It's not too often that you get to meet the original owner of a home built some 30 plus years ago, someone who worked with the architect and builder, someone with a passion for having a home built that was a departure from the norm, someone with a vision. Well, I did. Such was the case a short while ago and it was truly an honor.
I need to point out that Gulph Mills is a very unique area with a wonderfully rich historical background, so perhaps having a bespoke home built here at 425 Arden Rd was fitting in 1977, as it would be now - as there are many unique homes in Gulph Mills that are a departure from tradition (our famed 2-story Colonial).
It all started when the son of the original owner contacted my Seller, (an accomplished photographer in her own right with a very extensive portfolio currently teaching at an East Cost College), waxing about his childhood memories: "Hi, you have never met me, but my father designed your home. It was built after my family moved from Brazil in 1977, and sold in 1998. I am his son as I lived my childhood in that home. I always thought of it as a unique tree house and wondered what it looks like today. The place holds many fond memories for me as your art must for you. I hope you receive this and reply."
Through several communications between the Seller, myself and the son, his father contacted me with the following message:
"Hi John,
Thanks for the email. You are right about it not being a cookie cutter house with its spectacular setting and privacy. I had often mused about flooding the valley below and turning it into a lake. The house was quite novel for its time and I believe remains so. Colleagues at worked named the house "Magic Mountain." The pet cemetery at the top of the hill is the oldest in the US*. The beauty of the location and great construction made it all worth while. I had put in the front and rear patios and the railroad tie walls at the top. I built the wall at the bottom of the hill myself. The years there were happy ones for the family."
A week or so later, Mr. T (his name shortened in respect of his and his family's privacy) stopped by at an open house I was holding at 425 Arden Rd one Sunday and mused about life with his young family here. He had a very sharp memory of the home, the neighbors, and the area. He talked about the architect and builders and some of the things they collectively did to make this home so unique, about his children growing up in the home, his wife using what is now the pantry as her sowing room, the conversation pit (aka "Brady Bunch Pit") in the family room, and many other wonderful things about the home and the surrounding property. I was also glad to hear his many positive comments about the numerous updates made to the home since his departure in 1988.
Putting things in perspective, placing a numeric value on a home is a necessary function of the selling process in real estate. At work here however is the basic fundamental principal about why most people buy homes; a home pays an annual dividend: A roof over your head and the personal enjoyment that the real estate provides.
For the family who lived at 425 Arden Rd, this house was their "home", of which no numeric value can be placed. There is no "appraised value" that can be determined for one's enjoyment of a home, the memories, the "years there that where happy ones for the family", the "place that holds many fond memories for me" as both father and son both reminisce above - about their family's "House on Magic Mountain."
*Francisvale Home For Smaller Animals: circa 1909
