THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 3, 1995 TAG: 9503020184
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 135 lines
THE DeWITT COTTAGE at 12th Street on the oceanfront - a.k.a. the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Center - is slowly taking shape.
The grand old lady of the resort shoreline has been undergoing a complete makeover for the past 2 1/2 years in celebration of her 100th birthday and may be open by early June as a museum and headquarters for the Back Bay Wildfowl Guild.
So far nearly $270,000 in cash and in-kind services have been lavished on the sturdy brick structure, which was built in 1895 by B.P. Holland, the city's first mayor, and sold in 1906 to Norfolk banker Cornelius DeWitt.
Between now and the official opening, much work needs to be done, says Beach businessman John Baillio, who has overseen the renovation.
The cottage already has acquired a new roof, a new porch, a new heating and cooling system, and her innards are still being scraped, painted and buffed by workmen.
Baillio, a board member of the Virginia Beach Foundation, undertook the task for the foundation, the wildfowl guild and the city, all of which have a financial stake in the property.
``I'm quite tickled with the program,'' said Baillio. ``It's taken a while because, essentially, we're all amateurs. We changed the design at one point. Delays also resulted because we're working with donated equipment. For instance, it took us six months to get the heating units delivered from the factory.
``Also, we've been careful not to exceed our funding.''
What is most needed now, say guild president Fletcher Bryant and architect and decoy expert Bill Walsh, are exhibits and furnishings.
Bryant has compiled a lengthy list of needed items that includes everything from antique duck decoys to computers and coffee makers for the guild's refurbished second-floor office.
``We want people around here to go through their attics and garages to see what they can come up with,'' said Bryant. ``They might have some old lanterns, clocks, carving tools - things like that we can use in the museum.''
Old photographs, paintings, log books, hunting magazines, shotguns, baskets, tool boxes, boat building tools and hunting gear also will be welcomed.
Bryant and Walsh hope to amass enough material to regularly rotate exhibits in the museum, thereby keeping the fare fresh and interesting.
Generosity has helped get the cottage to its present stage of completion, says Baillio.
``Early on, (city jail) prisoners were used to remove walls and for general cleanup,'' he said. ``They also stripped and sanded - including the old oak fireplace (mantel) on the second floor. That's been a savings of $10,000 to $15,000 worth of labor.''
Local contractors and building supply companies have contributed, or furnished at cost, everything from labor to plumbing. One contractor donated a load of bricks to refurbish the cottage's fireplaces and chimneys.
Another contributed paving stones and bricks for the driveway, while yet another contributed heating units.
``The next big hit will be cabinets and fixtures,'' said Baillio, explaining that the actual downstairs exhibit area will require special display cases and lighting.
A rear room on the ground floor has been reserved for a live decoy and bird carving exhibit. A rotating roster of local carvers will be enlisted to sit in each day to whittle likenesses of local waterfowl.
A reconstructed shed facing Atlantic Avenue has been set aside for an ongoing boat-building exhibit, said Bryant.
In February 1991, the wildfowl guild won permission from the City Council to use the old cottage as a museum that would feature artifacts and crafts related to the city's long-established bird-hunting tradition.
A deal ensuring the continued presence of the aging cottage on the resort strip had been finalized between the city, the Virginia Beach Foundation and representatives of four sisters - heirs of Cornelius DeWitt - who owned the property.
The sisters, all in their 80s at the time, had been trying to sell the cottage and preserve it. The structure had been on the market for three years for $1.7 million, but a slump in the real estate market and local tourism brought the plans to a standstill.
Terms of the agreement with the DeWitts called for the city to provide the sisters with a yearly annuity totaling $87,500 until their deaths. The Virginia Beach Foundation agreed to take title to the property and spearhead renovation work. And, once that work was completed, the foundation agreed to turn the property title over to the city.
The city assumed responsibility for the insurance and upkeep of the property thereafter. Part of the deal called for the Back Bay Wildfowl Guild to use the cottage as a museum and headquarters. The guild agreed to help the Virginia Beach Foundation raise funds to renovate the cottage and operate it as a museum. MEMO: [For a related story, see page 8 of the Beacon for this date,]
ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
GRAND OLD LADY OF THE OCEANFRONT
[Color Photo]
DEWITT COTTAGE
Staff photos by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH
Bill Walsh, an architect and decoy expert, says the museum hopes to
amass enough material to regularly rotate exhibits, thereby keeping
the fare fresh and interesting. Hunting gear, like this old rifle,
will be among the items on display.
Staff photos by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH
Fletcher Bryant, president of the Back Bay Wildfowl Guild, has
compiled a lengthy list of needed items that includes everything
from antique duck decoys to computers and coffee makers for the
guild's refurbished second-floor office.
Decoys such as this will be among the artifacts on exhibit at the
new wildfowl museum, the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Center. A rear
room on the ground floor has been reserved for a live decoy and bird
carving exhibit.
LEFT: Local contractors and building supply companies have
contributed, or furnished at cost, everything from labor to
plumbing.
RIGHT: Old photographs, decoys, paintings, log books, hunting
magazines, shotguns, baskets, tool boxes, boat building tools and
hunting gear will be on exhibit.
CAN YOU HELP?
The museum is looking for donations of everything from antique
duck decoys to computers and coffee makers for the guild's office.
Old photographs, paintings, log books, hunting magazines, shotguns,
baskets, tool boxes, boat building tools and hunting gear also are
needed.
To make a donation, call Fletcher Bryant at 422-5111 or Bill
Walsh at 498-9410.
by CNB