The cheapening of Maplecroft

[Father Jack]

Too right, Stefani, on all accounts. I am not one who is beguiled or cozened into following another's opinions. I form my own. Nice to hear from you. And you are spot on in sussing out of whom I spoke.

[mspitstop]

Funny how there were no ghosts at 92 2nd Street until it was a bed and breakfast.

[mbhenty]

YES, Funny, huh?

[twinsrwe]

Ditto!

[mbhenty]

Nature both alive and dying.

Part of the value of beauty is that it's fleeting. Here today and gone tomorrow.

Here's a photo of the flowering bush at Maplecorft. Can you spell 'rhododendron'. I sure can't.

This rhodedendorm burst in alluring color. But in a short while all the flowering will be gone. A couple of weeks, perhaps. A block down the street was such a tree. A large cherry blossom. I don't think it was in bloom for more than a week.

Yep. Beautiful, brief, gone. Such is nature. Such is life. When you see it, pull up a seat and admire while you are able.

The other photo is the stump from one of Lizzie's Maples in the last stage of it's life, hemorrhaging what life is left. Though it was reported that one of the trees was dead, it was not. Though not healthy and very dangerous it was full of life, still..... but no longer.

[mbhenty]

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As I was saying............


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[InterestedReader]

They will have to organise this with a roster. They've got Lizzie's spirit active at 92, & now also at Maplecroft. So it's a good thing both houses are owned by the same people otherwise Lizzie will be double-booked. And it might be confusing if she turns up in both houses on the same night.

[mbhenty]

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Ramping it up on a down hill slalom at Maplecorft.

[twinsrwe]

Is that suppose to be a ramp for the handicapped? If it is, it doesn't look very safe!!!

Thanks for the update of Maplecroft, MB. I've been wondering how things are processing with the renovations that need to be done before the Woods can open Maplecroft as a B&B. I see the back pouch is still derailed!

[mbhenty]

Yes Twins:

We were wondering the same thing ourselves. It doesn't look safe...

It was put up by a professional Handicap ramp company. Their business to know.

But it looks too steep to me. The law in Massachusetts states one inch rise for every foot of run. (if your ramp is 3 feet long, the height at the tall end cannot be more than 3 inches high. So if the ramp is 30 feet long the height at the tall end cannot be more than 2 1/2 feet high or 30 inches.)

Is it Doesn't look that way. But perhaps it is just the way it looks to the eye.

Now, I'm a pretty adventurous guy. But I would be weary of taking a wheel chair down that ramp by myself. If it picked up speed you could get hurt. Also if you were to fall somewhere along the top of the ramp you could easily roll and slip through the bars and land on the ground. Code for a porch require that you have balusters. And they cannot be more than 4 inches apart. I can't see why the same rule would not apply here.

[twinsrwe]

I agree, the ramp appears to be too steep and flimsy, I might add. You mentioned the dangers of taking a wheelchair down that ramp, how about trying to push a 250-300lb person, in a wheelchair, UP that ramp. Yikes!

My handicapped son is wheelchair bound, and he has a ramp at his place that looks very much like this ramp (Click on image to enlarge):

Handicap-Ramp.jpg

Huge difference when compared to the one at Maplecroft, don't you think? Does this one look much safer?

The Wisconsin State Legislature has specific codes for exterior ramps, which I am sure you will understand much better than I do, since you seem to be very handy with such things. Here is the link to the code specifications: http://tinyurl.com/y7654ldj

Thank you so much for the photos and details of the Massachusetts state ramp codes. Interesting.

[Stefani]

This ramp they tell me is temporary. They are leasing it for six months. They don’t think they are going to have any one who requires it and can appeal its existence based on stats. They say they don’t have any disabled folks at the B&B. And they think the same will be true here.

[twinsrwe]

Thanks for the additional information Stefani. Do they have a handicapped ramp at the B&B on Second Street?

[patsy]

Thanks for sharing the picture, Mb. I have the same impression that it doesn't look safe and also looks like it's too high. Ugly too when I compare it to the picture Twins showed. Glad it's only temporary for now anyway.

[mbhenty]

Yes: thanks Patsy.

It's difficult not to view what goes on next door. My kitchen sink window overlooks Maplecorft's yard and back porch. So, when I get up in the morning and make my tea and cookies I always discover new happenings next door.

[Stefani]

Thanks for the additional information Stefani. Do they have a handicapped ramp at the B&B on Second Street?

No handicapped ramp or any access for the handicap at Second Street. They opened in 1996. It was in 1999, I am told, that the city passed (or perhaps the Commonwealth passed) rules about ADA access on new construction. They were grandfathered in. Because Maplecroft was bought last year, it is now considered new construction. Did I mention above they are fighting it at the state level? Hoping an argument saying this is an historic building and adding more accessibility will destroy the historic nature of the house will win with the state, which could then overrule the city.

Fall River has a very bad track record of enforcing ordinances and building codes. For years and years and years they didn't enforce their own rules, based on who you knew and how much $$ you donated to political campaigns to curry favor. So there are many many businesses in the city that were never forced to do this. When they should have been. For some reason, the city has put every roadblock in the way to Maplecroft opening that they can think of. All costing boatloads of money to make legal. They keep spending. And the city keeps adding more things for them to do.

Someone sincerely does not want this to happen. It feels that way, at least.

[patsy]

I hear you, Mb, about not being to help seeing all the goings on when you live next door. Quite fascinating it seems to me.

It does seem like someone is deliberately throwing obstacles in order to delay progress when we hear that there's a track record of not enforcing ordinances and codes. So I suppose that now they very conveniently decided to go by the book. First it was storms then these legalities causes a wonder about whether it will be able to open before the year ends.

[mbhenty]

Yes Patsy:

I'm sure if you know the right people you can still sidestep the law. Apparently Mr. Wood does not have such an alliance with the "right people."

It is likely that they will open soon for tours. Only tours.

As far as a B&B, they have been denied. This is after the city made them install a sprinkler system. After they complied the city tells them, "oh yeah, we forgot to tell you. You need an elevator!" This means that if they do not open as a B&B a sprinkler system was not needed.

So things are on hold while they sort out what to do. Chances are it will all end up in court since I hear that they will not install an elevator.

As for looking out the window.....

I was making my tea and cookies this morning, (Love Pepperidge Farms oatmeal cookies. Mmm-mmm-good. It's the simple and little things in life that makes getting out of bed worth it. Oh look, the chauffeur is washing my Mercedes! Darn it, the cat is in my orchid flower garden again.) when I heard all sorts of banging. Looked out the window and discovered they were making repairs to the steps and deck for Maplecorft.

I had made temporary repairs to Maplecorft's steps and nailed loose ones in place, myself. They were somewhat unsafe. This morning there was a fellow making repairs, installing new steps. Someone had replaced the steps in the past using pine. You don't use pine to replace exterior steps. Pine is only used indoors. In the old days they used fir. Still used today, though composite plastics are frequently used now.

Still, to be code compliant the stairway needs a railing. But perhaps it does not need a railing now, since they have the ramp, or again, maybe the city officials are just too stupid to notice. But they do need a railing.

I'm doing some extensive renovations to my own house right now and running into the same issues. So I feel their pain. Just not to their expense level.

[mbhenty]

Repairs have begun on Maplecroft's porch.

Happy to see and very, very surprised, about how they are going about it thus far.

Those balusters are actually historically correct. They are not cheap. Rare to see them used on new construction since they are so expensive. They are much bigger (diameter) than the standard baluster.

[mbhenty]

Not certain if they are gong to replace the porch posts which need attention.

There are 4 different porch posts, thanks to Robit Dubious, all different sizes, different heights, and different designs. This must be addressed. Otherwise it would be a shame to do a wonderful job with the railings and balusters and leave the mismatched, cheap posts in place.

[mbhenty]

It appears that some of the posts will be replaced. The new posts no way resemble the originals and are an inexpensive way of making repairs.

New post could have been milled to mimic the original porch posts but this wold be very expensive. (Some years back I was gong to have my porch posts built and milled. The estimate was about 1500 per post. I had 5 posts. That was 7500 just for the posts. Though the posts on my porch were much more delicate and ornate than does at Maplecroft. So you see, it can be expensive and I can't blame the owner's of Maplecroft for avoiding having new posts milled.

Another short cut they are taking is not building a curved railing. The original porch as built by Lizzie had a sweeping railing and balusters. As you can see, they are cheating by adding two extra short posts to make the turn. All straight lumber. No real curves here. Again to mill, steam, or glue a new curved railing would be much more expensive since it is time consuming. Though I must add, the carpenters appear to be making a wonderful job, even if it is not as original as Lizzie had it. It is an earnest and respectable attempt. A thousand times better than what was there.

Understand, I am not criticizing the work being done. Just pointing out the differences. (After all, the money to renovate is not coming out of my pocket.)

(The second picture of the curved railing below is not Maplecroft. It was included just to demonstrate what the curved railing at Maplecroft once looked like.)

[mbhenty]

Below are two porch posts. One is from Maplecroft and the other from the Davenport House, next door. You can see how much more elaborate the post from the Davenport House is when compared to Maplecorft. Thus the posts on my house would cost a whole lot more to mill. The posts on the porch of the Davenport House were reconstructed by me, saving me 7 to 8 thousand dollars and preserving the original post. Interesting, no less.

[mbhenty]

Ross Construction out of Somerset, Ma. Kudos

[mbhenty]

New railing and posts almost done...


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[mbhenty]

Railing went up today.

Looks like all that's left is paint

[mbhenty]

Yes:

Almost done.

But the porch still has issues. The main one is the roof and facia board. Mostly cosmetic. As for the rest of it some primer and paint will go a long way in dressing the place up.

[mbhenty]

All painted up. Before and after. Railing looks like it's always been there.

[mbhenty]

here,

[mbhenty]

another

[mbhenty]

another

[patsy]

Wow looks very good and I hear you about the expense of it all. Love that curved railing in the picture that was not Maplecroft. Thanks for sharing all the pictures, and hope your Mercedes is nice and clean now. Haha

[mbhenty]

I suppose they're done with the renovations of the porch at Maplecroft. New railing, all new paint etc.

They must have spent some serious money. Each one of those turned balusters cost 40 dollars a piece and there must be 75 of them or more. Included were new posts. All the new posts match one another but do not match the originals.

Still on the level of one to five stars of historical renovation, I would give them four stars. Better than what I expected.

They just finished painting this week and I assume that what you see below is the finished product.

[twinsrwe]

This ramp they tell me is temporary. They are leasing it for six months. They don’t think they are going to have any one who requires it and can appeal its existence based on stats. They say they don’t have any disabled folks at the B&B. And they think the same will be true here.

First of all, I apologize for the delay in responding to your post, Stefani. I hope no one minds that I go back to respond to a couple of posts, and then work up to current posts.

Now, for what it's worth, here are my thoughts:

The fact that the owners are leasing, what I feel is a flimsy ramp for six months tells me that they do not WANT disabled people at Maplecroft. It seems as though the owners have no intention of making Maplecroft handicapped assessable on a permanent basis.

[twinsrwe]

Thanks for the additional information Stefani. Do they have a handicapped ramp at the B&B on Second Street?

No handicapped ramp or any access for the handicap at Second Street. They opened in 1996. It was in 1999, I am told, that the city passed (or perhaps the Commonwealth passed) rules about ADA access on new construction. They were grandfathered in. Because Maplecroft was bought last year, it is now considered new construction. Did I mention above they are fighting it at the state level? Hoping an argument saying this is an historic building and adding more accessibility will destroy the historic nature of the house will win with the state, which could then overrule the city.

Fall River has a very bad track record of enforcing ordinances and building codes. For years and years and years they didn't enforce their own rules, based on who you knew and how much $$ you donated to political campaigns to curry favor. So there are many many businesses in the city that were never forced to do this. When they should have been. For some reason, the city has put every roadblock in the way to Maplecroft opening that they can think of. All costing boatloads of money to make legal. They keep spending. And the city keeps adding more things for them to do.

Someone sincerely does not want this to happen. It feels that way, at least.

I’m not surprised they haven’t had any disabled individuals at the B&B on Second Street, since there isn’t any way for them to enter the house.

Wow, the rest of your post just blows me away! Thank you for the insightful information. I see what you mean; it does seem as through someone really does not want Maplecroft to be a B&B. If I were in the owner’s shoes, I think I would give the public a tour of the house and forget the B&B part.

[twinsrwe]

MB, thank you for keeping us updated with photos of the pouch repairs. The completed pouch looks very nice! It looks as though they have put a black layer of something on the roof of the pouch. Is that part of the finished product, or do they plan on doing something else with it?

The reason I am asking is, I came across pictures of what the porch at Maplecroft has looked like over the years, in Stefani's Mondo Lizzie Borden blog. For the forum members who have not seen these pics, check out this link: http://tinyurl.com/ycuhe972 The picture of the porch at Maplecroft in the Sylvia years, really caught my eye! Check out this link for a picture of it, which shows more of the entire porch: http://tinyurl.com/ydaplt7z

I am intrigued that at one point in time, there was a porch above the existing porch! What room was the top porch off of? It's really a shame that the top porch was taken down.

Thank you for posting these pictures on Mondo Lizzie Borden, Stefani! Very cool!

[mbhenty]

Yes Twins:

There was no porch there. It was just a railing, a practice often seen on old Victorian homes. It simulated a porch but there was no access (door) to the area above the main porch. Love the look. Here are modern examples.

[twinsrwe]

Ohhhh, OK. I see that is it just a railing now that you have pointed it out, and I have looked closer at picture! When I first looked at the picture it looked as if there is a door knob on the right hand side of the first window, but I see now that it is just a part of the railing. Here is the picture I was observing when I thought it was a porch. Source ( http://tinyurl.com/ycuhe972 ) :

maple1.png

I agree, I also love the look; the railing really adds a completeness to the entire porch. Thank you for letting me know that it is railing, instead of a porch.

[twinsrwe]

I ran upon another picture of Maplecroft, that looks as if there is another railing above the one we were just discussing (Click to enlarge):

borden_house01.jpg

Source: http://tinyurl.com/ya3ejpmu

Original source: http://tinyurl.com/y99untad


Is this another railing, or am I just seeing things?

[mbhenty]

Yes:

Very interesting.... to some of us, that is.

They began replacing the roof on Maplecroft's garage today.

On the roof was a gal. A gal roofer. My kind of gal. (at my age any gal fits that mold ) She appears to be keeping up with the guys. Good for her. Working hard in America!

[mbhenty]

New roof....done

Off to celebrate



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[mbhenty]

Here's a recent story about Maplecroft's struggles.

The reason is because a long time corrupt building inspector just retired. Thus the rules have changed and getting a variance not as easy as it once was. The fellow that was there was a complete jerk and a venal sponger. I have had several run-in's with him. He had a notorious reputation, especially for knocking things down. He was a perfect example of what is wrong with fall river, small f small r for the small minds that govern it.

http://www.heraldnews.com/news/20181111 ... e-as-bampb

[mbhenty]

I looked out the window and there is was. The people from WPRI channel 12 Providence, RI. In the driveway of Maplecorft.

Sure enough, here is the story.

Looks like someone is trying to fight this in the press.

https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/se ... 1591616877

[mbhenty]

Now here's another article.

This one a New Bedford, MA publication. Before you read it consider the source. Whether capable or incompetent, is a conclusion that you will need to fulfill. Here's the author's bio:

'When Joe isn't writing, he's coaching people to punch each other in the face. He enjoys ancient cultures, dead and living languages, cooking, benching 999#s, and saving the elderly, babies and puppies from burning buildings. While he enjoys long walks on the beach, he will not be your alarm clock, because he's no ding-a-ling.


The author takes liberties, pushing the folklore and fables behind the case. Especially with Andrew Borden. Did you know Lizzie was a Laudanum addict or that she had pet pigeons? I wish people would put the pigeon thing to rest. Lizzie did not have pigeons as pets and there is no proof that the pigeons living in the barn were her pets. Borden probably raised pigeons as food. Known as squab, pigeons commonly graced the table of Victorians.

Lots of errors and audacious liberties stamped out on the keyboard:

https://www.newbedfordguide.com/lizzie- ... 2018/11/13

[mbhenty]

There's an abundance of work that needs to be done to get Maplecroft B&B off the ground.

Instaling ramps, porch railings, sprinkler systems, etc. Most have been installed.

Today the crew have arrived to install the "Phantoms, Ghosts, demons, and apparitions.

Dead Lizzie, deceased Emma, extinct Nance, etc. Soon they will be all running around Maplecroft, creaking the floors, turning on lights, rocking chairs, pulling on bed sheets, and on and on.

Maplecroft is being commercialized and marketed.

There is no doubt that they will find spirits. Find spirits and they will come. And history be dammed. More money in haunting.

[mbhenty]

Ghost people still at Maplecorft. 4 or 5 vehicles in the driveway, night, and not a light on inside the house. I suppose ghosts like the dark. I guess it's a two night affair.

I think these are the people exercising the incantations.

[mbhenty]

December 18, 2018.

Dies testium of spirit chasing at Maplecroft under a pendent bright moon.

Have any shown up?

I'm sure they did. The success of Maplecroft hinges on it.

[patsy]

Thanks for keeping us updated, Mb, and for the links, Twins. I just caught up with how it all has evolved. I'm glad they didn't leave the lattice at the base of the porch white. And I love the upper railing shown on the older pictures.

I'm sure we will continue to get updates as the ghosts appear. EEK

[mbhenty]

Opps! I was getting ready to load my truck with a couple of things and looked out the window to see if it had started raining yet. And 'Loud and Behold", looks like more Paranormal people have arrived at Maplecorft..again. Different crew with New York Plates. Or part of the same spook crew who probably forgot to take a couple of ghosts with them when they left a couple of weeks ago. That's the problem with these metaphysic ghost chasers, the ghosts get away from them.

It's like someone got a big stick and poked the 'goblin hornets' nest when Maplecroft announced that it was opening up to the public. (and to spirits)

I know, I know, it's fun. Like championship wrestling. You know it's fake but you roll with it anyway. But keep in mind. It's not a championship, it's not wrestling, and there are no ghosts at Maplecroft.

[Shani1968]

So sad and was likely to happen....
It's funny that no one living in the Amityville Horror house after the Lutz family ever reported it as haunted. I feel the same about Maplecroft, I think it was a happy home for Lizzie. I am sure a big difference from the house on Second street. I went in the home on Second street in 2001, it had a creepy feeling but was it really intuition or the fact I already knew for many years previous about the murders... Hmmmm

Still it's sad

[Shani1968]

December 18, 2018.

Dies testium of spirit chasing at Maplecroft under a pendent bright moon.

Have any shown up?

I'm sure they did. The success of Maplecroft hinges on it.

Ok, that does look creepy