04/07/2012
Heres an article from the Miami Herald about me.
THE HOUSE WHISPERER
By: DONNA GEHRKE-WHITE
The house in Coconut Grove built in 1918 was marked for demolition. In its place would rise a gated cul-de-sac of four McMansions.
But Jim Russo, history buff and real estate agent called in to sell the new homes, had another idea: He would move the 3,000-square-foot house -- all 155 tons of it -- to a lot a football field away, then remodel and resell it.
The moving and remodeling of the two-story Arts and Crafts home went fine.
But the reselling?
Russo fell in love with the cozy rooms, coral rock fireplace, built-in cherry cabinets and red oak floors. Some 15 years and two additions later, he is still there.
"How could I destroy this? I couldn't. It has too much Coconut Grove history," says Russo, 51, a Coldwell Banker real estate agent. "It was just too wonderful to tear down. This house is my pride and joy."
Russo, who as an agent has sold many historic homes in Coconut Grove, likes to call himself the "house whisperer" for having the right feel for old homes.
This old gem reminded him of his boyhood home in Long Island, where many large houses were built at the turn of the century.
"Even as a kid, I loved houses. When I would drive by, I would wonder who lived in the houses and what they were like, what they did for a living and how they were able to afford the homes," he says.
Russo says he was told the home had been built by a wealthy man for his daughter and son-in-law during World War I. It later was sold to prominent Grove resident Harry Crawford, who has a Grove avenue named for him, Russo says.
Historian Paul George, a Miami Dade College professor who is researching Coconut Grove's history, credits Russo's preservation project.
"Nineteen eighteen for us is old for a home," he says. "Most of the time homes like that don't have much of a chance. They get knocked down."
Russo admits to some nail-biting moments when crews began moving the house in 1992, just before Hurricane Andrew struck.
They had to dig under the foundation and chisel through coral rock to slip steel beams underneath. Hydraulic jacks then lifted the house so that wheels and axles could be placed underneath to allow a tow truck to move it.
The house could have split in two or splintered when the truck plunked it down on its new foundation. The porte-cochere didn't survive the trip. "We had to rip it off," Russo says. Otherwise, the move went smoothly.
Russo moved to South Florida in 1979, when he was in his early 20s, graduating from then Miami-Dade Community College and Florida International University. Never losing his love of houses, he became a Coldwell Banker real estate agent, concentrating on selling in the Grove.
Russo has sold many of the neighborhood's older houses, including a house mail-ordered through the Sears catalog and a home where presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan once spent winters.
LOST ARTS
He has come to appreciate how workers labored over the building of a home decades ago. In his home, men had painstakingly laid the oak floors, carved the banisters by hand, hauled the coral rock to make the fireplace, and built the sturdy house with Dade County pine and stucco.
"Many of these crafts are a lost art, and will never be done again," Russo says. "I feel in love with the house and I just had to have it."
Over the years the house has become part of his family. Russo, his wife Lily and daughters Leslie, 21, and Stephanie, 19, have hosted barbecue dinners and Christmas parties at the house. The Russos especially appreciate the fireplace during Miami's few cold days. They like to settle in an armchair and read.
"It's cozy, it's warm," says Lily.
"This is a lived-in home. There is nothing for show," adds Russo.
Scottie dogs Andy and Sophie roam freely, sleeping in their own navy paisley cushioned beds in the sprawling master bedroom addition.
The Russos have adapted the house to fit modern times, seeking a marriage of yesterday's charm and today's convenience.
They added about 2,000 square feet to the first floor, which includes an office, a huge master suite (with a sitting area, walk-in closet and marble bath), a new entrance and a hallway. They also added a two-car garage.
On the second floor, they built balconies overlooking a new brick courtyard.
The couple also enlarged old bathrooms and closets, modernized the air conditioning, installed new kitchen appliances and converted the fireplace to gas.
They also built a long hallway of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the courtyard to bring more light into the house.
Still, they kept most of the original work.
That includes the kitchen floor. The Russos discovered the dark reddish brown bricks were beautiful and practical. They are cool in the summer and not as slick as ceramic tile.
The rehabbed house also reflects the Russos' love of art, antiques and world travel.
Sometimes their touches are quirky, like a knight in armor standing guard in their family room or a mermaid in a tree near their pool or a collection of monkeys.
Other art is more formal, such as a 17th century Russian landscaping painting.
WORLD TRAVELS
They have an eclectic collection, with paintings from France, Poland, the Czech Republic, Tahiti and Lily's native Cuba, as well as an icon from Greece and a tapestry from Bolivia.
From their world travels, they have brought home sculpture and antique furniture -- from a Sicilian bronze woman to an early 19th Century carved French chest.
Jim Russo once found a hand-carved mantel in a French antique store -- and had it shipped over to reign over the bedroom door.
Their trips have also given the Russos ideas for their home. For their master bath, for example, they used a type of white marble that they had spotted in Greece.
Every night when they come home, they are surrounded by the people, dogs, history and things they love and, of course, reminders of past travel.
"I like it -- it's different," says Lily.
Adds her husband: "It's a cheerful house."
