Townsend House_Carlton St Doorway - Pre-Application InquiryTOWNSEND HOUSE CONDOMINIUMS
Doorframe Update for 33 Carlton Street
Applying for Cer.ficate of Appropriateness
Townsend House Condominiums are comprised of two buildings:
a brick por.on on the corner of Carlton and Derby Streets, and a
wood por.on that sits on Derby. The doorway to be updated is
the Carlton Street entrance.
We would like to install an “overhang” over the door instead of
doing an in-kind replacement of the frame we had previously
(which was removed because it was in hazardous condi.on).
Aside from the fact that there was an appropriateness issue with
what was removed, we would prefer a different design that is
more func.onal and, based on offers for pre-applica.on
guidance from the Historical Commission in the past, we would
appreciate some informa.on on what would be considered
generally acceptable.
For general reference, this is a current photo of
the Carlton Street side of the building (1805).
!
And this is what the building looked like a
few years ago, before the previous frame
surround was removed.
"
A closer view of the frame is below. #
A few years back, the Historical
Commission shared this image
with us—along with a copy of a
violaOon lePer—from their records
of our property.
As menOoned, we’re aware that
the previous design we had was
deemed inappropriate following
installaOon in the 1980s (and
aren’t sure what was changed to
fix it because the scale of what we
had sOll seemed similar?), but we
would prefer something different
anyway—something with a simpler
look, but more importantly,
something more funcOonal,
especially for safety reasons.
"$
As shown in close-up of one of the current view
photos, the stairs entering the building have no
coverage, and especially when it rains or snows in
the winter, this can create a hazardous situaOon.
We received permission from the Historical
Commission to install a hand railing a few years
ago, but we are greatly interested in taking the
opportunity of replacing the door surround to
improve the funcOonality of this entrance with
even more protecOon and further increase safety
for both our residents and guests.
!
1 Orange Street (1750) %
Although we can’t quite compare the
overall scale of our building to others in
our neighborhood (and what is now our
main door for that building was originally
a side door), there are other examples of
the use of overhangs on similar period
homes. Some may be a bit more
Victorian-looking …
!$
&&& # '
7 Hodges Court(date unknown) %
1 Turner St (date unknown) %
Pre-renova.on from Google Maps %
8 Mall St (date unknown)$
Current photo !
… so we looked further around the
city for addiOonal examples. We
found one that had a narrower
doorway like ours that is also a brick
building. It also has a more typical
overhang that was generally retained
in a very nicely done renovaOon
someOme in the last few years. The
update is styled a bit modern for our
building (and their building is smaller
and the entry was a front door), but
even before the upgrade, the
overhang seems to work well with
the doorway. We like this one, but …
2 Federal Court (1804) %
We also found a smaller brick building only
a year younger than ours. It also features a
“border” between the floors and has a fan
light over the door (plus sidelights).
It has an overhang that is at least somewhat
historic (it has been on the building for over
100 years—see next page) that would be
very funcOonal and address our safety
needs. We also really like the general look
and think the concept is flexible enough
(and perhaps fiang for a former side-now-
front entry) that we could design a panel to
fit with the style of our building, but sOll
with the iron supports—they could be made
to match the railing we added.
!
A close-up of our stair railing !
2 Federal Court (1804) %
Pictured in 1913 (Digital Commonwealth)
For easy reference, another copy
of our Carlton Street entrance.
#
As menOoned, this overhang is our preferred opOon
and what we would like to install on our building.
• Would the general style be acceptable?
• Is the general panel look of the wood porOon fiang
or is there something else you would recommend?
We would greatly appreciate your input about what
we could do and create to make this opOon work for
our condominium.