Kitchen & Bath Remodeling in Austin, TX

Yes. It was. We tore it down to the ground. It was rotten. That is Jimmy Robertson in the picture I think, and maybe me. We had some American Gothic look alike photos made too !. We wanted to do something solar and had all these water bottles to recycle. The architect thought that the light would come in and heat the treated water and give us a heated wall. I don't think that it ever worked very well, but we were ahead of our time ! (sorry I am editing to change the heritage to gothic!)

The American Gothic photo ended up on the front page of the Chronicle in 1989.

I too moved in just after the kitchen was completed. The Bottle Wall was an earlier, crude, attempt at solar capture/heating. It is best remembered for occasionally blowing a cork and leaking water...once all over Joe England's music books. The pantry too was an attempt at passive cooling, with very limited success. However, the kitchen was well-built and has stood the test of time!

Barbara, Keith, Jim, may I quote you for the history website? (Keith, what is your last name?) It would look like this: 1981 Whitehall kitchen renovation “We tore the kitchen down to the ground. It was rotten. Paul "Sandy" May worked directly with the architect on the building. We tore the building down and did the painting. But Paul (Sandy) was professional and hired professionals for the rest.” – Barbara Bonneau “I worked on the teardown and the buildup. The old kitchen was sagging and decrepit. Probably an old porch that had been closed in. To see the new foundation and floor beams was reassuring, as they were level and sturdy. I think there is a picture of all of us on the plywood floor—like a dance floor—before the walls went up. Sandy and his crew did much of it, but we also chipped in. I stapled insulation to the walls and ceiling—stapling my thumb in the process (whose nerves tingled for years). We also built the pallets that went atop the roof—though they quickly warped. During the months of construction, we turned the dining room into the kitchen. There are probably still water stains on the nice floor from the refrigerator and other water drippings.” – Keith On the Water Bottle Wall “We wanted to do something solar and had all these water bottles to recycle. The architect thought that the light would come in and heat the treated water and give us a heated wall. I don't think that it ever worked very well, but we were ahead of our time!” – Barbara Bonneau “The Bottle Wall was an earlier, crude attempt at solar capture/heating. It is best remembered for occasionally blowing a cork and leaking water... once all over Joe England's music books. The pantry too was an attempt at passive cooling, with very limited success. However, the kitchen was well-built and has stood the test of time!” – Jim Ellinger

That is fine with me. Gary Keith might have something to say. His first name is Gary. Keith is a last name.

Yes, go for it. Gary Keith

here's the pdf, currently on the site https://docs.google.com/a/whitehallcoop.com/file/d/0B6 s5WloIWtfZTmlUNVN2Tm1 iTWs/edit

I am not referring to the man in the Whitehall Gothic picture. That was definitely Paul with Barbara Prema Strecker. After Paul left Whitehall he became a rabid fundamentalist Christian so very different from what he was at Whitehall. Prema was a woman of great wisdom then and now.