“ but a chair is not a house, and a house is not a home, when there’s no one there, and one of us is gone…” - Burt Bacharach
Sunday, October 23, 2022
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
It was the fall of 2018 when we said YES to reclaiming, restoring, renovating and reimagining this beautiful house at 595 East Cooke Road. For those of you who don’t know, she is the original homestead for this area. The original lodge (that remains standing as I write) was built in 1911. The rest of it, which was engulfed in flames this past spring, was added in the 1920s. In all, she spanned over 3,500 square feet with a basement footprint that was equally as large. She commanded a humble yet impressively unique presence inside and out. I believe the term is “demure.” Even her charred remains are a thing of beauty if one is willing to look at the juxtaposition of her architectural death against the backdrop of the nature climbing her walls, engulfing her with vine tendrils whilst birds make nests in the crooks and crannies of her exposed beams.
Or maybe she’s not so tragically poetically beautiful after all. Maybe she’s become an eyesore for which we’ve all grown weary. Frankly, I think she too, is tired of standing in her severely dilapidated state. The reality is that, since the fire, she’s been a danger to herself and anyone foolish enough to attempt to wander inside or out. The amount of broken glass is substantial. If driving by, we hope no one ended up with as many flat tires as we have.
It took ages to get a structural engineer out to verify whether or not she could be saved. (She cannot.) And even longer to get estimates -- and then a contract -- and then the permits – in order to proceed with the demolition. If anyone has been agitated, please know that you’ve not been alone in your frustrations.
This is a long way to announce that our Dovetail Lodge will become a mere memory by the end of this month, October 2022. With the caveat that contractors’ schedules are subject to change, we anticipate the demolition crew to be working this Thursday and Friday, October 27-28. Prepare for it to be noisy, dusty and a bit of a traffic nuisance.
For those of you wondering what is next? You can expect to see empty space and hear only silence for an extended period of time. Sitting on land that can be subdivided into the last two buildable lots on the Overbrook Ravine? We are not in a hurry. Ideally, we would sell one lot in order to build on the other. If anyone is asking, it would take a very handsome offer for us to sell the land as a single lot and walk away. We are still navigating the stages of grief and do not trust ourselves to make any rash decisions. (Ralph would like me to add, “unless the price is right.”)
THANK YOU for your continued patience as we near the end of this latest chapter of Dovetail Lodge. To stay in touch, send us a message and share your email. If you are a realtor or investor and happen to be reading this missive, these instructions apply to you too. Please do not attempt to call or text. We will not respond, except to block you.
Sincerely,
Dori Jenks and Ralph Kerr
djnral2.0@www.dovetaillodge.com