Looking for a house with character? How about Wilmington's 10,000-square-foot Gargoyle House.
In 1905, Grantley Postles built a 10,000-square-foot mansion from granite in Cool Spring, a neighborhood in Wilmington that flourished after the completion of a reservoir in 1877.
He was the son of James Parke Postles, a Civil War captain who received the Medal of Honor for heroism, galloping through heavy enemy fire at the Battle of Gettysburg to deliver orders.
After the war, Postles returned home to his family’s prosperous leather business and in 1879 was appointed Adjutant General of the Delaware state militia. The house his son built is outfitted with many of the accoutrements one might expect in the home of a prominent Wilmington family at the turn of the 20th century.
The main entry wall features a double doorway set in a Tudor-style arch. Decorative wrought iron work protects recessed doors with leaded glass.
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Inside, arches define a spacious receiving area with a formal living room. In an era when only 1 percent of Americans had indoor plumbing, the house boasted three bathrooms.
“It serves as an outstanding example of a dwelling built by the affluent class of Wilmington as its members moved to the more rural but fashionable western section of the City,” says the nomination form, filed in 1977, to place the house in the National Register of Historic Places.
The most noteworthy feature is the series of carved stone gargoyles that adorn the facade on Broom Street.
“Most people just call it the Gargoyle House,” says Michael Gunselman, the owner.
Within a few years of building the house, the Postles family leather business was on hard times. Postles invested in a fledgling automobile dealership but that didn’t work out, either.
The next owner of the house was an executive of the DuPont Co., signaling the city’s stature in the chemical industry.
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Gunselman bought the mansion for $275,000 in 1995. Only the fifth owner, he decided to use the first floor of the property for his photography and graphic design business and reserve the rest for his personal use.
Over the course of 23 years, he has removed reams of wallpaper and restored plaster walls. He has replaced the oil furnace with gas heat, retaining the home’s expansive system of radiators. The property has been rewired and replumbed. Fresh porcelain has been applied to the original clawfoot tubs.
A purist, Gunselman removed an ill-advised bathroom that had been added over the years on the third floor.
“It covered up a crucial window and was done in a haphazard fashion, so we took it out,” he says.
His faithful and meticulous stewardship has maintained many of the home’s noteworthy features, including opulent leaded glass windows, a massive staircase, four wood-burning fireplaces and various species of wood flooring and moldings, including Carolina heart pine, oak, hickory and chestnut.
After more than two decades, he still isn’t done. He made do without central air conditioning, relying on the home’s stout stone walls to keep it cool in summer. He installed a soapstone sink and counter and a commercial-style range in the kitchen but hasn’t put in cabinets or other appliances.
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Gunselman will leave that to the next owner. He and his fiancée, Oksana Taloni, are moving to a condo at Rockland Mills, a paper mill built in 1867 that was converted to luxury housing in the 1980s. He has a new business, selling antiques in Centreville. He also will sell some of the antiques in his Cool Spring home.
David Moody, Gunselman’s friend and neighbor, is the listing agent.
He, too, has an affinity for grand old houses.
“I’ve never seen a house with details like this. It’s absolutely amazing, like a time capsule,” he says.
Moody notes that because the property is zoned R-1, it offers the new owner the potential to operate a business. The three-room apartment over the carriage house is a popular destination for guests staying through Airbnb.
“It took someone like Mike to see the true potential of this wonderful property,” he says. “It’s a Wilmington treasure.”
HISTORY LIVES HERE: Cool Spring-Tilton Park is home to more than 300 structures in the historic district, including fine examples of Gothic Revival and Queen Anne Victorian architecture.
HIS FAVORITE PLACE IN THE HOUSE: With more than 10,000 square feet of space, it’s hard to choose. The library? The butler’s pantry? The sunroom? “I spend a lot of time in the basement, which is equipped with a kitchen,” Gunselman says. “It is an incredible basement, where we would host dinner parties and other gatherings.”
WHAT HE WILL MISS MOST ABOUT HIS HOME: “I will miss the convenience of being in Wilmington and the grandeur of the leaded glass windows. The sunlight going through old glass creates phenomenal images.”
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1007 N. Broom St., Wilmington
LISTING PRICE: $945,000
SIZE: 10,000 square feet, six bedrooms, three baths, two half baths
LOT: 0.26 acres
OUTDOOR FEATURES: Carriage house with guest quarters
BUILT: 1900
NOTEWORTHY: On Register of Historic Places, zoned R-1
CONTACT: David Moody, Long and Foster Realty, (404) 450-5362
Eileen Smith is a writer and editor based in Wilmington. Reach her at esmith@smithreports.com