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Show 7. Description Condition excellent X good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one unaltered x altered Check one x original site moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance The Orson Pratt House, built in 1862, is a two-story, gable-roofed house, rectangular in shape with the broad side to the street. The six-bay facade is symmetrical except for the slight misalignment of the central doorway. Its classical appointments and symmetrical design are typical of the vernacular architecture used by the Mormon pioneers during their early years of settlement, roughly Ib49-lb/0s. The house is constructed of adobe brick, the most popular building material of that period, and was probably first stuccoed in the late lauus in order to protect the sort aaobe rrom the elements and to provide a cleaner, more refined appearance. Chimneys at both gable ends reinforce the symmetrical appearance of the house. The house was altered by the c. 1930 enclosure of the second-story porch and the creation of arches across the tops of the porch openings. Two of the three doorways on the facade are either additions made about this same time or were built as part of the original house, which was claimed to have been a house/store combination, allowing separate access to living and business areas. The two-story rear addition was probably built on before that time. Recent rehabilitation and restoration efforts on the house have returned it to much of its pre-alteration appearance. The two-story front porch is a reconstruction of the nineteenth-century porch that was on the house in an early photograph and which, if not original, was a very early addition. A portion of the balustrade was found during the removal of the front porch addition and was used as a pattern for an exact reconstruction of the balusters, top and bottom rails, and newel posts. The brackets are exact replicas of those originally on the porch as shown in the early photograph of the house. The exterior walls were re-tinished with a stucco/fiberglass matrix which provides added strength to the structure. Rehabilitation of both the interior and exterior was made in an effort to conform to the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, and the project is currently under review by the National Park Service for certification. The building will be used as otrice space upon completion. |
