For the Commercial Rehabilitation & Adaptive Reuse of the Norris-Heartt House, 421 North Blount Street, Raleigh
The Norris-Heartt House was built in 1879 as a wedding gift for Cornelia Alice Norris and Matthew Tyson Norris. Once a jewel of downtown Raleigh’s historic North Blount Street neighborhood, the building has experienced many years of incompatible changes and persistent neglect. Over the years, renovations and expansions of the home were not always sensitive to the historic fabric of the house. Later owners converted the home into a boarding house, completely removing the original Italianate front elevation and replacing it with a classical revival Mount Vernon style porch. During a 1930s renovation, the protruding bays on the front façade were removed; and, many original architectural details inside the house were removed as well, including decorative trim and all but one original fireplace.
In the 1970s, the State of North Carolina acquired the house and converted it to office use, like many of the former grand residences on North Blount Street. The State Bureau of Investigation used the building for a period of time, as did the State Office of Archaeology. Like so many of these houses, once the Norris-Heartt House ceased to be used as state offices, it fell into disrepair and neglect.
After purchasing the property in 2016, Todd Jones and Kimberly Brackett Jones began restoration efforts which were concluded in May, 2018. Most dramatic were the exterior changes. The 1930s era two-story Mount Vernon front porch was removed and the original Victorian front elevation restored. The reconstruction of this elevation was guided by historical records, Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, and the original masonry foundation, unearthed on site in April, 2017. The original foundation walls were not in a condition suitable to be used as they were found; but, individual original bricks that remained in good condition were salvaged and worked into the new foundation. New hand-formed nineteenth-century-style bricks were used for the rest of the masonry wall. Furthermore, based on photographic evidence, the delicate gingerbread Victorian brackets for the reconstructed front porch were carefully reproduced. Changes inside were only slightly less dramatic. Great care was exercised to preserve historic elements within the original 1879 structure, including original doors, trim, stained glass and a fireplace surround and mantle. Historic architectural details found in the attic were cleaned and repurposed within the house where possible.
In the years to come, the Norris-Heartt House will once again host laughter and merriment as an elegant space for celebrations. The space is available for private parties and special events. The building was restored to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and was spurred by the use of Federal historic and state income-producing tax credits, with a private rehabilitation cost of $2 million.
The Board of Directors of Capital Area Preservation, Inc. is pleased to present a 2018 Anthemion Award to Todd Jones & Kimberly Brackett-Jones; Maurer Architecture; Sigmon Construction; Atlantec Engineers, PA; Ross Linden Engineers, PC for the Commercial Rehabilitation & Adaptive Reuse of Norris-Heartt House, 421 North Blount Street, Raleigh.