Ticket sales start 10AM, Tuesday October 29th
Click here to purchase your tickets
Note: Only ticket holders will be admitted
Older members of the Woodland Heights neighborhood usually refer to 800 W 33rd Street as the Boat House because its raised basement was used to store boats from nearby Forest Hill Park Lake in the off-season. The oldest part of the house, the porch and three front rooms, was built around 1895, the same time as the initial designation of Forest Hill Park and the beginning of speculative development in Woodland Heights, where it is one of the oldest houses.
Architects Camden Whitehead and Mimi Sadler bought the house in 1998. Their first efforts were to replace the leaking roof with a standing seam copper roof and to install a geothermal hvac system. The geothermal installation, which reduced the back yard to a mud pit, inspired a garden plan designed by landscape architect Sally Wittkofski. They gained a front yard when they were able to purchase the house next door to provide space for a home office and guest rooms.
In 2011, after their children moved out, they undertook a major renovation that simplified the floor plan, allowed them to move the master bedroom to the main floor, and gave them the chance to use wood, slate, and granite that Camden had salvaged for decades. The plan evolved over years of debate and discussion. While finishes in the front of the house are historic, the remainder of the house has mostly birch plywood walls, wood and cork floors, and a mix of board and plywood ceilings. In the back of the house, where a maze of rooms once housed the seven-member family of Richmond public schools superintendent Lucien Adams, two bedrooms were combined to create a master bedroom and closet, and a small back porch was converted to the master bathroom. The downstairs holds a guest bedroom, bath, library and Camden’s shop. The kitchen walls, floors, and ceilings are poplar boards Camden purchased at a coffin maker’s auction. Chris Chase of Chris Chase Studio was the builder and carpenter.
Most importantly, the house and yard provide the setting for Camden and Mimi to debate and test ideas and to enjoy an eclectic assortment of artwork and furniture.
Food Sponsored by - Mimi Sadler and Camden Whitehead
Ticket sales start 10AM, Tuesday October 29th
Click here to purchase your tickets
Note: Only ticket holders will be admitted
Modern Richmond does not own nor control the conditions of any venues for our events and cannot be held responsible for the safety of our participants or their property. While we would never host an event at a property that we believe is unsafe, you agree to attend and participate at your own risk.