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How many tires can you fit inside a Craftsman Bungalow?
"Enough to make us nervous that the dumpster wouldn't hold them all," said Cathleen Turner, Preservation NC's Piedmont Regional Director.
The Craftsman Bungalow was 309 N. Driver Street in East Durham. The occasion, a volunteer day devoted to Saving Architecture For Everyone (that's S.A.F.E.) co-hosted by Preservation NC and Preservation Durham as part of Project RED, an effort to help revitalize East Durham. More than 40 eager volunteers shared their Saturday morning on April 17, traveling from right down the block or from 50 miles down I-85 to take part.
Aspen Price came over from her home in Durham's Duke Park neighborhood to lend a hand pulling aluminum siding off 213 S. Driver Street. "It's actually not that hard to do," she admitted, as the the aluminum gave way to reveal original clapboards. "I'm pleasantly surprised."
Click to see a slideshow of images . . .
She said she was inspired to show up for the S.A.F.E. workday because she "loves renovation — and I love the fact that when Durhamites see a need, we come together to make stuff happen."
Stuff was happening across the street as well at 212 S. Driver, where volunteers peeled away more aluminum while others whacked weeds and transplanted seedlings. Volunteer Rodney Swink, a Raleigh landscape architect and Preservation NC board member, pronounced the soil "great for gardening." The house, which was damaged by fire last spring, is still in decent condition and will make a darling cottage, garden and all, once renovated.
"It's really going swimmingly," observed Preservation Durham's April Johnson, taking a break to watch some courageous volunteers brave the porch roof of 213 S. Driver. "The true beauty of these houses is beginning to shine through. Potential buyers will see that. And when the housing isn't in disrepair, it makes you feel safer. This is just the beginning of improvement for this neighborhood."
Several dozen visitors came by for an Open House on Sunday to admire all three cleaned-up properties. Preservation NC and Preservation Durham are rehabbing all houses for affordable resale. The first may be available by summer, thanks in part to the hard work of the S.A.F.E. volunteers.
All that hard work, said Cathleen Turner, "and it was unbelievably fun."
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