Remarkable Restoration

Moved and Improved
Assembling a dream team that consisted of Frazier Associates Architects--including Bill Frazier and Kathleen Frazier--from Staunton, Virginia, supported by architect for interior details Candace Smith and renowned restoration architect and friend Floyd Johnson (now deceased), the new homeowner quickly established his goals. The group of professionals was entrusted to preserve the house as exactly as possible, while retaining its integrity and creating a fully livable home. The owner commissioned Floyd and Candace to design a sympathetic addition with an updated kitchen and modern amenities.

The most ambitious part of the plan hinged on one major problem. Mount Ida was to be dismantled and moved 50 miles to a farm just outside of Charlottesville. In an unprecedented decision, the Department of Historic Resources agreed that if the relocation and preservation proved successful, the house's historic registry would be reinstated. Thus began an exhaustive process by Frazier Associates of documenting the house with drawings, photography, and other records. "Without Kathleen, Bill, and their staff's expertise and contact with the Department of Historic Resources, we couldn't have accomplished this feat," says the owner.

Now located at the end of a scenic, meandering drive, Mount Ida lives again to shelter a new family.

Why it Won
"Acknowledging Mount Ida in this manner serves as a standing ovation to the homeowners for being such responsible and conscientious stewards of this notable property." Cynthia Stewart, AIA, ASID

"To not only have dismantled and moved a historic house, but also to have regained historic registry status is an absolute triumph!" Philip Morris, former Southern Progress Corporation Editor-at-Large