JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Golden Hammer Award returns to the 700 block of East High Street this month.
Donna Deetz and her husband, Michel, not only have rehabilitated 716 and 720, they now have made their home there, too.
In 2012, they received the Golden Hammer for the revitalization of the towering brick building at 712 East High St.
The continuation of an improved streetscape included the demolition in 2010 of 718, formerly an animal hospital.
Rehabbing buildings is an extension of Deetz "s lifetime interest in history and reusing old things.
"Why build new when you can revitalize and reuse something with a story? It doesn't drain the environment of resources and is a way to recycle," Deetz said, comparing the process to what she and her husband do at Click2Sell4U, turning one person's trash into another's treasure.
Deetz is excited to see people rally around revitalization as her neighbors renovate buildings on the East Side.
"We're making the East Side a different place to live," she said.
Being vacant for many years, remnants of transients and animals filled bags of trash.
"Our first big challenge with both of these buildings was actually cleaning them out," Deetz said.
The house at 716 is 50 years younger and so was in better shape.
It needed cleaning, painting, new baseboards, new heating/air and wiring and update in plumbing. They rebuilt the back porch, rebuilt some of the window and door areas and landscaping.
"The 720 house took a lot more," Deetz said.
All of the wiring, heating and air, and plumbing had to be redone.
Because the house was unglazed original brick, the tuckpointing had to be done by grinding out each brick, then priming, reglazing and remortaring.
The inside was taken down to the brick walls. And they preserved as much of the interior as possible, including floors and transoms.
These lots were among 10 purchased from the government originally by James Bowlin, who served in Congress and as chief clerk for the state house of representatives. Living in St. Louis, Bowlin later sold the land to a partnership of other St. Louis residents.
Deiderich Ostermann eventually owned these three lots, and he or his son William, who owned them in 1885, likely built the houses.
William Ostermann was a carpenter, and historians wondered if he had built these as rentals at the turn-of-the-century.
In his 1908 will, William Ostermann directed the remaining two homes be sold separately and advertised in both the German and English newspapers. The Rev. Joseph Selinger, rector of St. Peter Catholic Church, bought both 718 and 720.
After that, the nearly 1,000-square-foot home at 716 E. High St. was owned by a Missouri State Penitentiary yardmaster, an oil company agent, a railroad foreman, a bank teller and a confectionery owner.
In 1937, veterinarian C.W. Schulz bought 716, where he lived and worked. Then in 1939, Schulz converted 718 into an animal hospital.
The home at 716 changed hands a couple of times from 1964-84, when Robert and Shirley Fuchs bought it, as well as operated the animal hospital at 718.
Rev. Selinger had sold 718 in 1918. Owners through the years included a prison guard and a barber before the animal hospital operated through 2000.
The home at 720 E. High St. is more than 1,200 square feet. Rev. Selinger also rented this property before selling in 1918. Prison guards and factory workers also owned this property later. By 1946, it became two apartments.
"With their vision, determination and hard work, these properties have been beautifully restored for everyone in the community to enjoy," said committee member Laura Ward.