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Cresson men may save historic cottage from wrecking ballBY KATHY MELLOTTKMELLOTTlt;JTRIBDEM.COMCRESSON - Just call it the house that won’t come down.With the Braemar-Jones cottage due to face a wrecking ball in the next few weeks, a Cresson man and his family have stepped forward to purchase the 14-room Victorian structure from the Cresson Area Historical Association.Andy Dziabo and his father, Mike Dziabo, who is a civil engineer and businessman, are in talks with the association.The Dziabos laid out their plans Thursday night for the Cresson Township supervisors, who had ordered that the dilapidated cottage be demolished.While skeptical at first, local officials appeared to embrace the idea by the end of the meeting.“We want to put a roof on it and paint it,” Andy Dziabo said.“Once it s an enclosed shell, wrell go inside and start working.“The attraction to me was the character and look of the house,' Andv Dziabo said.Mike Dziabo said thev were aware of the battle over demolishing the cottage but believed the issue was tied up in tin* courts. The idea of purchasingnot really begin to take formuntil as late as Sunday, he said.The Dziabos have experience in salvaging antique homes. The Dziabo home on Cottage Street, a block away from Braemar-Jones, is considered a showpiece of the Victorian Era.“If the historical association has am involvement in this, 1 would be opposed to it.GARY BRADLEY, TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORThe Braemar-Jones cottage was built in issp as a summer home. Ihe owner was long thought to be Pittsburgh steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, but the cottage more likely belonged to another steel magnate, Benjamin Jones.The structure has been a point of controversy for the township supervisors for years. Purchased from private ownership by the historical group in 1990, the cottage was allow ed to fall into serious disrepair, prompting neighhors to seek township interven-The supervisors were successful in getting court approval to have the cottage deemed in violation of the township’s nuisance ordinance. That kicked off a vears-long court battle.A change in the historical association’s leadership brought an invigorated push to save the dilapidated structure, but Rinding remained elusive.The associations lengthy legal maneuvering has left some township officials leary of members’ future involvement with the structure.“If the historical association has any involvement in this, I would be opposed to it,” Supervisor Gary Bradley said.»• »Supervisor Scott Decoskey, the board chairman, agreed.“We've heard a lot of plans. I need to see a plan, 1 need to see monev,” Decoskey said. “We’ve been going through this for years, and I'm not willing to go back to square one.”Decoskey told Andv Dziabo* ••that he would be pleased if the Braemar-Jones property could resemble the Dziabos’ restored Victorian down the street.The Dziabos indicated thevwwould be in touch with township officials with more details
Newspaper Details
Johnstown Tribune Democrat
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, US
Sat, Nov 13, 2010
Page 3
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Altoona A.
PA, USA 24 Apr 2019
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