by Lucia Malon, HPF Correspondent
September 2020
“I hear he bought a house in Petersburg!” she said.
“Yeah, but have you seen it? I think it might simply be part of a campaign strategy to get Petersburg votes,” he replied.
This was a common conversation heard around town in 2019, the year that Joe Morrissey won the Senate seat in the Virginia Legislature. He carried Petersburg with 72% of the vote against incumbent and Petersburg native Rosalyn Dance in the democratic primary and then with 64% of the vote against Waylin Ross, also a City native, in November.
In the months following the election, the once stately but now derelict house at 111 Market Street that Morrissey bought sat empty and continued to deteriorate. Many predicted that it would eventually crumble from neglect like the Nash Building on Bank Street did in 2018.
“I was hoping, as were many other preservationists, that Joe would prove them wrong,” said Louis Malon, President of the Historic Petersburg Foundation. “But I have to admit that I despaired every time I drove by the house,” he added.
A drive down Market Street these days shows that Joe Morrissey is indeed proving the naysayers wrong – in a big way. Not only has the mid-19th century house been stabilized, restoration work is well under way. Architect Joe Yates, who specializes in historic properties, is directing the restoration.
“The house has been vacant for more than 25 years,” Yates noted, “so you can imagine the damage to many of the components. Fortunately, we have pictures and descriptions from a 1970’s application to the Historic Register for a Market Street Historic District.”
A description of the house in the application states, “This house was originally Greek Revival in style, but was altered around 1870, showing the continued prosperity of the residents of South Market Street after the Civil War, as they sought to keep their houses up to date with the latest fashions. The alterations consisted of a new mansard roof, tall paired semicircular-arched windows, and an Italianate porch; even an entirely new stretcher-bond brick veneer. These alterations removed much of the exterior evidence of the once Greek Revival style.”
Although the mansard roof had fallen in due to water damage, progress on a rebuilt mansard roof shows that the house is being restored to the later Italianate version. Yates confirmed that the later porch, complete with balconies off of them, will be restored. The Architectural Review Board has approved the stabilization plans; other plans will be submitted as work progresses.
Morrissey, who lives in Richmond, visits the site as often as possible and agreed to be interviewed by the Historic Petersburg Foundation, which owns easements on the house, during one of his visits. On a hot, muggy mid-August day, he, along with Yates and Project Manager Terrell Turner met Malon, HPF board member Kyle Tucker, and HPF intern Joshua Hicks at the property to give a tour and be interviewed. The HPF crew was making a video. I tagged along out of curiosity.
At the start of the tour, Morrissey described how he bought the house at auction before his wife Myrna had a chance to see it. When she finally did go by, her words to her husband were, “Joe, did you SEE the house before you bid on it?” Joe’s answer was “How bad can it be?”
The answer to Joe’s question came soon afterward. It was in pretty bad shape. But they don’t call him “Fightin’ Joe” for nothing! He was determined to bring the house back to its “original splendor.”
“Fortunately, although the roof had fallen in and taken 2 levels of flooring with it, the house is as structurally sound as it was when it was originally built,” Morrissey proclaimed. A structural engineer did an inspection before work began. And now that it is under roof again and protected from the weather, any further deterioration is not likely.
Turner, who was asked personally by Morrissey to manage the project, remembers first looking at the building and asking him, “Are you sure you want to do this?” The response was a firm “YES.” Then Morrissey shot back, “Why? Don’t you think you can handle it?” But Turner says that was not the issue. “Construction-wise, I can and will take on almost any challenge. It was the cost I was thinking about.”
Morrissey admits that it’s not going to be cheap to restore the house. But he is happy to make the investment in Petersburg. “I am hoping that my taking on this restoration challenge will inspire other people to do the same. I want people to see that if this house can be restored, many others can, too,” he explained and then added, “There is glorious architecture in this City comparable to anywhere in the U.S. It just needs to be saved. Petersburg is truly a diamond in the rough.”
So the big question is, will Morrissey be living in the house when it’s done? The answer is No but it will house his district office. He plans to spend, on average, 3 days a week here. On the top floor, two “penthouse” apartments will be rented out. This makes the other residents of Market Street very happy, to say the least.
Time-wise, Morrissey says that the house could be ready for occupancy in 6 months, if all goes well. Turner, who has completed a number of his own restoration projects in the City, agrees. A Petersburg native, he used to live in Richmond but has returned to make his home here and help with the City’s revival. His company is called the Cardinal Property Group.
Check out the Restorations News pages on the HPF website for articles highlighting some of the other restoration projects happening in Petersburg. The owners of these homes may not be as high profile as Joe Morrissey but their stories are no less interesting. They, like Joe, possess the fighting spirit that inspires them to take on the challenge of bringing back a glorious but neglected house and make it their own. And, best of all, in the process, they are making Petersburg a better place to live!
And by the way, Joe, when it comes to your investment and effort to bring back the glory days in Petersburg, I think you definitely have the majority vote. A wise strategy indeed.
Watch the video about 111 Market Street:
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