Now that Rosslyn’s icehouse rehabilitation has crossed the finish line it can be difficult to recognize how far it’s come. It’s time for a reality check. It’s time for an icehouse flashback to December 23, 2017. Exactly six years ago.
Today’s photo essay is a somewhat arbitrary reminder since the icehouse fulfilled the same purpose and looked the same inside from about 2007 or 2008 until the summer of 2022.
A half dozen years ago, these several vignettes — remarkable only for how unremarkable they are — capture the icehouse’s penultimate function as a storage warehouse for hammocks, garapa decking, teak deck furniture, Adirondack chairs, copper hose storage pots, etc.
The dark hulking interior was used for oiling outdoor furniture during the winter and providing lots of storage. But these needs are equally well accomplished in the carriage barn which is what we’re relying upon now.
Six years ago. A dark, windowless vault. Dirt and stone floor. The faint smell of lumber and teak oil.
Today a light filled workspace. An entertaining environment as inviting inside as it is outside. An oasis within an oasis.
The mood and function have been transformed. But layers of life in this oft reinvented utility building add to its aura. Add to its historic and narrative complexity. Add to its wabi-sabi wonder. Enrich its adaptive reuse achievement.
These photographs and the timely icehouse flashback they invite as I savor hours and days working at my desk in the icehouse loft. The old aromas no longer linger, but memories continue to resonate.
What do you think?