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Move Toward Restoration Afoot
by Lisa Stone-Norman
Fremont- When
Charlie Chaplin dined at the Hotel Belvoir, he sat in a formal dining
room under 15-foot ceilings, while waiters served up famous chicken
dinners from stained glass trays.
mmToday antique panes remain, along with
folding French doors and yards of rich, Douglas fir panelling. But
the rest of the 110-year-old manse and its grounds have lost much
of the country glamour it had when stars with Chaplin's Essanay Film
Manufacturing Company were in residence.
mmStill, when Susie Richardson walked
into the formerly posh hotel and stood before the massive, Victorian
staircase, she says she knew she wanted to convert it into a bed-and-breakfast.
So the Palo Altan and her two partners didn't hesitate in April, when
they paid a fire-sale price for the property in a forclosure sale,
although Richardson declined to name the exact price. |
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One
of Fremont's primary historic resources, the 21-acre parcel includes
five outbuildings and a private spring that produces 12 gallons of
water a minute.
mm "I could see the beams through the
ceiling and I knew," said Richardson Thursday, as she opened door
after door, leading from a dozen bedrooms, past a cadre of linen closets,
under original skylights. "It's a grand old building." |
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