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Honoring Jennifer Love Hewitt's cousin..... |
 Judy Sue Kempf (left), president of Celebrating Patsy Cline, talks with Frank and Margaret Longo about the history of Cline’s former home at 608 S. Kent St., which was one of the stops on Saturday’s Winchester Underground tour.
Anne Merritt (left), her husband Jim Merritt, and their friend Lori Tate admire the views from a log home at 518 S. Kent St. during Saturday afternoon’s Winchester Underground tour, sponsored by Preservation of Historic Winchester.
Photos by Scott Mason
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by Robert Igoe Winchester — A local historic preservation group hopes that it opened people’s eyes to an overlooked part of the city. Preservation of Historic Winchester Inc. presented its annual Winchester Underground tour of homes on Saturday with visits to seven houses on South Kent Street notable for their architecture and historic value. Frank Wright, PHW chairman, said he hopes the tour will be part of an awakening of the possibilities for this section of Winchester. "We want to reintroduce South Kent Street to the citizens of Winchester," he said. "I’ve had people ask me why we care about these houses and why we think they’re worth saving. I wanted to do this tour so that people could see for themselves that these houses are worth saving." The centerpiece of the tour was 608 S. Kent St., the home of country music legend Patsy Cline. Built in the 1880s, Cline and her family lived in the house from 1948 until 1959, two years after her victory on television’s "Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts" helped to propel her to arguably the greatest career for a female vocalist in country music history. "This is the home of Patsy Cline, and that’s the main significance of the house," said Judy Sue Kempf, president of the Celebrating Patsy Cline organization, which owns the house. "This is where she lived with her family and her mother. It’s a beautiful old home with six rooms — three up, three down" The house is currently occupied by Richard Lozeau. "People come by all the time to see the house. It doesn’t bother me," he said. "I met a gentleman today from New York. I meet them from Tennessee, England, Amsterdam, all over the world. I love living here. "People would tell us we were crazy to be living on this street, but we’ve had some great times. When we moved in, there was a copy of Patsy’s ‘Greatest Hits’ on the mantle, and it has been there ever since." |
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Lozeau said his home also receives special attention during the annual Patsy Cline weekend in late August, when busloads of fans regularly stop in front of the house for photos, and the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival each spring. "We’re about the only street open in town [during festival weekend], so it’s a constant parade of cars by us," he said. While visitors could not enter the Patsy Cline home on Saturday, the other six properties on the tour were open to the public, allowing a look at PHW’s preservation efforts. "There are several houses that have been restored and several
that are being restored, but it’s clear that there is a lot that can be
done to preserve the streetscape, Eventually, Wright said, the goal is for all the South Kent Street homes highlighted on the tour to be owned and occupied. "Some of these properties are for sale, and some are for rent. There were two ladies who came by to see the house they grew up in. They were just amazed at what had been done to the house since then," Wright said. The other properties included: * 219 S. Kent St., a clapboard home with Victorian features built around 1800. * 220 S. Kent St., an 1100-square- * 310 S. Kent St., built in 1930 and completely restored last year. * 506 S. Kent St., a log structure from the early 1800s. * 518 S. Kent St., a clapboard-covered log house undergoing major renovations after being unoccupied for 40 years. * 606 S. Kent St., a late-18th-century log-framed house with its original pine flooring. "Each of these houses lends a certain character that
contributes to the streetscape, PHW was recently embroiled in a dispute over a plan to demolish several structures on the street in order to build new housing. PHW opposed the plan and filed a lawsuit to prevent the city from demolishing the buildings. Wright said PHW wants to work with the owners of the houses to try to help them preserve the structures. "I understand they want to rent them out," he said. "So we want to help them do what they need to do to accomplish what they need to." On the Internet... |
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Images & Story:
© 2008 The
Winchester Star. All Rights Reserved. Website: © 2007 Preservation of Historic Winchester, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
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Images: Copyright Control and Dennis Maxim Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Image & Name: ™ ® & © Jennifer Love Hewitt, et al and Love Songs Inc. All Rights Reserved.
