American Press, 08/10/14, page E1 Queen Anne Beauty Alan and Kathy Walker live in a new historical home. PHOTOS, STORY BY RITA LEBLEU, ritalebleu@americanpress The Queen Anne style house at 916 Kirby Street was constructed from a plan published in 1883, according to Alan Walker. But the big yellow house with the turret that looks like it’s been there since the early 1900s was actually constructed in 1986. Influenced by the architecture of New Orleans, owners Kathy and Alan Walker knew they wanted a house with the same historical feel. The Midwesterners chose Southwest Louisiana for their home after Kathy came to appreciate the area during her Moss Regional residency. “I loved Lake Charles. It was big enough to have good hospitals yet I still felt safe getting out at 3 a.m. to deliver a baby,” Kathy recalled. The large lot near the center of town on which the house is situated was originally part of the Chalkley family/ Sweetwater Land Company estate. At one time it was the G.H. Chalkley residence, but when Alan was doing the advance work for the couple’s move to Lake Charles, the lot was overgrown and had been on the market for 25 years. “I was parked in front of this property to look at an American Foursquare across the street,” Alan recalled. “I just happened to notice the ‘for sale’ sign buried under magnolia leaves.” Kathy and Alan refer to this event and many other little fortuitous house-related stories as “kismet”. Bill Bradshaw was the architect. Maureen Miller consulted on some of the interior design. E.J. Miller was the contractor. Alan said, “We told him we could only afford to finish one area at a time.” (The couple wanted to pay as they went without incurring debt.) For six years they lived with no kitchen. Walls were plywood. “We wanted to do it once and do it the way we wanted to do it without compromising on the quality,” Kathy said. The house from the 1883 plan, was built in 1986 and finished in 2012. The house has two stories, plus an attic and turret. Total square footage is 5,400. Downstairs ceilings are 11 feet. Upstairs, the ceilings are 10 feet. The house has a front and back stairway and seven working fireplaces. According to Alan, the mantle in the front parlor came from the old Chalkley house, which was torn down in 1961. They bought it from a Lake Charles Cottage Shoppe dealer. (Just another little bit of that Walker House kismet at work.) The foyer features a curving staircase, fireplace and mantle, and a 1908 studio camera that Kathy had “whiteglove shipped” as a present to Alan. All this is set against a backdrop of a vintage William Morris wallpaper. Antiques, vintage photographs, travel keepsakes, medical artifacts, Louisiana history relics and an extensive and varied art collection add character and substance to the well-planned, historical-fashioned dwelling. The house is a veritable art gallery. (Kathy has an undergraduate minor in art.) Here’s a small sample of what’s on display: a Lisa Reinauer (local artist) painting; Marc Chagall, Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec lithographs; Dennis Perrin oils; Alvar sculpture, lithographs and intaglio; and an Andy Warhol’s portrait of Tennessee Williams. Among the Walkers’ photography collection are signed and numbered works of Alfred Eisenstadt (including the iconic photo of photo of the WWII sailor kissing the nurse), Yusef Karsch and Ansel Adams among others. “We do really enjoy being surrounded by beauty. Everything has a story and evokes a lot of pleasant connections for us,” Alan explained. The front stairway landing is Louisiana themed and includes an 11-foot and 3-inch mirror from the old state capitol building, a round stained glass window from the old state building, a humorous homage to Anne Rice, a New Orleans jazz poster, a Huey Long poster framed in alligator, a doll that Huey Long played as a child, and a George Scmidt painting of former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards. The scene captured is the one during which reporters purportedly asked Edwards if what he did was illegal. His reply was that it wasn’t illegal at the time. “I liked the attitude of the painting,” Kathy shared. One of the most unusual yet functional antiques is the art deco ceiling fan. When the switch is turned on, the blades come out. When it’s off, the blades disappear. The cranberry glass fixture in the main sitting room is from the ‘30s. “We saw this in an antique store in Palm Beach, Florida after hours. The store was closed and there was a “sold” sign on it,” Alan related. He and Kathy decided to call the owner anyway. The owner called the person who had put the item on layaway. No, they weren’t all that interested anymore. Voila! The Walker kismet at work – again. Displayed in the house is a wheelchair that was used during the Civil War era. Tin toys spill out from their perch in one room. The house is full of antique dolls that seem to stand as not only adornment but also as the silent overseers of the comings and goings of the Walker home. Antique cameras complete vignettes in various rooms. Alan Walker has been documenting the historical homes of Lake Charles ever since Anne Hurley “took us under her wing and got us into the Calcasieu Historical Preservation Society,” Alan said. Hurley was a “leading light” in historical preservation, and a “mover and shaker” in the Lake Charles community according to Alan. In addition to his penchant for history, and despite the fact that Alan lives in a house that’s somewhat “larger than life,” Walker also appreciates the small scale. He is the local Bonsai aficionado and Suiseki enthusiast. (Suiseki is the collection of small, naturally-occurring rock formations that can resemble mountain scapes, waterfalls or animals for instance.) It’s possible that others may be able to use a floor plan from the 1800s to build a new house, but what’s the chance that it would be anything like the Walkers’? Their style and flair coupled with their time and attention to detail has given the Queen Anne at 916 Kirby Street substance beyond its years. Some homes, and their owners, are just meant to be. That’s what you call kismet. _________________________________________ photo captions: Alan and Kathy Walker in front of their home. This Civil War era wheelchair makes a home for two of the dolls in the Walker home. The porch at the Walker home is inviting with a variety of plants and decorative elements that say “Welcome ”. This display illustrates type of unique and antique items the Walkers use to decorate their home. A stained glass window that came from the old state building. The front sitting room of the Walker home. In the foreground is an Alvar sculpture. The front stairway constructed of rich, beautiful wood with intricate detail work. The landing is Louisiana-themed and has a stained glass window that came from the old state building. (shown above) Alan’s collection of Bonsai trees. The sunken tub of this master bath is surrounded by beautiful tile and custom-stained glass. It’s quite the escape from the outside world. Twenty years before the Walkers added the peaceful water fountain feature they found these egret sculptures. These were carved in China and represent the only sculptures of this kind in the U.S. Chances are you have never seen a license to dispense opium. Near the familiar brand Hadacol bottle are a couple of “special tax stamps” from the 1920s that allowed certain practitioners to dispense opium. The library, softly lit by Tiffany-style lighting, was the last room completed. The library walls were going to be a cool, light blue. But, after 28 years of working on the house as a team, Kathy discovered that Alan did not like blue, so they chose a warm golden color instead.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 17:23:44 +0000
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