CIRCA 1860

      In the 1860’s, Mr. and Mrs. C.A. Griswold came to Decatur.  Mr. Griswold and a partner opened a store (Griswold and Close) in the downtown area.  A few blocks to the west the Griswold's built a beautiful new home on Main Street.  Their stick-style, mid-Victorian home would have been one of the grandest in the city in the 1860’s.  No expense was spared as they fashioned the trim and fretwork inside the house out of the finest cherry and walnut wood available.  The walnut fireplaces were hand carved, as was the grand staircase.  In 1881 as Mr. Griswold became a more successful merchant, the family decided to enlarge and remodel their home (probably to keep up with the Milliken's and the Oglesbys who had built beautiful mansions close by in the late 1870’s.)  The remodeling added about 1,500 square feet to the original house.  Wonderful stained glass windows were put in almost every room and the most unique fireplace in the area was added to the reception hall.  This fireplace is a two-story brick structure with polished stone ledges and tiles with Mr. and Mrs. Griswold’s likenesses embedded in the chimney.

     The Griswold's lived in this house until they died in the late 1800’s and several prominent families called it home in the early 1900’s.  As the suburbs became the place to be in the 1950’s and 1960’s, Griswold’s beautiful home became a rooming house and fell on hard times.  Bad became worse until the early 1990’s when a fire in the kitchen closed the house for good and it was used to store ‘junk’.  Having been open to the elements for 10 years, the house was being considered for demolition by a local church to make way for a parking lot.

     When we three partners of Architectural Restorations saw the interior of the house (which was difficult with all the junk crammed in every room), we knew the house had to be saved.  It was all there – it just needed fixing.  We have been “fixing it” for the last two and half years.  Our original intent was to restore and sell it as a single family home.  However, as our bills mounted, we were forced to take a long, practical look at what we were doling and realized we had invested so much money that it would be difficult to sell it as a family residence.  Wanting to share this wonderful home with the community, we decided to open a Tea Room so everyone can come and enjoy the cozy ambiance of the Griswold’s 1860 dream home.

 Thus, Circa 1860 – Tea Room and Antiques is born.

ARCHITECTURAL RESTORATIONS, INC.

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