1869 Kingston House’s North Wall Collapses After $53,500 Auction Buy
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 10
1869 Kingston House’s North Wall Collapses After $53,500 Auction Buy
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 10
Summary
Aimee Gardner and Dave Linnard said the north wall of their 1869 Kingston house suddenly dropped about half a foot during renovation, leaving the floor above precariously cantilevered.
Lime mortar particles had started shifting with a faint tinkling sound moments earlier, a warning the couple later learned can precede a stone-wall collapse.
The pair bought the boarded-up Hudson Valley fixer-upper at a 2017 city tax auction for $53,500, narrowly outbidding other bidders including a local landlord.
Eight and a half years into restoring what they call “Disaster Mansion,” the collapse became another major item on a renovation project that is still unfinished.