Return to its glory

It’s starting a new life. A two-story apartment building constructed nearly 100 years ago sits on a corner lot at 1349 N. C St. in Fremont.

It began as a single family dwelling.

An Arlington man refurbished it to the former splendor.

Tony Riecken saw the potential.

“Something that at one time was a big house,” Riecken said.

Five years ago, he joined with business partner Chip Gossett of Fremont to find a fixer-upper.

“We were looking for an older home in a neighborhood that needed to be dressed up — the architecture and style you don’t see today,” Riecken said.

In the 1920s, William and Ethel Lueninghoener lived there.

“They lived there before I was born. William was a brother to my grandfather,” said Virgil Lueninghoener of Fremont.

“I’ve lived one block north on and off since 1936,” he added.

Virgil witnessed the changes.

He recalled the McFarlane family, who lived there in the 1940s.

By the 1950s, it became a duplex.

However, before Riecken and Gossett purchased the home, it had been vacant for six months.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, it was a 4. There were holes in the walls, the doors weren’t working, windows were broken out,” Riecken said.

“It was a run-down building, not a home,” Riecken added.

The first step for the partners was to tear down an existing detached garage.

“They put a new (attached) garage that fits the character of the house,” Virgil said.

Then a new roof and siding.

“A maintenance-free exterior,” Riecken said.

As they began to renovate, bits of history popped up.

“A lot of artifacts — whiskey bottles, postcards, newspapers, old tools and one old cap gun,” Riecken said.

Inside there was “carpet everywhere” and no sign of the original wood floors, Riecken said.

As typical of some homes of that era, closets were small.

“Two feet wide,” Riecken said.

He turned those tiny closets into built-in cabinets.

The master bedroom has oak crown molding, a ceiling fan, a full bath and a walk-in closet.

There is now an updated kitchen with a breakfast bar.

Also a laundry room with a utility sink and built-in cupboards.

Once there were two furnaces and no air conditioning. Riecken put in a new heat pump, so a furnace room became a hall closet.

He estimates utility costs to run about $100 monthly.

Five fire alarms are interconnected.

“If one goes off, they all go off,” Riecken said.

“Everything was brought up to today’s code,” Riecken added.

It has all new drywall, wiring and plumbing.

All-wood floors in the living and dining rooms, original floor registers and pocket doors. Sconce lights.

An ornate staircase still cascades into the entryway.

“I’ve never seen anything like it — a wood embellished rail with spindles,” Riecken said.

The two-story colonial with pillars now favors Craftsman Farmhouse style.

The home has received a favorable reception.

“It was beautifully restored,” Virgil said.

The old charm remains.