The Georgian Revival brick house at 111 E. North Street – known historically as the Howell House – was built in 1925 by Judge George Pierce Pell whose portrait first hung in the North Carolina Supreme Court offices in 1940. Over the past century, the house has been owned by several individuals; and, for the past several decades, has been owned by the State of North Carolina, used for offices by the Department of Administration. It features a front porch with large Tuscan columns and prominent dormer windows facing E. North Street. Suffering from a lack of regular maintenance the house was in need of capital expenditures. Beautiful moldings, plaster walls and oak flooring all needed major repairs as well as structural improvements and support.
The rehabilitation of the Howell House began in early 2018 under the direction of its new owners, Don and Jennifer Munford (Henry Clay Oak House, LLC). The Henry Clay Oak (c. 1650) stood in the side yard of the property until it had to be taken down in 1991. To Don Munford, The Henry Clay Oak was an important part of Raleigh history, as he visited the tree often as a child growing up in Raleigh. An historical marker – erected in 1939 – describes the importance of the Henry Clay Oak, the one under which Henry Clay, while staying with the Polk family in 1844, penned his historic “Raleigh Letter” opposing the annexation of Texas prior to the Mexican War.
To achieve their goal of restoring the beautiful residence to its rightful place in the Blount Street Historic District, the Munford’s hired Harden Sigmon of Sigmon Construction, Inc. to rehabilitate the structure and Brandy Thompson of Clearscapes, PA to provide architectural, design and regulatory services. The rehabilitation project included restoring the house under the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and preserving as much of the historic material as possible. Some of the original lighting fixtures were repaired and replaced on the first floor. Additional lighting fixtures were chosen to match the original lights. The hardwood floor and terra cotta front porch had sunk below their original levels so supports for these areas were replaced and the flooring lifted to its correct position. The damaged portions of the crown moldings were reproduced and perfectly match the original moldings. The double hung windows were rebuilt; their weights and chains repaired or replaced, and all windows returned to working order. In consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office, a covered back porch and a handicap accessible ramp were added.
The house has been designed for use as offices and to serve as a gathering venue. The first floor consists of two large meetings rooms, a catering kitchen, a room suitable for a serving area or bar and a handicap accessible restroom. Both the front and the back porches are spacious enough for receptions and social events. The upstairs floor includes five professional offices, a full bathroom with a shower and a powder room. The main circular stairwell connects the floors, as does a hidden back staircase for private access to and from the offices.
The Board of Directors of Capital Area Preservation, Inc. is pleased to present a 2019 Anthemion Award to Henry Clay Oak House, LLC; Clearscapes, PA; Sigmon Construction; Marks Creek Landscaping for the Commercial Rehabilitation & Adaptive Reuse of the Howell House, 111 East North Street, Raleigh.