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MANASSAS, Va. — No, you’re not seeing things. An old house at the west entrance to Mansasas now has an orange roof. It’s a little uncommon seeing that Manassas is really in red brick that gives the city’s its old timey Civil War-era look and feel.
But the structure at 9985 Foster Street is being renovated in hopes new tenants – those looking for a new home for their business – will set up shop here.
A contractor, Mr. Dillman, who was painting the eaves of the old house on Friday morning, said the home was built between 1910 and 1920, and said he found and old newspaper inside the home from the year 1931 that he kept as a keepsake, he said.
The last tenant at the home moved out eight years ago, he said. And, when Dillman started working on restoring this home, he said the house had cold water running from a well to one faucet inside the home. He also said there’s no evidence the home ever had an indoor toilet.
The sale of the home closed for $51,519 back in March. It sits on a small tract of land next to a overpass that carries drivers on Va. 28 over Wellington Road and railroad tracks.
Inside the home, the house has been completely gutted except for a tile floor, which will eventually be removed, too. New florescent light fixtures appeared to have been installed in some rooms of the house.
Dillman said he is the only contractor working on the home, so it could take a least a year to finish the project. He said the current owner bought the house only to find the inside the home stripped of its copper piping.
