ITH FREDERICKSBURG'S annual Candlelight Tour visiting Hanover Heights this year, a special period of the city's history is brought to mind.
The neighborhood, developed as the Great Depression set in, is bounded by Hanover Street, Kenmore Avenue, William Street and Sunken Road. It was considered to be "way out there" by downtown city dwellers--the suburbs.
Back in 1929, growth was welcomed as a sign of prosperity, not lamented as a symptom of sprawl. Residential construction meant jobs, when jobs were scarce--not simply more rooftops with more children to educate.
Nevertheless, the development back then of a new subdivision called Hanover Heights raised some of the same issues that come up today: Can the utilities be in place quickly enough for the new homes going up? How could half of the development's 120 lots be bought up in just a year?
Even then, people fretted over the loss of what was once open farmland. Even then people were concerned about roads, water mains and rapid development. And this was all happening in spite of the stock market crash and an ailing economy.
The more things change.
These days, Hanover Heights is much as it always was, and next month it will be on display as the site of the Historic Fredericksburg Foundation's 34th annual Candlelight Tour, scheduled for Dec. 11 and 12.
The 10 houses to be open to the public in the tight-knit community represent a variety of architectural styles associated with the period. A brief description of each home on the tour accompanies this story.
One of the most visible and attractive homes on the tour route is that of James "Mac" Quann at 701 Hanover St. For years, Quann has tastefully decorated his home for the holidays, placing a Christmas tree decorated with white lights in the sun room that faces Kenmore Avenue.
"My favorite time of the year is the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas," said Quann, which makes his participation in the tour all the more appropriate.
The 22 acres that make up Hanover Heights were part of an estate once owned by Capt. M.B. Rowe and A.P. Rowe, ancestors of the owners of this newspaper, according to information gathered by HFFI.
Publisher Josiah P. Rowe III, whose family home at 801 Hanover St. was built in 1830, recalls an area of open land that gave way to development.
"A winter snow created a long sledding run from the top of the hill at Brompton [now home of the University of Mary Washington president] all the way down to Kenmore Avenue, at a time when there weren't many cars around," he said.
He also recalled a time growing up when his racially mixed group of friends from the area would play ball together, but go to separate schools.
The house at 701 Hanover was completed in 1930 by builder Robert B. Payne, grandfather of the Robert B. Payne who owns the local heating and air-conditioning business.
The elder Payne was known for his preservation efforts, and liked to use salvaged materials that could be suitably recycled for his new houses. The salvaged bricks he used to build 701 Hanover give it the look of a home much older than its 75 years.
He also gave much attention to the pitch of roofs, style of windows and other design details, as noted in the HFFI research. Though the designs and materials he used have at times confused efforts to assess the origins of some local structures, the consensus is that the city is handsomer for his work.
Quann has strived to maintain the classic appearance of the three-story house as he has gone about fixing it up and expanding it over the past 17 years.
The brick-floored porch he enclosed a decade ago enhances the home's looks with its walls of white-framed windows. Many of the windows in the house are still the original blown glass, and Quann replaced broken ones whenever possible with salvaged antique glass.
When Quann bought the place in 1987, it was broken up into three apartments, and his top priority was returning it to private-home status.
He had the clapboard addition put on in the early 1990s, nearly doubling the floor space. But he made sure the addition blended with the original house by selecting similar-looking windows and using the same style of cedar shakes on the roof. He also continued the use of hardwood flooring inside the addition and used similar moldings.
"You know how it is with older houses--when you begin to fix them up, one thing leads to another," said Quann.
He needed to have the wiring redone and the plaster walls repaired, and also added some closets. A plumber by trade, Quann handled the plumbing work himself.
He called on veteran woodworkers Bill and Charlie Raines of Spotsylvania County to custom-build new cherry cabinetry, including the kitchen cabinets, a built-in corner cabinet in the dining room, and the mantel and hearth surround in the living room.
Quann has personalized the home with antique pieces of furniture he has accumulated, plus his collection of clocks, including several grandfather clocks.
"I've lived in many homes, but I like this one the best. I like the convenience of being in the city," he said. And like everyone else who drives by the house day after day, he admired the house for years. Unlike everyone else, he decided to make an offer on it.
The house will look even more the part of a Candlelight Tour participant once it receives its tour makeover. The decorator assigned to the house is Sharon Roscoe, an interior designer at the Home Design Center on William Street downtown.
A tour rookie this year, Roscoe is looking forward to putting her imagination and skills to work on the historic-looking house.
"On our first walk-through, I'm immediately thinking 'an old-fashioned Christmas,'" she said. "Classic ornaments, lots of fruit, magnolia leaves. I'll want to use hand-crafted things, like afghans and toys--maybe a rolling horse or train set. We'll set up the dining room for a traditional Christmas dinner."
She is also considering a subtle patriotic theme, given the election year, and decor that evokes the feeling of Christmas in a simpler era.
"The key is to have fun with it." Roscoe said.
To reach RICHARD AMRHINE: 540/374-5406 ramrhine@freelancestar.com