Vintage Stick-Style Home ~ Impeccably Restored ~ For Sale

Radiating from and including the historic downtown center of Salisbury, North Carolina, are ten historic districts ~ each a fantastic collection of intact vintage homes and architecture, some predating the Civil War. And in the heart of the Ellis Graded School Historic District, dominating the 400 block of W. Liberty Street, you'll find this stately turn-of-the-century Stick Style/Tudor ~ a landmark on its elevated lot ~ for sale with Salisbury's 'old house' specialist Greg Rapp / Wallace Realty.

Welcome to 418 W. Liberty Street

The sprawling, nearly 3200 square foot home is a circa 1900 masterpiece ~ and is FOR SALE and move-in ready...at just $215,000!  Loaded with original period details, this home additionally accommodates today's life styles with wonderful modern amenities and updates. But first, let's take you up the front steps to see what this home, that commandeers the entirety of the 400 block of W. Liberty Street, is all about!

Guests to 418 W. Liberty Street are welcomed by a rolling lawn and pristine landscaping, but the most impressive exterior feature is the exceptionally large wrap-around veranda (freshly painted 2018!) that sweeps across the entire front width of the home and around  the side. The recessed doorway is a featured design element of this Stick-Style beauty. Circular columns support the high, sky blue ceiling in true Southern style. You'll enjoy many a sunset with friends and family gathered 'round in rocking chairs in this special place.



Inside, five fireplaces and gracious over-sized rooms await. A spacious and welcoming foyer, truly an additional room, trimmed with crown molding and chair rail - and truly an additional room, takes your eyes to an elegant staircase with handsome newel post and around to surrounding rooms. Plantation shutters frame windows here and in the stairwell...and throughout the main level of the home.




Enter to the left to your beautiful living room. This formal parlor's focal point is the fireplace, while the crown molding is another special detail. Soaring ceilings, chair rail, and a front bay window are elegant finishing touches.



A set of French doors takes you from foyer to the gracious formal dining room, featuring another fireplace with simple mantel piece, that is perfect for entertaining and adjoins the front parlor. Bonus: a coat closet in this room! (This could become a main-story master bedroom!)




Entertaining in your large, deep red, formal dining room will be a treat, especially with your butler's pantry conveniently situated between this fireplace-graced room and the beautifully updated kitchen. Don't you just love the diamond-paned door leading to the sunroom?



The east facing kitchen (morning sunlight!) is a delight of rich details! This cozy room has been wonderfully updated. Deep black granite counters gleam, and warm wood cabinetry blends perfectly with the diagonal tile floor. Zoom in and you'll find pretty cabinet hardware, including the whimsical pulls on the cupboards flanking the farmhouse sink, a lovely plate rack cupboard, wine rack, and pretty pebbled-glass cabinet fronts. Note the pot rack above the sink, the roll-front appliance cupboard, and the pull-out onion/potato baskets. These details add so much to this pleasant and work-efficient space. The crown molding above the cabinetry is a fine architectural touch.







A large breakfast island/work peninsula with butcher-block top not only provides a dining area, but has extra storage beneath, and shelving at its flank. A large mirrored wall and mirrored backsplash visually extend the room. You will love this wonderfully designed, sunlit space that exits to our two favorite places in the home: The enclosed garden patio and the breakfast room with connecting sunroom.



Along the rear of the home the cutest sunlit breakfast room ever leads to the most wonderful sunroom spanning the rear of the home. The tile flooring extends through the breakfast room, then gorgeous hardwood flooring takes over in these bright rooms, where an abundance of windows, including French push-out casement windows (2 casements (window openers) are fitted side by side within a single frame, opening from the center and hinged on the sides), and French doors overlook the ultra-private, spacious fenced patio.




And see the wonderful arched doorway? Enter here to the home's 240 square-foot library ~ a warm room featuring bookcases that flank the fireplace and doorway. Here you'll find plantation shutters, hardwood flooring, and more crown molding.



A cute downstairs bathroom features a vintage pedestal sink!



Let's Go Upstairs!

Up the staircase to the second story, a large mezzanine greets you. Note the spectacular hardwood floors again that reoccur throughout this impeccably restored vintage home.


Here, four very large bedrooms await. The Owner's Suite offers a spacious bedroom with coal burning fireplace, an enormous (15'5" x 5'8" !!!) walk-in closet with loads of built-in shelving, and a private bath.







Adjoining the master bedroom are bedrooms #2 and #3, equally large and also equipped with closets, a rarity in a house of this era! The current owners outfitted bedroom #4 as an upstairs laundry room ~ a wonderful convenience, but certainly easily reverted to a bedroom. Bedroom #2 has another of the home's five fireplaces.





Let's Go Outside

Remember we told you the kitchen and sunroom exit to a private patio? Here it is!

A wonderful large, private and open-air space, lush with plantings, to enjoy evenings, cookouts, friends, and family! We believe a porch ran across the rear of the home (note the brick piers) that is now enclosed to house the heated breakfast room and sunroom.



The work horses in this ca. 1900 home that bring it into the 21st century are the new heat unit for first floor, a newer roof (2009), blown-in insulation, and a full basement (unfinished).

Homes in the historic districts in Salisbury, NC are subject to Salisbury Historic Preservation Commission rules for any changes to the exterior of home. That said, the city often offers Historic Preservation Grants that assist owners of historic homes with the costs of exterior repair and upgrades!





Location, Location, Location!

418 W. Liberty Street is just 4 blocks from Salisbury's Arts District, where the nationally acclaimed Waterworks Visual Art Center resides, Lee Street Theatre community theater, Rail Walk Gallery & Studios, and the new Morgan Ridge Rail Walk Brewery are part of what make Salisbury a special place to live. A second new brewery, the award winning New Sarum Brewing Co., and a plethora of unique restaurants and shopping boutiques are a few blocks to the south in the downtown historic district, where the Salisbury-Rowan Symphony hosts an annual outdoor summer concert, and another community theater troupe, the Piedmont Players keeps the calendar busy with two theater locations, the historic Meroney Theatre and the newly renovated Norvell Children's Theater. Getting around is a breeze as well. Salisbury has (3) interstate exchanges, and is an Amtrak hub in the historic Salisbury Depot. Salisbury is an hour's drive to the larger metro areas of Charlotte, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem ~ is a 2-hour drive to scenic Asheville, and a 4-hour drive to the ocean! A strong preservation culture embraces Salisbury, supported by such agencies as the Historic Salisbury Foundation, that hosts an annual tour of historic homes, the prized OctoberTour™.

If we don't have you convinced yet that this is The Place to Be ~ in this beautifully preserved home at 418 W. Liberty Street ~ then we must invite you to come see for yourself. Let Realtor® Greg Rapp show you the advantages of living in a quality built vintage home (they don't make them like they used to!), resplendent with character and details. Call for a private showing appointment today: (704) 213-6846. This home will not disappoint!

418 LIBERTY STREET WEST
Salisbury, NC 28144
MLS#59274
List Price: $215,000

Greg Rapp 
Wallace Realty Co. 
704 213 6846 Mobile 
704 636 2021 Office 
www.realestatesalisbury.net 

The Historic 1893 Mary Steele Scales House ~ For Sale ~ $144.9K!

Note (10/15/2014): This home is now priced at $119,900. Call Greg Rapp at 704.213.6846 for more info. 

The Mary Steele Scales House, circa 1893, in 1987

Salisbury's historic Mary Steele Scales House, circa 1893, is for sale!  These photos depict the meticulously restored home as it appeared in 1987 when it was featured in the Historic Salisbury Foundation's annual October Tour of Historic Homes.

This wonderful 2089~square foot Victorian, is the last 19th century house built by the descendants of General John Steele on his once extensive plantation, 'Lombardy'. In 1983, the great-granddaughter of Steele, Mary Steele Scales, erected this picturesque Victorian just south of the original Steele house (circa 1799, still standing at 1010 Richard Street ~ walk two blocks north on N. Lee/Richard Street to The John Steele House). Restoration began in 1984 by Dr. Peter Dixon and was completed in 1986 by renowned Salisbury preservationist Edward Clement (present owner of the John Steele House).

The Historic Mary Steele Scales House ~ pictured here in 1987 ~ for sale at $149K

The home, at the corner of E. Steele Street and N. Lee Street, is in immaculate condition, freshly painted, with an amazing property with outbuildings, a large garden gazebo, and mature landscaping ~ all encircled with white picket fencing.

The Mary Steele Scales House ~ 126 E. Steele Street, Salisbury NC ~ today. 
Call 704~213~6846 to make an appointment for a showing!

The historic Mary Steele Scales House is for sale, listed with Greg Rapp of Wallace Realty, for $144,900 ~ and will not rest on the market long! Call Greg very soon at 704.213.6846 to view this fabulously restored antique home for yourself. Greg Rapp is the premier seller of historic properties in Rowan County, North Carolina, and this house is one of the more special properties to have hit the market ~ you won't believe the value of this vintage house and picture-perfect property ~ the pride of the historic North Main Neighborhood. Call today!

Antique, Vintage, AND Historic Home for Sale ~ The Mary Steele Scales House, circa 1893 ~ $144,900

UPDATE (10/15/2014): The Mary Steele Scales home at 126 E. Steele Street in Salisbury NC is now priced at $119,900!

Ah, the joys of aging!  Everything you purchase — furniture, rugs, lighting, artwork . . . and even buildings and homes — can be plotted on an historical timeline and affixed with labels like "contemporary", "antique", "vintage" or "retro".  An item's age is a key determinant of its value, considered alongside its condition, quality, and relative rarity. And the age of an item is evaluated not only in terms of its actual date of origin but also in the context of contemporary fashions and socioeconomic trends. For example, in lean economic times there may be nostalgia for decades associated with comfort and stability.

But not everything for sale has a certified date of origin. Instead, we have to rely on the often dubious claims put forth by a seller. A quick scan of Craigslist or eBay reveals that terms like "antique" and "vintage" are bandied about interchangeably and often illogically. How do you define these words? What comes to mind when you hear "antique", "vintage", or even "historic"?

What is antique?

When a home is considered antique, it is defined as "a relic or object of ancient times" or "a work of made at an earlier period and according to various customs laws at least 100 years ago." Most authorities consider the actual definition of the term 'antique' to mean an age of at least 100 years. If a home is not definitively datable to 100 or more years in age, it should not be directly referred to as an antique.

What is vintage?

If antiques are things that are 100 years old or older, what are vintage pieces?  

People use the term "vintage" , often loosely, just to mean "old", but there is more to vintage homes than that. One way to define vintage is "representing the highest quality of a past time". Maturity and a sense of appeal that withstands the test of time characterize vintage homes. A vintage home is usually very well made with a great attention to detail. A wide range of architecture styles can be considered vintage. Some agents use this term to refer to all sorts of older home styles, including modern, using the word to describe originals and reproductions that cannot be identified as antique.  A home or building described as 'vintage' should speak of the era in which it was built. Vintage can mean an item is of a certain period of time, as in "vintage 1950's" but it should always mean that the item exhibits the best of a certain quality, or qualities, associated with or belonging to that specific era. In other words, for the term vintage to accurately apply to an older home, that structure should be somewhat representational and recognizable as belonging to the era in which it was made.

But if you are looking for either a vintage or antique home, you will often also hear the word ‘historic’ thrown in the mix.  Here is where the cream rises to the top, and where the Mary Steele Scales house rises to the top of the real estate market in Salisbury, North Carolina.

What is historic?

To be considered "historic," a property must have three essential attributes:  sufficient age, a relatively high degree of physical integrity, and historical significance.

Age:  A property must be "old enough" to be considered historic.  Generally speaking, this means that a property must be old enough to have been studied by historians, architectural historians, or archaeologists so that its place in history is clear.  This latter perspective allows some types of properties that are only 50 years old or less to be considered "historic".

Integrity:  In addition to having sufficient age, a property must retain its historic physical integrity.  For a building, structure, landscape feature, historic site, or historic district, this means that the property must be relatively unchanged.  An historic home’s essential character-defining features relative to its significance must still be present, meaning that its character and structure must be relatively undisturbed, with its patterns and layers of historic evidence relatively intact.  For a traditional cultural property, integrity means that the site must be recognizable to today's affiliated cultural group, evidenced through tradition, and still used or revered in some way.

Significance:  Finally, and most importantly, a property must be significant to be considered historic.  Historians define significance in three ways: 

• Through direct association with individuals, events, activities, or developments that shaped our history or that reflect important aspects of our history;

• By embodying the distinctive physical and spatial characteristics of an architectural style or type of building, structure, landscape, or planned environment, or a method of construction, or by embodying high artistic values or fine craftsmanship; or

• By having the potential to yield information important to our understanding of the past through archaeological, architectural, or other physical investigation and analysis

The circa 1893 Historic Mary Steele Scales home embodies all of the above: At 120 years old, definitely an antique home; vintage in that the home exhibits the best of the specific qualities associated with era, and historic.

The Mary Steele Scales Home at 126 E. Steele Street in Salisbury, North Carolina sits on nearly a 1/2 acre lot that was once part of the ‘Lombardy’ plantation of John Steele*, (November 16, 1764 – August 14, 1815). John Steele, born in Salisbury, North Carolina (www.salisburync.gov) in 1764, was a member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of North Carolina between 1790 and 1793, and On July 1, 1796, Steele was appointed Comptroller of the Treasury by President George Washington.  Mary Steele Scales, whose name graces this historic home at 126 E. Steele Street, was great-granddaughter to John Steele & Mary Nessfield.  Mary Steele "Minnie" Lord was born to John Bradley Lord and Ann Nessfield Steele Ferrand in 1840.  Minnie married Major Nathaniel Eldridge Scales, and the couple lived in the home they constructed in 1893 close to "Lombardy" (John Steele's plantation) ~ now known as The Mary Steele Scales House. Mary Steele “Minnie” Scales died in 1919 at the age of 80 years and is interred at the Chestnut Hill Cemetery in Salisbury, Rowan County, North Carolina, USA.

This fine antique, vintage, historic home retains much of its original 1893 exterior and interior features. Each room has 10-foot ceilings, characteristic of the era, southern heart-of-pine and oak floors refinished to a smooth patina, and the four fireplaces boast original mantle pieces. The original millwork is in place throughout the home.   

The home boasts an enormous nearly 19 x 17 foot  kitchen with tons of cabinet space with stained glass cupboard doors, loads of ceramic tile-topped countertop,  & a center work/eat island.  The kitchen sink overlooks the gorgeous (a source of neighborhood pride!) nearly half-acre, very private yard ~ a gardener’s paradise filled with garden beds, mature maples, and a large latticed gazebo . . . all surrounded with white picket fencing.

Another fabulous feature, typical of the 1800’s Victorian architectural style, is the nearly 500 square foot wraparound front porch ~ perfect for entertaining, enjoying meals, or for just relaxing, enjoying the crepe myrtle lined streetscape, and taking in summer breezes.

Visitors to the Mary Steele Scales House will immediately note the extensive use of stained glass in the home ~ another feature of the 1890 Folk Victorian.  Both the upstairs and downstairs full baths feature stained glass windows (the upstairs bath is positioned in a unique step-down from second floor level). The stairwell landing features another stained glass panel, and stained glass trims all the cabinetry in the kitchen.  And speaking of windows, the new home owners at 126 E. Steele street are sure to love the bay window in the large romantic first floor parlor. 

This two-story, 2089 square-foot home features three bedrooms off a large second floor mezzanine, a great place to showcase antique furniture!

There is a one-car garage on the property that over time has lost its street access, but makes for a marvelous workshop or artist’s studio . . . or just additional storage space. The exterior of the 1893 Mary Steele Scales House has just (July 2013) been repainted and the home is in mint ~ move-in condition.

The circa 1893 Mary Steele Scales House is located in the North Main (NOMA) historic district.  In John Steele’s day (the late 1700’s-early 1800’s), the area was largely plantations.  A period of extensive development in the North Main Street area occurred between 1920 and 1930. It was during this decade that the entire area along both sides of North Main Street was developed and streets to the east of North Main such as Miller, Lee, Scales, Steele, and Eleventh Streets were first developed. Much of this building activity came about through the development of "Steele Park," a beautiful residential section,  developed on land comprising the old John Steele Plantation, which had descended through the Steele-Henderson family until its sale to developers in 1923.

National Register of Historic Places: 

One of the most important ways in which we determine which properties are historic and which are not is through the National Register of Historic Places.  Since its creation by an act of Congress in 1966, the National Register has been one of the foundations of historic preservation across the country and in North Carolina.  It provides uniform standards, a public process, and a national perspective for determining the significance and preservation worthiness of properties.  Although the criteria for determining National Register eligibility are essentially unchanged since 1966, their interpretation and application to properties are continuously clarified and updated through published guidance, bulletins, and precedent-setting National Register listings.  Listing in the National Register or determining National Register eligibility are among the clearest statements of public policy about what is historic and worthy of being preserved. The Mary Steele Scales House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The Historic Salisbury Foundation covenants and restrictions convey with deed and are recorded on Rowan County deed book 630 page 530.

When real estate agents talk to you about ‘vintage’ or ‘antique’ homes, let them. . . but do not let them fool you into buying a ‘historic’ home without the credentials to back it up.  There are a plethora of very fine vintage and antique homes in Salisbury, NC (ask Greg Rapp ~ the area’s premier purveyor of older homes ~ 704.213.6846), and a wonderful selection of historic neighborhoods, but not all homes in these districts are historic.  The Mary Steele Scales House, circa 1983, at 126 E. Steele Street, is the real deal.  And at just $144,900 ~ is a STEAL!

*John Steele’s land was known as the "Lombardy Plantation". His house, Steele House, still stands in Salisbury, N.C., just one block from the Mary Steele Scales House. The circa 1799 John Steele House has undergone major renovation and restoration and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The national significance of Lombardy, the John Steele House, ultimately rests on its association with the life and career of John Steele. Constructed for him while he was Comptroller, the place at which he wrote his letter to Thomas Jefferson resigning the position, and the place to which he retired and ended his days, the house is associated with his six-Year career as the Comptroller of the Treasury, the second highest position in the largest, and most important administrative branch of the federal government.