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\ttention to When hardware merchant hn Lewis built his house he ade sure the brass shone like «tss. Time took the gleam off the use at 197 Charles St. in Seville, "But hard work lias stored most of it to the origi1 state of finesse. According to the Hastings >unty Historical Society, wis opened his Front Street siness in 1849 and had his use built around 1865. He panded the company to inide a spring factory and, in 38, a steam saw mill. The ventures must have 31 lucrative as the house s built with attention to de1 and not to cost. Perhaps :h attention is how the comly received a warrant by een Victoria as supplier to rernment agencies. In 1908 wholesale grocer There are seven fireplaces in Fred Wallbridge bought the the house. Three on the main house. He had married Lewis' floor are marble while one in daughter, Ella. the basement and three in the Today, Elmer and Louise bedrooms are wooden with McNamara own the building. metal grates. Protruding from They purchased it in 1981 from one of the marble facades is a Walter and Marlene McHugh. For many years prior to that it fancy carving of fruit. One was home to Dr. Earle Mac- room has a water heater with Donald and his wife, Monica. hinged metal doors and a space Dr. MacDonald ran his medical inside for drying one's footpractice from the house. Before wear. The floor in the living the arrival of the MacDonalds, room is hardwood with cherry Milton and Adele Salz lived inlay near the walls. The kitchen was originally there. The McNamaras have in the basement and a dumb worked hard to restore the waiter used by servants rehouse. Louise has stripped mains, although the McNamapaint from most of the tall ras have removed it from the Gothic arches surrounding the shaft. The former kitchen's interior doors and windows. ceiling is pressed tin. She has also removed paint Evidence of John Lewis's from the wide baseboards in profession can be seen in the the rooms. front door's huge metal latches for Lewis that are covered with designs. The door is 2 ¥2 inches thick and has decorative metal hardware on its exterior. Two circular carvings in the top half resemble portholes. A staircase winds its way to the top of the tower, twisting back on itself three times. Louise believes the tower was once the servants' quarters. Inside a closet on the second floor is a fancy cornice noticeable only on close inspection. Each bedroom has a transom window above the door. Higher still is the house's main feature -- the tower with mansard roof and cast-iron cresting. The cresting is one of very few remaining in Belleville although it was once common for larger homes. The building has a stone foundation visible. There are likely three layers of brick sitting atop this because the walls are very thick. Behind the house, facing Bridge Street, is what was once Lewis's carriage house. Today it houses Bridge Street The carving in the McNamars' marble fireplace. Variety. The McNamaras added a kitchen at the rear of the house and expanded the basement but have otherwise made no structural changes, expending their energy returning it to its former appearance. John Lewis would be pleased with the results. ,5-- _J O 0 I/) --! (O IT ac-0 c-