Description
The Riverside is a three-story Italianate structure built around 1850. And as with most of these grand New England homes, it has gone through a number of transformations since its origin as the residence constructed by a local shipbuilding tycoon. For about a century, it remained in tact as the genteel domicile of the tycoon’s descendants. Its decline began some time after WW II, a gradual slide into negligence and decay halted only with our purchase of the building two years ago. When we took possession of the property, it had been chopped up into seven ramshackle apartments. The structure was close to being condemned. But being myself an interior designer with a background in architecture, I fell in love at once with this magnificent mansion, with its classical lines and air of former greatness, even in its state of decay. We had previously lived in the West for many years, where to find a comparable structure to house the B & B we planned to operate was pretty much impossible. Once we had found the building of our dreams and moved to Bath, it took us over two years, working seven days a week, to dress up this grande dame in the style she had once been accustomed to, while adding to her refurbished allure some modern amenities. Our efforts were rewarded recently, when we received a reward for “Excellence in Historic Preservation.”