December 9, 2009 - 944 words
'Groundhog Day' house to open as B & B
DON PEASLEY - Special Correspondent
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Don Peasley Everton Martin stands in front of the residence at 344 Fremont St. that he purchased last year and plans to turn into a bed and breakfast. The house was featured as a bed and breakfast in the 1993 film "Groundhog Day." | It's not difficult to imagine the house at 344 Fremont St. as a quaint bed and breakfast. The three-story structure on a quiet street has a wrap-around porch, a flagpole, a turret, a widow's walk and an ornamental pinnacle
The structure was portrayed as a bed and breakfast in the "Groundhog Day" movie, filmed in Woodstock in 1993 starring Bill Murray. Murray's character's repeated visits to the house became a nightmare.
Everton Martin is the new owner and is making plans for his guests to sleep more soundly than Bill Murray's character -- that is, after extensive renovations are complete.
"By mid-December, Royal Victorian Manor will be a legal bed and breakfast, meaning I've met all codes and have all licensing," said Martin. "My plan is to open for tours during Groundhog Day week. Decorations and final touches will take all winter, and the earliest guests will be scheduled will be May 2010."
Contractor Martin Kaepplinger, Palatine, put in a sprinkler system, new hardwood floors, kitchen cabinetry, heating system and air conditioning and four new bathrooms.
Exterior renovations include new porch rails, painting, a pond, a gazebo, a paved parking area and landscape modifications.
"Each floor has its own heating and air-conditioning unit. I hope to restore the old radiators for decorations, but that may not be practical due to their heavy weight," Martin said.
The second floor has five bedrooms, each with its own bathroom.
"Royal Victorian Manor will be an upscale bed and breakfast catering to guests with breakfast in the dining room, in bed or on the veranda. We'll arrange carriage rides and candlelight dinners," added Martin. "We'll hold a variety of activities throughout the year such as quilting retreats or book retreats. We'll celebrate Black History month."
Martin plans to open the home's beautiful 20-by-34-foot parlor for weddings, renewal ceremonies and bridal and baby showers. Because of the history of the house, Martin will invite the community to enjoy entertainment in the parlor with events such as movie nights for senior citizens. The parlor is the room with the big round windows seen from the front of the house.
"I envision a variety of activities with the fireplace providing the smell of chestnuts and crackling wood. I want this house to stay a part of the community," he said.
The new kitchen with three ovens and boomerang-shaped island will be used as a teaching island for cooking classes and retreats. The gazebo outside will host weddings and outdoor activities such as art shows, wine tastings or an open house.
The house was built in 1894 by Judge Charles Barnes. Barnes' sitting room on the first floor is now the library, and the only change in this room is an added wall to hide plumbing for the added upstairs bathrooms.
"The legend is Judge Barnes built this house on the hill so when he mounted his flagpole it would be higher than the City Hall's flagpole," laughed Martin.
The history of the house will be posted in the bed and breakfast.
One chimney was taken down because it was unstable. This made room for a new stairwell to the third floor, and previous attic space is now the living area for Martin and his wife, Karla Stewart-Martin. It includes a huge walk-in closet, a sitting room, a bedroom, bathroom, laundry room, kitchen and living room. The sitting room is in the turret where the "Groundhog Day" scenes were filmed looking out the window down Madison Street. The area above the turret leads to the widow's walk, a railed platform on top of the house.
While Martin credits Karla as being very artistically talented -- she does drawing, painting, quilting, sewing, graphic design work and desktop publishing -- he admits he enjoys building, repairing, gardening and looking for a challenge.
"Restoring an old Victorian was the initial challenge, and surviving the renovation itself based on the economy threw in a double punch," said Martin.
The Martins bought the house last year for $435,000 and are investing a substantial amount to turn it into a real bed and breakfast.
Martin recounts a story about Woodstock brothers Tom and Marty Rachford who grew up in the house. Tom Rachford removed the architectural ornament known as the pinnacle or spire from the roof of the turret when the Rachford family moved out of the house in the late 1980s.
Marty Rachford, owner of a construction company, offered to return the spire if he could spend a night in the bed and breakfast for free. He used his construction company equipment to reattach the ornament.
"It was exciting to hear that they had it because we didn't know what to put there. The answer to his offer was a no-brainer," said Martin.
Martin graduated from the University of Minnesota in Navy ROTC in 1978. He was commissioned an officer and went to flight school after college in Jacksonville, Fla. He received his wings in October 1980.
He was on active duty aboard the USS Independence, an anti-submarine warfare-type aircraft. He flew the S3 Viking before becoming an instructor training navigators. Martin stayed in the Navy Reserves until 1995, working at the Glenview Naval Air Station flying DC9s. In 1986 Martin went to work for American Airlines as a flight engineer and advanced from co-pilot to captain in less than six years.
Martin wanted to find something he and his wife could do together and enjoy in their retirement, and finding Woodstock's "Groundhog Day" house was his answer.
"We're driving down Madison Street and saw the house, and I said to Karla, 'You know that's my house.' The picture I've had in my head for so long was literally this house," said Martin.
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