This Stevens Park Tudor Revival Is a Stunning Before and After Showplace

This Stevens Park Tudor Revival has always been a showplace. Built-in 1940 on a half-acre lot with an unimpeded view of Stevens Park Golf Course, it was over 3,000 square feet at the time. 

A bit of digging revealed it was the home of District Judge P. Oswin Chrisman for 18 years. When you find out an owner has been in place for that long, it’s a testament to how well a home lives and serves a family. 

If houses get lucky, this Stevens Park Tudor Revival won the lottery with its next owner, Paula Denney, who, oddly enough, graduated from the same law school as Judge Chrisman. It seems the house was fated to be hers.

To have the heart of a historic preservationist is a rare and wonderful thing. They understand history, and they also do everything they can to preserve it. When it comes to residential architecture, they not only love it back to its glory days, but they also improve it. 

Denney went above and beyond. In 2017, she began the process of expanding and updating this gracious Stevens Park Tudor. For the rear expansion, reclaimed brick was used to create an excellent match for the historic house. One of the interesting features of this home is the tile roof. It was removed along with the old framing. New decking with an ice and water barrier was installed, and then the original tile was mixed with reclaimed to replace the few damaged tiles.  

Inside, a down-to-the-studs renovation took place, with the staircase flipped and the floorplan reconfigured. Bricked-over windows were revealed, and the stained glass was even removed, cleaned, resoldered, and reinstalled. 

A primary suite and mud room were added downstairs. A second primary was added upstairs with a wet bar area just a step up. Mechanical systems were updated, and a security system was added. Absolutely everything was touched in this home and improved upon.

Denney did not stop with the house. She installed raised garden beds in the backyard and created a storybook setting with native landscaping from Japanese maples to magnolias.
 
It’s inspiring to see an 85-year-old home so beautifully updated, and it proves that historic homes hold an important place in our society. 

Dave Perry-Miller InTown Realtor Jason Saucedo has this Stevens Park Tudor Revival, at 1151 N. Plymouth Rd., available for $2.5 million.