Jeffrey Turpin & Tina Konidaris; Maurer Architecture; Model Home Interiors, Inc.; Crane Building Company, Inc.

The Andrews-Duncan House, built by Alexander Boyd Andrews, is a fine example of a Victorian dwelling in the Italianate style. In April, 1873 Andrews purchased a Raleigh City lot from R. Stanhope Pullen and immediately began constructing the substantial dwelling. By 1895, he had become first vice-president of the Southern Railroad, a position held until his death in 1915. Laura Duncan Pearson, wife of a Raleigh dentist and widow of a Durham tobacco industrialist, bought the house from the Andrews estate in October 1919, and it remained in the Duncan family for more than fifty years.

In 1972, the State of North Carolina acquired the house and converted it to office use. Like so many of the formerly grand residences on North Blount Street, the Andrews-Duncan House fell into neglect and disrepair once it ceased to be used as state offices. After nearly fifty years of ownership, the State sold the derelict building to its new owners in 2021.

After purchasing the property, owners Jeffrey Turpin and Tina Konidaris began restoration efforts which were concluded in Summer, 2023. A massive undertaking, the restoration was fueled by their determination to transform the property to its original use, a single-family residence. As the structure continued to deteriorate each time it rained, the future owners installed a new roof, even before the sale was finalized.

The Andrews-Duncan House, located in the North Blount Street Local Historic District, is also a Raleigh Historic Landmark and is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was, therefore, restored according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. The project included demolition of non-original additions and construction of a new sunroom with an adjacent covered porch. The design for this addition is based on an historic picture of the original porch and matches the existing porch details on the east elevation. An original cut-stone foundation for the original side porch was found intact inside a newer brick foundation and was retained to support the sunroom addition. Other changes included a lowered basement floor, which provided taller ceilings and exposed foundation walls. On the 2nd and 3rd floors, some interior rooms were slightly altered to accommodate more bedroom ensuites for the owners’ children. The remainder of the building was restored with great care. The large arched mahogany windows were removed, hand-scraped, repaired, and re-glazed onsite. All original doors inside the house were reused. Except for two that were beyond repair and were replaced in kind, the “dragon’s tongue” gable brackets were meticulously restored. The gold leaf mirror in the main hall – known to be owned by Mrs. Andrews and carried to Raleigh from her home in Charlotte – was preserved as were the other grand mirrors throughout the house.

After fifty years of non-residential use, the grand Andrews-Duncan House is once again a home loved by its current owners; and, together with the adjacent Heck-Andrews and Hawkins-Hartness houses on the block, stands as an impressive reminder of the days when Blount Street was the address of some of Raleigh’s most prominent families.

The Board of Directors of Capital Area Preservation, Inc. is pleased to present a 2023 Anthemion Award to Jeffrey Turpin & Tina Konidaris; Maurer Architecture; Model Home Interiors, Inc.; Crane Building Company, Inc. for the Residential Rehabilitation of the Andrews-Duncan House, 407 North Blount Street, Raleigh.