Charlton Cottage Update

An update on 521 East Charlton and a remembrance of things past. The Charlton cottage is now reframed and just waiting for the electrician and plumber to start running the new stuff. Then we’ll go in with insulation and drywall, cabinets, paint, fixtures, etc. Seeing Charlton in its skeletal form made me think of the frame of a ship—we were in Barcelona last summer and went to the Maritime Museum (http://www.mmb.cat/) there. Maritime museums are fascinating because ships have played such a crucial role in history—think war, trade, exploration—all of which was primarily driven by ships until the last century. What’s this have to do with a house? Well, the Barcelona Maritime Museum had a display on how wooden ships are built, and again, the bones of the ship have some relation to the bones of a house. Best maritime museum I’ve ever been to? Vasa Museum in Stockholm. A 17th century Swedish warship was recovered from the Baltic Sea, having sunk just after it was launched on its way to Poland. It’s the only intact ship of that era in existence and it’s amazing. Check out some of the sculptures adorning the ship: http://vasamuseet.se/en/The-Ship/Sculptures/. Unfortunately, we won’t be adding that kind of ornamentation to 521 East Charlton.