| It was not until the 1980's that full restoration of the house
was accomplished and it only opened to the public in 1991. As the
house had become a tenement by 1910 with at least 10 families under
its roof, and no resources had been put into extensive remodeling,
much had remained unchanged—good luck for the historical architects
deciphering the clues for restoration. The Shirley-Eustis House
Association decided to restore the house to the Federal style of
about 1800 rather than going back to its original Georgian architecture,
thus allowing the two beautiful staircases, curved walls and moldings
to remain. The library, however, was taken back to its Georgian
beginnings in order to exhibit the decorated floor found under many
layers of paint. |
