24 Park Street

April 2007

This house was built at 10 Elmwood Ave. for Charles J. Chretien, bookkeeper for the Union Fire Insurance Co.  Originally 30 by 28 feet, it occupied a tiny lot and came right up to the street, and thus had to be removed when Elmwood Avenue was widened to become a major thoroughfare.  It was moved to this site in 1910, and in the process was rebuilt to a more standard size of 20 by 48 feet; much of the original Eastlake detail was reused.

After the move, a back half of the house was added.  As is too often the case, subsequent remodelings eliminated several of the house’s unique features including the staircase, a fireplace, a wooden banister and the wooden porch railings.  Still, the exterior is beautiful and painted to take advantage of the bargeboard in the gable with sunburst carving in the head.  Notice the fish scale shingles that define the pediment.  The second floor windows have cornice heads with dentils and pilasters.

The current owners purchased the home 20 years ago.  They have dedicated a lot of valuable time and resources remodeling the kitchen and upstairs bathroom, refurbishing the hardwood floors and removing the dropped ceilings.  As they were working away to create their dream house, they discovered the front door under twelve layers of paint and aluminum trim.

Furnishings in this secrets of Allentown create an odyssey of different styles.  The living room and dining room are furnished in a traditional style, while the kitchen is functional French.  Victorian bedrooms and a functional computer room adorned with antique photos of family members are just a few of the wonders you’ll discover in today’s tour.  The pictures of the clergy in hte hall, relics of the estate of a local priest, lend a truly unique tone to the overall decor.

The owners have just recently repainted the kitchen in an artistic marbling and remodeled the first floor bathroom.  Don’t miss the stunning gardens in the back yard complete with pond populated with coy fish that live there all through the year - including the winter!