“It’s fun to discover clues about what might have gone on.”

Surprises and puzzles crop up all the time for Mary and Richard Garner as they restore their historic Bond Street home.

They’re among many local homeowners who’ve dedicated themselves to the fun and challenge of restoring a historic home. Such efforts are in the spotlight during National Historic Preservation Week, running through May 9.

Famous local attractions like the Flavel House and more recently refurbished landmarks like the Hotel Elliott and Liberty Theater feature prominently in any talk about Astoria’s historic past. But Astoria is much more than individual buildings – the whole town, with its block after block of historic homes, is a draw for fans of historic structures, according to local historic building consultant John Goodenberger.

“When I leave Astoria and talk with people in other communities, particularly people with architectural backgrounds, it’s all ‘why isn’t the whole city designated a historic district?'” he said.

Earlier this year, Astoria was honored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of its “Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2004,” an award that recognized, among other things, the community’s interesting architecture and its dedication to preserving historic buildings.

“That sense is growing,” said Goodenberger. “As more people come to the area, they recognize that this place is a little bit different. And there are long-time residents who have appreciated it from the beginning – now they’re being joined by these newcomers, and they’re creating a nice energy.”

Clues and challenges

The Garners work together to strip old layers of paint and wallpaper. Photo by Kathleen Strecker.Among the newcomers is Mary Garner, who bought the John Hobson House in 1997. The historic home at Fifth and Bond streets was built in 1863 and is Astoria’s third-oldest surviving home – second if you don’t count a house moved to Astoria from Clatsop Plains, Garner said.

Garner and her husband have dedicated themselves to restoring the house to its original state.

“We’ve tried hard to keep the integrity of the house, and not come in and modernize it in any way,” she said.

Working with any old house means challenges – in one room they found no fewer than seven layers of wallpaper to strip off. “It was horrendous,” Garner said.

But most of the discoveries have been pleasing ones. Underneath old wallpaper, plywood and vinyl flooring they’ve found pristine plaster-and-lathe walls, bead-board ceilings and original wooden floors. A portion of wall recently uncovered solved the mystery of which part of the house formed the addition built in 1873, Garner said.

The historic home is a work in progress, with wallpaper being stripped in the formal living room, which leads to the dining room.There are also more intriguing finds, like the name “Reba Hobson,” a daughter of John Hobson, scratched into the glass of an upstairs window.

In most cases the old floors, walls and ceilings are left in place as they were found, with a bit of sprucing up.

“We’ve worked with what we found,” Garner said, pointing to some of the uncovered features. “This is basically what it was when we stripped everything away – we just patched some holes and put on a little bit of paint.”

Having seen some less thoughtful remodeling efforts, Garner said she’s lucky that the house was maintained so well, probably thanks to the fact that it remained in the Hobson family throughout out its history. Garner bought it from the estate of Marjorie Halderman, John Hobson’s granddaughter.

In the library, a cornice graces the ceiling, and period artwork hangs on the walls.”This house was not really torn down and chopped up,” she said.

While they’re dedicated to restoring the house, she and her husband don’t devote every minute to it, she said. They’ve planned out the necessary work in a five year-plan – they’re currently in year three, she said – and spend about an hour a day plus Saturdays on one project or another.

“It’s a work in progress,” she said.

Playing by the rules

As owners of a historic house, the Garners must get approval from the city of Astoria for exterior work on the structure – they recently won approval to build a porch to replace an original one long since torn out. The task of reviewing those projects rests with the Astoria Community Development Department and the Historic Landmarks Commission, which review applications for new construction and renovation within the city’s historic district.

Adirondack chairs and potted plants blend with the intricate gingerbreading of the porch.The commission reviews applications for projects on historic homes to ensure they are in keeping with the building’s historic character, while making allowances for the needs of modern families.

“Compared with other cities, Astoria has done a good job making the right kinds of decisions,” said Community Development Director Todd Scott, who spoke recently about design rules and their role in historic preservation in a lecture sponsored by the Lower Columbia Preservation Society as part of the preservation week observations.

A guest room in the historic home is complete with touches like embroidered pillows and antiques.The department sees many property owners seeking to undo “improvement” projects from 30 or 40 years ago that haven’t stood up over time or are out of character with the home’s design, and who want to restore their buildings to closer to their original look, Scott said.

“Overall it seems the citizens of Astoria have a good appreciation of their historic surroundings,” he said. “Sometimes they don’t realize that Astoria is really very significant, and has a lot of character.”

Showy rhododendrons surround the wraparound porch.The Lower Columbia Preservation Society works to educate citizens and property owners about the dos and don’ts of maintaining and restoring old properties through meetings, home visits and how-to workshops.

Goodenberger, a Society member, is an Astoria native who returned to the community after studying architecture under noted preservation specialist Philip Dole. He said people who genuinely want to make themselves part of the community, versus those out to buy up property just to make money, are more likely to put the necessary effort into preserving historic buildings.

If old-home owners keep in mind what attracted them to the structure in the first place, and the features that make up its character, they’ll likely make the right decisions when it comes to working on the building.

Creation of the landmarks review program and the rules that come with it didn’t happen without some dispute over property owners’ rights. Goodenberger said he tries to get people to look at the big picture when dealing with their properties.

“I tell people they are the temporary owner of that building, and that that building will be there long past the time of their existence in Astoria,” he said.