by Beth Buxbaum
For almost 40 years Alan Goldstein has been redefining his life, his art and his living space. It’s all a work in progress, he would agree. During this period Alan has retooled, reworked and refurbished his1740 Bucks County homestead. And he may not be done yet.
Alan’s life transitions influenced his art, his residence, and his lifestyle. Alan began his art education in New York City at the High School of Music and Art and then continued his studies at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Institute, where he initially studied architecture. “I was studying architecture, but was in my studio all the time,” he muses, “and realized I really wanted to be an artist.” Alan received his BFA from Philadelphia College of Art and then returned to New York to attend the Pratt Institute where he earned his MFA.
Alan spent years as an accomplished artist, painting in New York City, until he uprooted himself and moved to Bucks County in 1971. One of his former art teachers and colleagues asked him to teach art at Bucks County Community College, which he agreed to do. At BCCC he taught design, drawing and painting for 33 years. His move to Bucks County began with a two-year residence on the estate of Arthur Edwin Bye, a well known Bucks County artist and father of watercolorist Ranulph Bye. Wanting to have something of his own, Alan found this property, just over 3 acres in Pt. Pleasant, consisting of the expanded 1740 original residence and a barn. Although in need of some TLC, the homestead was well suited to his personal and artistic requirements. During the purchasing process the realtor agreed to let him put down a very minimal down payment. Alan purchased the homestead on July 1, 1973. His first concern was how he was going to pay the mortgage on this Bucks County property he just purchased. “I couldn’t afford what I bought,” he reveals, “so I took in renters to help me pay the mortgage.
“Starting day one I began to change the living space,” he reflects, “and I gradually took the house apart.” With very little money to renovate, he did much of the work himself and enlisted friends to lend a hand. On his first night in the house he recalls how he ripped up the pea green carpet in the kitchen and dining room and pulled down the textured plaster ceiling. In the process he uncovered the structure’s original wood floors and wood beamed ceilings. He explains that the prior owner covered over many of those aging features with a modern upgrade, having little regard or interest in the house’s authentic elements. “He just covered over whatever was old to hide it,” he adds.
Alan’s renovating approach was to preserve the authentic elements of his centuries-old property. Exposing wood-beamed ceilings, maintaining original windows and preserving the original second floor bedroom were just a few of his projects. According to Alan, this homestead was once a melon farm. He points out that the original barn is across the road. The 1740 structure consisted of the keeping room on the first level and what was believed to be two bedrooms on the second floor. An 1860 addition created the kitchen, sunroom and the master bedroom above. In 1930 the dining room addition was constructed, from a cement slab porch, also establishing a newer entrance to the house. These additions were built around the original structure, maintaining the original keeping room as the central point of the house. “It is the room that you have to go in and out of to get anywhere else in the house,” adds Alan. Additions were expansions using existing exterior walls, with windows, which resulted in obstructing natural light.
Part of Alan’s progressive renovation was to put light back into his living space. With architectural acuity and a keen artistic eye, he opened up the space and brought light in through skylights, peeked and slanted rooflines, and the creation of new windows. In the dining room, part of the 1930 addition, he raised the roof and constructed a slanted ceiling, adding a skylight to bring in even more light. The sunroom, also part of the 1930 addition, had a few tiny windows and a door. Alan knocked out the exterior wall and added floor-to-ceiling windows and French doors.
If you want to finish reading this article, go to page 55 in Fall 2012 issue of Bucks County Magazine.