Mansion to undergo transformation

Crawford plans to turn home into bed and breakfast, venue

Astep inside the red brick house at 2601 Broadway is a step into history — and soon renters can savor such history.

“It’s kind of like a museum going in there,” said Tamara Cavin of Coldwell Banker real estate. “It’s just got the most amazing character I’ve seen in a

By Cathy Spaulding •

house. Tiger wood pillars, wood bookcase. They’re in the entry going into the library and they’re just phenomenal.”

Charles Crawford, a Tulsan with several years’ experience in rental property, recently bought the house, which sits on three lots. He plans to turn it into a bed and breakfast, wedding and photography venue.

Cavin

“I’ve driven by this house several times,” Crawford said. “It stands out, you can see it for blocks.”

He recalled seeing a “For sale” sign in front of the house one day.

“I called the realtor, and I had an offer on the house within two hours,” he said.

He said he not only bought the sixbedroom house, but all its contents — “everything from an oyster shucker to a silver butter knife.”

Cavin said much of the house, built in 1911, retains its original fixtures.

“The lighting in the home is amazing,” she said. “A lot of it used to be gas lighting, but was converted to electric.”

A tile porch with brick columns stretches across the front.

Tamara & LarryCavin

REALTORS®|BKTEAM tamara: (918) 348-1803 tcavin@cbtulsa.com larry: (918) 441-6741 lcavin@cbtulsa.com

Pocket doors on one side of the grand entry open onto the formal living room, which features one of eight fireplaces in the house. A library packed with books and heirlooms is on the other side of the entry.

Another set of pocket doors open onto the formal dining room, which has a builtin cabinet and hutch along one wall.

The kitchen has been updated with high-end stainless steel appliances, marble countertops, leaded glass cabinets and black-and-white tile floor. One walk-in pantry features a two-part farmhouse door. Another pantry has a swinging door. The utility room features a built-in porcelain sink.

The master suite on the ground floor features a canopy bed facing built-in shelves. Windows dominate walls. The bathroom, divided into three sections, has two walk-in closets.

Most of the first-floor ceilings are 10 or 12 feet high and feature wood beams. Second-floor ceilings feature ornate carved wood panels.

A grand staircase in the entry or servants’ stairs in back lead to the second floor, which has three bedrooms and a bathroom. A fourth bedroom on the second floor has its own bathroom, plus as smaller room that could be a study or sitting room. A sunroom has three sides of windows.

Crawford said his favorite space is the attic, which has windows on four sides and “2,200 square feet of game room.”

“There’s just an amazing amount of space in the attic,” he said. “There is a ladder that goes up to a widow’s peak, and you can actually stand on the widow’s peak and see the Roxy Theater.”

A widow’s peak is a platform atop a house, usually accessible by trap door or ladder.

The house also has an unfinished

LEFT:

BELOW: basement, which Crawford said used to have a maid’s quarters.

Crawford said he has a lot of work to do before opening it up for rentals.

He said he is updating electric wiring, but intends to keep the light fixtures and switches true to the period. He said he found nearly 17-year-old chandeliers in the house’s built-in bank safe.

“A church in Pennsylvania is updating their light switches, so I bought 25 of these very old switches,” he said. “Some of them actually have ‘Edison’ on them.”

He said the property already has four central heating and air units, but he plans to add a couple more. A friend will restore the hardwood floors.

Crawford said he set up a security system with ADT immediately after closing.

An ornate iron gate surrounds the property, which has been professionally landscaped with roses, boxwood and cedar trees. But the grounds need some touch-ups, he said.

“I’ve been working over the past two weeks with my landscaper,” Crawford said. “There is a cute little stream that goes through the third lot. There’s a cute footbridge across it, a whole bunch of really nice plants and some juniper trees around it.

Crawford said he’d like to add a pergola and gazebo to complement the stream and pond.

“I want the gazebo to match the house in style, age and look,” he said. “And that won’t be easy.”

A carriage house on the detached garage will be remodeled into rental space, he said.

He said he’d like to open some rooms in the main house for rental by Sept. 1.

“Right now there are four rooms that are ready to be rented in that manner,” he said. “I’ve had a few offers in renting one or two rooms together as a suite, and make it into a short-term stay boarding house. I’ve started advertising for that, as well.”

He said many people visiting relatives in Muskogee hospitals “need a place to live for three or four months.”

However, there are some kitchen and safety updates to make before opening a full-blown bed and breakfast, Crawford said.

“I’d like to be up and running by mid-October,” he said. “The grounds will be opened probably within a month. I’m talking with area photographers.”