Capen House to be Sliced in Two, Floated on a Barge and Saved at Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens
The Capen House has been in the midst of a major controversy in Winter Park. Built in 1885 by one of Winter Park's founding citizens and placed on the city's historic register in 2011, it's one of the oldest homes in Winter Park.
A year later, SunTrust, holder of the property's montage that was in foreclosure, requested the historic designation be removed. The removal of the designation allowed for the home to be torn down.
It was announced in May, 2013 that if the house was not moved, it would be torn down to make way for a new lakeside mansion. The house was offered for free to anyone who would move it. The new owner even offered up $10,000 of his own money to help with the move.
The announcement of the possibility of the house being destroyed caused a major local uproar. The deadline to move the house came and went without anyone coming forward to save the house. The Winter Park City Council could do little to save the house, even while it rewrote the historic preservation ordinance that was modeled on a City of Gainesville ordinance.
The Capen House owners agreed to extend their deadline at the pleading of the community. That extension allowed for a unique proposal to save the house: the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens has agreed to move the house to their gardens. The move and restoration will cost at least $625,000 to $650,000.
The 6,0000 sq ft home would still sit on the shoreline of Lake Osceola, but in the large lawn area in the midst of the museum gardens behind Polasek's home. To transplant the home to the museum grounds, the house will be sliced into two parts, then floated via barge (a pretty common practice in Florida when moving historic buildings) across the lake. It would then be reassembled.
The house would become a public events and educational office space for the museum, allowing for lectures, tours, and more art demonstration space. The owners of the house have accepted the museum's letter of intent and are awaiting the final fundraising campaign.
The preservation campaign is a partnership between the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens, the Friends of Casa Feliz and the Winter Park Historical Association, along with a leadership committee comprised of preservation-minded citizens.
There is a link between the museum and the historic home. The Capens and a Polaseks were friends. The museum currently owns sculptures of Capen descendants, created by Polasek, which will be displayed in the home once moved. For the whole breakdown of the relations between the two families, check out Polasek Museum's page on the Capen ancestry.
A fundraiser kick-off event is scheduled for Thursday, August 8, at the Polasek Museum at 12pm. Donations are being accepted now. The owners of the house hope the fundraising and move will begin by end of 2013.
