6 Ledgeview, The Ledges, West Island, SI

This home was built by international racer Renaldi Pierce Yates for his variety of automobiles and his family.  The living portion of the house is on the second floor and is accessed through the single yellow door.  The left three garage doors lead to conventional storage for cars, but the fourth, on the right, is different.  The last bay opens to the front road, but also has a matching door at the other end that leads into the walled compound at the rear of the home.  This compound is Yates' delight, since cars can be driven into his "back yard" which is quite large.  6 Sedgewick is situated on a five-acre piece of ground that provides a short roadway on which Renny can drive his three collector's cars.  He has a 1955 Mercedes 300SL convertible, a 1956 Buick Skylark convertible and a 1979 Cadillac LeCabriolet convertible from Hess & Eisenhardt in Lima, Ohio, United States.  His street car is a minivan. There are four bedrooms, two and one-half baths, a large living room over the garages, an eat-in kitchen and adjoining laundry and pantry.  A large party room is on the same level of the garages, at the back of the house, and an office den is nearby.

8 Bay Avenue, Littletown, Shoppolis City, East Island, SI

Littletown is known for its old mill houses, the ones the mill workers lived in from around 1880 to the 1920s.  Many of these venerable structures have been rebuilt and refurbished, and the remaining ones are in good condition and have been considerably modernized.  8 Bay Avenue is a good example of the three-story, four-bedroom models.  It is a masonry structure and features a walled back yard with appreciable greenery.  This home was bought from the Fortesque Factory people in the mid forties by a couple who were reunited after the war.  Commander Kurt Werfl, a U-boat skipper for the Germans turned over his submarine to neutral forces when the war was declared over.  He and his crew were sent to Canada, then transferred to England for return to Germany when Kurt was offered a job delivering goods to Shoppolis Islands via tramp steamer.  He took the job and landed in Shoppolis City in September of 1946.  He fell in love with the area and never left.  Six months after arriving, he married Debra Coletrane of Australia, a former Army nurse for the Aussies.  They purchased the home from the factory and moved in.  In 2002, they put the house up for rent and began a tour of the world that would include Germany, a country he had not seen nor stepped foot on since leaving for sea on that last voyage in 1945.

88a (lower left) Jeek's Trail, South Hook, West Island, SI

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88b (lower left) Jeek's Trail, South Hook, West Island, SI

South Hook is noted for its neighborly closeness due mostly to the fact that the majority of these neighbors work in the same businesses, shops and industries.  South Hook and Quayton are working areas, and their populations are working people, particularly those who work with their hands.  This four-part home is designed for the small family or the couple either retired or one that has no children involved yet.  Each living area is the same, but the window arrangements are somewhat different.  Each unit is a three-bedroom model and has the same divider between the living room and the dining area.  There is a feed-through between the small kitchen and the dining room.  The main difference in these units is that the second-floor units have full-height, a-frame ceilings with beams showing.  This added touch makes Units 88c and 88d more capacious and airy. 

4 Brace Way, Ben Bow, East Island, SI

Brace Way is at the south end of Ben Bow in the midst of The Fishery, the industrial complex that used to be responsible for over 90% of all the marine life processing that went on in SI.  Many small homes, many built by the Fishery itself, housed workers, particularly management types.  4 Brace Way is no exception, and it once was the home of the Shipmaster, Quality Baines and his family.  Quality was the last of the management of The Fishery before it was downgraded and began to accommodate yachts, private fishing vessels and even a yacht club.  This unique "factory house" has been totally upgraded inside and out, plus the small lot on which it restes has been improved.  Quaint is the word.  The Baines family, who still owns the property, has put it up for rent. 

 Bellington Apartments, The Bulkhead at Dauphine, East Island, SI

Apartment 1 (left)

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Apartment 2 (left middle)

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Apartment 3 (right middle)

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Apartment 4 (right)

When it became clear that Dauphine Creek was getting progressively more narrow and navigation was becoming difficult for any vessel calling for more than 3 feet of water, The Bulkhead was built in 1991.  As a result, the land held back by this structure became flat and more than accommodating for buildings.  Lane Krell went to the Executive Staff and suggested that a small building be built that could house four families comfortably and be an asset to the River.  It was hoped that those who lived there might want to take advantage of the water.  Since four or five investors were involved, the Executive Staff agreed to the building and added it to its rental units, of which there are many.  It has been very successful, and not only is Krell happy, but his investors have realized a good profit, and the ES has added more revenues to its reserves.  These rentals are actually townhomes of exceptional quality and design. 

"Brickland" on Dividing Line Road, Gallant, West Island, SI

Brickland was built by Lane Bell in 1864 as a present to his bride, Celia.  When he arrived with her, the home was finished, the staff was waiting, and life together was about to begin.  In a matter of months, she was pregnant with her first child, and the home was bristling with activity.  Celia died during childbirth and left Bell with a daughter and no wife.  He took the baby and left SI never to return.  Brickland remained empty for two years and began to fall into disrepair, when the Executive Staff claimed the property in the name of SI and made it a public building.  It served as an office building until 1928 when a man named Elliot Lewis began to talk about purchasing the home from SI.  A price was agreed to, and the deal was set.  Elliot Lewis decided to retain the name of the estate in memory of Celia Bell, who is buried in the community cemetery, Heaven's Gate, in The Gorge.  To this day, no one knows what happened to Lane Bell or his daughter, Alice.  It is known that the passage booked for the two had a final destination in Australia.  Elliot Lewis raised his family at Brickland and passed away at the age of 100 in 2000, and his heirs have put the estate up for rent.  The formal gardens, fences, plateaued lawns and other elegant features made Brickland one of the finest properties for rent on the Islands, but unfortunately late in 2002, strange happenings began to manifest themselves within the home.  Investigators are now assessing the situation and attempting to find out what unusual forces are at work.

"Cady Cottage" on East Palisades, Tea Cup Beach, East Island, SI

Isaac Cady came to Shoppolis Islands in 1864.  He was a young architect with great energy and imagination, but his dream was to work in precision and simplicity.  He was commissioned by the Executive Staff of SI to consider the living needs of the more prosperous in Shoppolis City who wanted town living, much like that in London, Paris and Washington.  His rows of London Townhomes became a great achievement since an abundance of marble and other masonry was used.  Most notable were his curved walls and sculptured steps.  He designed and built the Fortesque Factory that, until 1970, was still used for making clothing for domestic consumption and export.  His home Cady Cottage overlooking Tea Cup Beach is currently a rental property.  Its design is obviously much like that applied at the Factory, his London Townhouse community and a number of other estates.  Cady Cottage is a large residence with servants quarters, a house manager's office, formal dining facilities for entertaining, a guest cottage on the south end and more.  The curved cement retaining walls and steps, characteristics of his style of architecture, are quite evident at Cady Cottage.

403 Givens, East Park Point, East Island, SI

This three-bedroom model is well-known for its compact dining, kitchen and living areas.  This makes the house unusually cozy and friendly.  The owners of this house are not only owners of other rentals, they love to plant around them.  They are partial to renters with green thumbs, who like to play in the dirt and plant flowers and bushes.  The home is in East Park which is not known for beach life, but rather, quiet living and evening strolling.  The house is well maintained.

"Huey's Fort" on Horseshoe Bay, Dauphine, East Island, SI

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Huey Grayson retired as a designer from Navy Ships in 1990 and had the most interesting built off the point in Dauphine in the southeast corner of Horseshoe Bay.  At first, the Executive Staff thought the building to be too unusual and that it may cause a number of other "water" residences to be built which might, "change the character of our shores and beaches."  After a vote, it was decided to allow the structure to be built.  Designed by Grayson and our own well-known architect, Dresden Krass, who thrilled us with "Clifton" and other contoured works.  Grayson, known for his contoured, smooth-metal, designs for NavyShips, added his preferences, and Huey's Fort appeared.  Huey's military background from Vietnam seemed to influence the structure.  Most unique is the glass floor lounge, the bridge deck and boat deck.

"Clifton" at 1 Lookout, South Hook, West Island, SI

Clifton is one of the most exclusive properties on SI East or West.  Dresden Aden Krass, has brought his most-fascinating architectural style to Shoppolis Islands.  He and his family, formerly of Eastern Europe, left their classic home and leased one of SI's older homes, Cady Cottage, the original home of SI's historical architect.  He was contracted to provide a number of designs around the world, and was used to design "Clifton" the original home of SI's World Services Staff.  When WSS was decentralized and unified through the Internet, Clifton was offered for lease, and now commands one of the highest residence fees on the islands.  The family renting the structure now, from the world of entertainment, moved on to other places in 2004, at which time, the home was open for lease again.  Krass, who actually prefers classic designs is noted for his "prism" window glass, specially made and imported from a company he used in Eastern Europe.  He and his family still reside in an old home near Basin Point.