• List of owners:
• James Seymour Capen (1885-1898)
• Amelia Weed Hopkins (1898-1904)
• Snow family (1904-1910)
• J.F. Johnson (1910-1923)
• Howard and Anna Showalter
(1923-1949)
• Dr. Wilbur and Edith Jennings
(1949-1995)
THE MOVE
• The house used to be located on
Interlachen Drive, about two blocks
from Park Avenue.
• In July 2013, the house was threatened
with demolition when new owners of
the property determined to tear down
the house.
• The Winter Park History Museum, the
Friends of Casa Feliz, and the Albin
Polasek Museum worked together to
start Preservation Capen (directed by
Christine Madrid French) to save and
move the house.
• The team had four months to raise
$450,000 or the house would be
demolished.
• 20 professional trades represented in
the moving and renovation project,
from plumbers to architectural historians.
• More than 100 contractors worked on
the project under Frank Roark General
Contractor.
• The house had to be cut into two pieces
to make the trip downslope and to the
lakeside.
• Each side of the house weighs 100 tons.
• The two pieces were named Fred and
Ginger, after Fred Astaire and Ginger
Rogers, a famous dancing couple in the
1930s.
• The movers (T&T House Movers and
Heavy Rigging) took hours to balance
the pieces on the barge, but the trip across
the water only took about 15 minutes.
The barge was pushed by a tugboat.
THE RESTORATION
• Many details are original to the home,
including the polished heart pine floor
(installed in the 1880s), and the grand
staircase (installed in the 1920s).
• The lighting is mostly vintage fixtures,
though not original to the house.
• Over $1 million was raised through
grants, private donations, foundations,
and in-kind services to restore the house.
• More than 400 people, foundations,
organizations, and businesses donated
to save and restore the house.
• The house opened in October 2015,
after two years of moving and renovations.
THE CAPEN-POLASEK
FAMILY CONNECTION
• Albin Polasek was close friends with
descendants of James Seymour Capen
when he lived in Chicago, IL.
• James Capen’s niece, Charlotte Capen,
married Percy Eckhart. Percy was a
trustee at the Art Institute of Chicago,
where Polasek worked as head of the
Sculpture Department.
• Polasek created sculptures of each
member of the Capen-Eckhart family.
Many of those sculptures are now on
display in the Capen House.
o Charlotte Capen Eckhart: marble
relief installed above the mantle in
the Welcome Room;
o Elizabeth: daughter of Charlotte, terra
cotta bust in Welcome Room;
o Elizabeth: daughter of Charlotte,
bronze statue with a small bird in the
Grand Parlor;
o Eleanor: daughter of Charlotte, bronze
bust in the Sitting Room.
THE FUTURE
• A portion of our art and sculpture
collection will be displayed in the home
which will be open regularly for public
tours.
• The upstairs bedrooms provide critically
needed office space for the staff and
operation of the museum.
• The downstairs is used as an exhibition
area for selections from our permanent
collection, and will also be used for
community events, private rentals, art
courses, yoga, and meetings. n
VOL 4, Issue 5
n
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