Barnabas' restoration of the Old House...

[stefan]

I always laugh at the dismissive attitude the Collins family have towards the discarded "old house"; a absolutely gorgeous multi-million dollar mansion. I wish I knew someone who wanted someone to  - fix up - an old house and live in it "sigh". ONLY on Dark Shadows.

[BuzzH]

when barnabas wasn't in the vampire state(which ended up being a considerable period of time)i doubt he slept in that dark and dank basement.  he must have demanded very comfortably appointed gentlemen's quarters upstairs.that would have been a great set to see.

And I'm sure Julia would have loved to see it too!   

[retzev]

I always laugh at the dismissive attitude the Collins family have towards the discarded "old house"; a absolutely gorgeous multi-million dollar mansion. I wish I knew someone who wanted someone to  - fix up - an old house and live in it "sigh". ONLY on Dark Shadows.

that's a good point, I hadn't thought about that - 

[Elmont]

The Collins family seemed to feel that the old house was beyond repair. Only Barnabas because he grew up in the house had the interest in restoring it. I myself bought a house that is more than 200 years old to restore. It has turned out to be a second job with no end in sight.    Elmont...

[BuzzH]

Only Barnabas because he grew up in the house had the interest in restoring it.

But that's not why Barnabas restored the Old House.  As we all know, he needed a 'lair' where he could hide his coffin etc...that was, for the most part (David's snooping not-with-standing) private, secluded and out of the way.  The OH was the perfect solution for him to have to hide in.

[onyx_treasure]

The Collins family seemed to feel that the old house was beyond repair. Only Barnabas because he grew up in the house had the interest in restoring it. I myself bought a house that is more than 200 years old to restore. It has turned out to be a second job with no end in sight.    Elmont...

     I live in a house built in 1920.  I don't find the movie "Money Pit" funny, anymore.  Poor Willie trying to restore a very old house without electric drills and saws.  Barnabas could never pawn enough of his mother's jewels to afford restoring an old house.

Elmont, you have my sympathy.

[stefan]

The Collins family seemed to feel that the old house was beyond repair. Only Barnabas because he grew up in the house had the interest in restoring it. I myself bought a house that is more than 200 years old to restore. It has turned out to be a second job with no end in sight.

Well, OK, but it seems that even in 1795 they had that condescending "attitude" towards the beautiful old house. I can't image it was in such disrepair back then. Though, I realize they were giving it to Barnabas for his wedding present. Or, were they initially? I know Naomi gave it to Barnabas when he was going to marry Angelique because his father kicked him out of Collinwood. Was she going to give it to him anyway? Were they just going to let it sit empty? Very wierd. Why they needed two huge mansions is strange. Especially since neither Joshua or Naomi seemed like the spend-thrift type.

*Edited by Midnite

[BuzzH]

I was always under the impression that Barnabas and Josette were to live on at the Old House, and presumably raise their own family, while the rest of the family moved to the new house.  But I don't recall if that was ever established on camera.   :-

[Raineypark]

I can't imagine a family like the Collins allowing a property to pass out of the family's hands.  Property was the most significant thing a family could have.  Being a land owner conferred more honor and respect on a man than money, and having to sell land was the worst thing that could happen.

They would have handed a child over to indentured servitude before they sold their lands.  Kids were easy to come by.  Land was not.

[Midnite]

I was always under the impression that Barnabas and Josette were to live on at the Old House, and presumably raise their own family, while the rest of the family moved to the new house.  But I don't recall if that was ever established on camera.   :-

Yes, it's what Barnabas told Natalie when she first showed up at the Old House.  She expressed her disgust that Josette was expected to live there (and with pretty much everything, actually), and Barnabas said it was going to be their wedding gift from his parents, who will move into the new house after the marriage.

Of course, we later learn that the deed to the house was actually in Naomi's name.

[jennifer]

for me Barnabas being Sarah's brother stretched it a bit due to their obvious age differance
with the same parents . i also don't think the writers thought things out like the fans do
i don't think it ever occured to them that sarah even had a room

[BuzzH]

for me Barnabas being Sarah's brother stretched it a bit due to their obvious age differance with the same parents.

I thought so too, so I wrote a fan fic where he was *actually* her father and Joshua and Naomi raised her as theirs to avoid the scandal!  

i also don't think the writers thought things out like the fans do i don't think it ever occured to them that sarah even had a room.

I think originally, before 1795 and even before Sarah showed up as a ghost, that the age difference was more believable, as in, they were only a few years apart.  I seem to recall him telling someone (Willie maybe) that she died while they were BOTH young children, and he of course grew up but she stayed young when she was a ghost.  Midnite, can you confirm?  

[Midnite]

I think originally, before 1795 and even before Sarah showed up as a ghost, that the age difference was more believable, as in, they were only a few years apart.  I seem to recall him telling someone (Willie maybe) that she died while they were BOTH young children, and he of course grew up but she stayed young when she was a ghost.  Midnite, can you confirm?

Ack!

 

In #276, when Willie accuses Barnabas of not understanding his grief over you-know-who's death, Barnabas tells him that long before he met Josette he lost a friend when she was very young.  Then Sarah appears.

In #332, when Vicki describes David's antique toy soldier to Julia, the doctor says she remembers seeing a photo in a Colllins family album of a boy holding a toy soldier and a girl holding a doll.

Math aside, those are the only early clues I can recall that imply a smaller age difference between Barnabas and Sarah. 

[BuzzH]

In #332, when Vicki describes David's antique toy soldier to Julia, the doctor says she remembers seeing a photo in a Colllins family album of a boy holding a toy soldier and a girl holding a doll.

I wonder if that 'photo' was a photo of a painting?  Like the photo of Sarah's portrait which we see when everyone's trying to figure out who David's 'little friend Sarah' is.  If so, that COULD be of them.  I could see Joshua commissioning a portrait of his two young children as again, we know at least one of Sarah was commissioned.  And we know from 1795 that Barnabas DID in fact have several toy soldiers when Angelique finds one and asks Jeremiah about it.  He tells her the toy soldier indeed belonged to Barnabas and was a member of "the regiment".    Plus, pre-1795 the age difference between Jeremiah and Barnabas was larger.  Remember he referred to Jeremiah as his "middle-aged" uncle.

[Luciaphile]

Well, OK, but it seems that even in 1795 they had that condescending "attitude" towards the beautiful old house. I can't image it was in such disrepair back then. Though, I realize they were giving it to Barnabas for his wedding present. Or, were they initially? I know Naomi gave it to Barnabas when he was going to marry Angelique because his father kicked him out of Collinwood. Was she going to give it to him anyway? Were they just going to let it sit empty? Very wierd. Why they needed two huge mansions is strange. Especially since neither Joshua or Naomi seemed like the spend-thrift type.

Present day family: Elizabeth had petitioned the county to have her property taxes reduced on the grounds that most of Collinwood was shut up and disused. She had cash flow problems and her real estate was all mortgaged to the hilt. The house and business were considered to be ripe for the taking by Burke.

We're not talking a 3-bedroom house. We're talking a colonial era mansion which would need to be wired in its entirety. They would need to install central heating. They would need to install plumbing. They would need to install a new kitchen and at least a new bathroom.  All those windows that were broken? Most likely not the standard sizes that you could just go down to Home Depot (not that they had Home Depot in the 1960s) to reorder. We are talking lath and plaster construction, much of which would probably need to be fixed or redone. You're talking a monster of a roof. The outside? Does that need work? Most likely. You're also looking at landscaping and gardening and no doubts quite a few outbuildings. You're talking 100 years of total neglect. To keep it remotely in historical character? How would they keep up with the utilities? Who is going to live in it? Elizabeth spends 18 years as a recluse so it's not like she's thinking restore it and turn it into a museum. The present-day Collinses didn't have that kind of dough.

1790s family: They're a nouveau riche family that's moving on up. It costs money to tear these things down. Maybe they were envisioning using it as a dower house for Naomi. Or a place for Jeremiah and Millicent. Maybe they were planning on tearing it down eventually. It's supposed to be a half a mile from Collinwood so it's not quite like it's smack dab next door.

In some ways the "restoration" fit with the original character concept. Creepy guy fixes up the one main room so that it's not falling down and then the shrine to his Josette while the rest of the house looks like a mess. Very stalker-esque.

And lastly, there are people who don't care for antiques or old houses. It boggles my mind, but that's me. Roger was always pushing Liz to sell the house so they could move someplace new. Faux Burke professed his dislike of the house from the "Past" and had a preference for something more modern. That kind of attitude is nothing new. Mansfield Park takes place in the early 1800s and there are characters who want to modernize one of the estates...