It's Creepy & It's Kooky & It Is For Sale! The Real 'Addams Family' Home That Is

[Brian Damage]

The house isn’t a museum, but people were coming to see it, the real Addams family house.

The open house for Charles Addams’ boyhood home at 522 Elm Street attracted dozens of people Sunday for the chance to peak into the rooms occupied by the macabre cartoonist. The house is currently for sale by the Frawley family.

“I would assume it was the years in this house that he formed the odd and unique things in his mind,” said local Addams’ historian Ron McCloskey, who was on hand for the open house. “Westfield had a big impact on his life.

Addams lived in the house, which is a registered historic landmark, from 1920 to 1947. A graduate of Westfield High School, Addams started drawing his cartoons as a child, including for publications at WHS. Known to frequent the historic Presbyterian Church cemetery on Mountain Avenue as a child, Addams would continue those passions into his drawing career.

A house down the block on Elm Street, along with one on Dudley Avenue formed the basis for the famed Addams family house in his cartoons and on the television show. A barn, which sits on the Dudley property and can be seen from the Addams backyard, contains a chalk and pencil sketch of a skeleton that Addams drew as a child.

“Westfield had a big impact on his life,” McCloskey said, noting Westfield images were a big part of Addams’ cartoons for the New Yorker.

McCloskey was on hand for the entire open house, talking about Addams’ history and showing off Addams memorabilia. McCloskey is a leading advocate for the preservation of Addams’ memory, including the creation of the Addams art display that was unveiled last year.

“I think the Broadway musical created more interest and awareness in Addams,” McCloskey said of public interest in the cartoonist, who died in 1988.

McCloskey noted that Brooke Shields will take over the part of Morticia in the musical at the end of June and the show will go on a national tour in September. He said local interest in Westfield’s native son rises at certain points in the year.

“When you get more towards fall, it gets more prevalent because of Halloween,” he said.

Small groups of people strolled through the six-bedroom, two-bathroom house during the three-hour event. Many commented on the rooms, which included original hardwood floors and moldings from the 1907 construction. As they strolled through the home, listed for $839,000, several speculated which of the bedrooms could have belonged to Addams and how they believe the house influenced his drawing, including the steep curved stairway connecting the second floor to the third floor and the third floor bedrooms which followed the roofline. Some commented how the sewing room on the third floor would have made a great studio for Addams’ art.

McCloskey said it is unknown which of the bedrooms belonged to Addams. He noted that Addams was an only child and his grandmother lived in the house with him and his parents.

Strolling through the backyard garden, created by master gardener Patricia Frawley, visitors commented on the location of the nearby barn and homes that influenced Addams. During the open house, visitors were watched over by the watchful eye of an actress playing Morticia Addams.

Listing agent Jayne Bernstein from Coldwell Banker said that while the open house was one of her most well attended of the year, the history helped draw crowds.

“I do believe that the majority of the people who came today, came because it’s the Addams family house,” she said.

At the same time, Bernstein said the history of the house was helping to draw in potential buyers.

“I know there was someone in my office who showed it immediately and they had interest,” she said. “The fact that it was historic appealed to them.”

http://berkeleyheights.patch.com/art...mily-history-4

[Regulus]

One thing between me and that house.........


















SIX LUCKY NUMBERS!

[catlover79]

Is Thing included?

[Frump]

Cool!! And it's on Elm Street of all places