground basement intended as a flood precaution. The second story is an attic level with sloping ceilings and dormer windows in the bedrooms. The McDonalds called their home Mableton in homage to the childhood Mississippi River plantation of Ralphine North McDonald. A signature design feature is its use of flat sawn and cut-out wood ornament characteristic of Stick and Eastlake styles in vogue during that time. The passion for ornament and individualism combined with the thriving lumber industry was to lead to the creation of a less common, but highly decorated style of wooden architecture. This style was not named until Vincent Scully called attention to it in the 1950s, the Stick Style flourished from about the 1860 to 1890, featured angular and rectilinear patterns of boards used as ornamentation on the exterior of the house.

(prior to restoration)

The Stick Style grew from the "Picturesque Gothic" style first popularized by A.J. Davis and A. J. Downing in such publications as Davis' "Rural Residences" of 1837 and Downing's 1850 publication "The Architecture of Country Houses", and was further developed in the pattern books of the 1860s and 1870s. The invention of the ballooned frame and the steam-powered scrool saw made wood the preferred material of construction, especially as lumber was in plentiful supply in many areas and was both cheaper and less difficult to work with than stone. As a style it is generally considered to be a linking development between the Gothic Revival and Queen Anne, while all three styles ultimately have their roots in the Medieval English domestic architecture.

The Eastlake Style was named after Charles Lock Eastlake (1836-1906). Charles Eastlake studied under the prominent painter Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, his name sake and uncle. He continued his studies at the Royal Academy in London. He (during restoration)
wrote "Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery and other Details", published 1868. Using aesthetic reasoning to decry the excesses on nineteenth century taste in favor of a more robust, straightforward style. The book was particularly welcomed in the United States where his aesthetic direction was popularly labeled the Eastlake Style. Eastlake followed with another book "A History of the Gothic Revival", published in 1872. He served as assistant secretary on the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1866 and as a keeper at the National Gallery (reference book "The Houses We Live In, Jeffery Howe, PRC Publishing LTD., 2002).


Enjoy your surrounding,
McDonald Mansion Martin

Ornamental Iron, Santa Rosa, California

The McDonald Mansion Historical Ball will be on July 24, 2010.
A wonderful benefit for the Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery in which all participants must come in "period attire". Thanks to Hot Couture on Third Street and assistance from my wife, I will be decked out for this special occasion just like a Southern Gentleman from the 1870's. The Mansion itself is decked out year round with some very elaborate ornamental ironwork.

The use of ornamental iron occurs often in historical rehabilitations. Ornamental iron is a decorative element of this renovation that will add a nice touch to the overall beauty of the home.
The materials we use are cast iron, copper, steel, brass and wrought iron. The finish on the cast iron, steel and wrought iron was debated; rather to have a powder coated finish or a
(copper chimney tops) painted finish. The decision came down to interior and
exterior applications and
maintenance factors. A
painted finish was used on the exterior and powder coating on the interior finish, per the owner's request. The reason for not powder coating the exterior elements was, if you get a nick in the coating, it will lead to flaking and peeling.



(brass hinges)
Then after many years of use and exposure the powder coating will eventually gather moisture between the metal and the powder coating finish. Then you will have to remove the entire
(main entrance gate) powder coating and site paint it anyway. Painting
is an easier maintenance process.


Also, we wire filled the crevices, such as in this finials. This process fills in the tight areas where rain and moisture can sit and eventually create rust problems, such as staining and corrosion.

We have researched and found some great stock and custom sources: Steptoe & Wife in Toronto Canada, and custom artistic iron workers with shops in California cities such as North San Juan (in the sierra Gold Country), Cloverdale, and Richmond.

This is not wood, but rather a cast iron newel posts.



.





Enjoy your surrounding,
McDonald Mansion Martin

McDonald Mansion,

Gardens

(The parterres garden with winter frost)


Sonoma County, California, has many beautiful gardens. There is the Luther Burbank Gardens and gardens at the many renown wineries. The gardens and landscaping at McDonald Mansion are a treasure also.
Some of the highlights of these gardens where planted when the mansion was first built in 1878.
The Carol Tree, Erythrina and Wisteria, Fabaceae.

(Coral Tree, Winter) (Coral Tree, Summer)


(Wisteria)











There is even a rare rose which was named the Mableton Rose. McDonald Mansion was originally name Mableton, after Mrs. McDonald's plantation home where she grew up in Mississippi.

The newest addition is four 100+ year old roses that have been recently transplanted from an old cemetery in Sacramento.







A fun feature is the 8' high maze comprised of Ligustrum, Privet and Buxus,Boxwood.

The individual who is in charge of preserving these treasures and meticulously keeping the ground in show condition is Chris Pedersen, the owner of Tending Garden in Santa Rosa.


(Chris Pedersen, Tending Garden)



Enjoy your surroundings,
McDonald Mansion Martin

McDonald Mansion, Santa Rosa, California

McDonald Mansion, Santa Rosa, California







As we proceeded with the restoration of the McDonald Mansion a major element of work was the replacement of the original, long ago removed, cresting, that had mostly rotted away. The original house had two tier cresting on the roof. The new cresting is made from a material called Azek and is CNC milled to the original patterns. Azek is made from cellular PVC, a form of plastic and the cresting was routed out of 4' x 8' sheets of Azek. A CNC router (computer numerical control) is a router that is controlled by computer aided design software, which allows you to create almost any pattern you would desire. Imagine, back in the day, cutting these shapes by hand with a scroll saw. In the era of this house the use of steam powered scroll saws were being introduced, which helped, but was still quite a task.

The roof cresting, sometimes referred to as "gingerbread" is a major ornamentation on this old house. Gingerbread is a term for the ornate scroll-sawn ornaments that was first used on Gothic Revival houses. This type of fine craftsmanship is prevalent in San Francisco. A premier example of this is the "Wedding Cake House" in Kennebunkport, Maine.

The cresting on McDonald Mansion is softly lit at night with energy efficient LED lights. At night this gives a spectacular crowning on the house. The upper flat portion of the roof is surrounded by cresting which creates a walk area with fantastic views. The second inner and higher cresting walls doubles as a screen to shield the roof mounted mechanical equipment from being seen.








Here are more pictures of cresting, because pictures speak better than words.






















Yes, it is time for the Rural Cemetery Historical Ball at the McDonald Mansion. It is set for July 24, 2010, with period attire required. You can contact the City of Santa Rosa Parks and Recreation Department for tickets. Music performed by Brass Works, a band specializing in historical balls. Catered by Legends. Docent led tours of McDonald Mansion will be given . Photos of guests will be taken by Jon Stiffler. See you on the beautiful grounds of McDonald Mansion.

Enjoy your surroundings,
McDonald Mansion Mart

McDonald Mansion, Santa Rosa, California

As partners in MastersTouch Construction one of our projects is the McDonald Mansion.










I am Project Manager for the major renovation of the McDonald Mansion. This historical rehabilitation first started with demolition of portions of the existing structure including two non-original additions which housed the kitchen and Master Bath. In addition there was the removal of basement concrete slabs by hand and power equipment (see picture below), removal of the inadequate original 1878 brownish red clay brick foundation along with excavation of dirt for a deeper and enlarged basement. At the same time this demolition was being done, the installation of shoring and bracing to support the house, because we were taking out what held up the house.


Yes, you can find a small and powerful enough piece of equipment to fit under a house to do demolition.





Kind of creepy to be under the house, while supported on "stilts" and thinking about earthquakes.

Son #2 in college, in graphic communications says I should use a more up to date font. Wait until the next post.


Enjoy your surrounding,
McDonald Mansion Mart

McDonald Mansion Mart

Santa Rosa has been home to Charles Schulz's Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang, noted horticulturist Luther Burbank , Wine Country, and the beautiful McDonald Mansion. The McDonald Mansion is a marvelous 15,000 sq. ft. house built in 1879. I have an appreciation for old houses, studied them, traveled to see them and built my own home in the style of Greek Revival. Now I am involved in the McDonald Mansion historical restoration of this Stick and Eastlake architectural style home in Santa Rosa, California. I should have started this sooner, because I am well under way in this three year endeavor. With the encouragement of my wonderful wife I realize I have years of background on houses, how to deal with people, and learned information. People ask me "how do you know so much, about so much" answer - I listen (and read) more than I talk. Also, I decided to post entries thanks to my three boys who require me to stay current with what's happening in technology and other amazing facts about all aspects of life, including clothing styles.

Follow along with me and enjoy the adventures of restoring significant buildings and the quirky situations that can be encountered while doing so. Along the way I will give sources for hard to find products and services, post great pictures and every so often go off course on "bunny trails". Oh, don't forget to smell the roses in the garden, more on that later.







Enjoy your surroundings,
McDonald Mansion Mart