Oakmont Victorian offers flexible floor plan
When Ginny and Ronald Delle Donne were looking for a home in 1994, they happened upon an 1895built house with lots of rooms in Oakmont.
“My husband’s family was into real estate, and the last family had made it into apartments. They thought it would be a good investment for us,” Mrs. Delle Donne said.
The 10-room house at 1060 Oakmont Ave. had been divided into a pair of first- and secondfloor units and another on the third floor. “The people that had rented the house before we bought it didn’t take very good care of it,” she said.
The property is still zoned as three units but could be used as a single-family home. It’s on the market for $275,000 (MLS No. 1365223) with Tracy Harris of Berkshire Hathway HomeServices (412-321-1170 or www.thepreferredrealty.com).
Oakmont is rich in history and home to one of the world’s most
Oakmont is rich in history and home to one of the world’s most famous golf courses at Oakmont Country Club. The house is believed to have been built by Caleb Lee (1879-1947), whose building supplies business started when he delivered sand and gravel by horsedrawn dump trucks.
“This house was known as the Lee Mansion,” Mrs. Delle Donne said. “After he died, his wife then his daughters lived there until they were old ladies.”
The exterior is covered in vinyl siding, but some of its Victorian trim is intact. Front and back porches and a patio offer lots of space for summer entertaining. The Delle Donnes replaced a crumbling wall and installed the flagstone patio. Interior renovations started with the new oak front door.
“We could not just buy doors for that house because of the size,” Mrs. Delle Donne said. “The glass inserts were done by Emerald Art Glass. We found the original screen doors in the rafters in the garage. We restored and installed them.”
The entry is painted a deep cranberry, and the original staircase with carved newel post was restored. Mrs. Delle Donne worked hard with a toothbrush-sized wire brush, she said.
“I spent a summer stripping that staircase because it had been painted brown. I just wanted it to be done. At that point I said, ‘We either need to move in or sell this house.’”
A few years after they moved in, the couple’s son and other family members tackled the first-floor renovation. They expanded the entry, removed a wall to open up the space, put in a new kitchen and installed a large window that floods one end with sunlight.
“Before that, it was an old, dark Victorian,” she said.
New hardwood floors were installed on the first floor because the original flooring was too damaged to save. A bow window is the perfect spot for a Christmas tree, Mrs. Delle Donne said.
The 34-by-17-foot kitchen has oak cabinets, laminate counter tops, a 10-foot ceiling and a small cooking island. A small first-floor apartment remains, with a 19-by-8-foot bedroom, bathroom and small kitchen.
The second floor contains three full bathrooms and three bedrooms ranging in size from 11 by 15 feet to the 15-by-16-foot master. There are original hardwood floors, high ceilings and large windows. The attached bathrooms were all updated 20 years ago.
The third-floor apartment was used by their daughter. “We used to call it ‘Barbie’s Dreamhouse,’” Mrs. Delle Donne said.
She and her late husband also added the two-car detached garage. The house has its original stone basement, natural gas heat and central air conditioning.
The property’s Allegheny County Assessed value is $276,700. Over the past three years, a duplex has sold in the 1000 block of Oakmont Avenue for $147,000 in Novmber 2015 (www2.county.allegheny.pa.us/RealEstate/ Search.aspx).
Mrs. Delle Donne has long ties to the area.
“Most of my family was from Oakmont. It is a very safe community. You can walk anywhere you want. There is a good school system and lots of good restaurants. It’s also nice to be on the river.”