HOMES: Muscato family highlights history of home with antique decorations.

By April Amadon<br><a href="mailto:amadona@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail April</a>

April 23, 2008 01:26 pm

— MUSCATO HOME
• OWNER: George V.C. and Julie Muscato
• ADDRESS: 567 Locust St.
• SIZE: 5,606 square feet
• BEDROOMS: Six
• BATHROOMS: Three full, one half
• FIREPLACES: Three
• ASSESSED VALUE: $425,556

Preserving the past

CITY OF LOCKPORT — The yellow and white home on Locust Street, just around the corner from Lockport High School, gives off a serene and calm energy.
The historic home, built around 1835, is home to George V.C. and Julie Muscato and their family.
When the moved in, the Muscatos found a huge cistern — a tank used to store water — in the center of the large attic. Surrounding the cistern, the family came across a collection of old books and memorabilia from the Civil War era.
“There was one certificate (about) a young man that lost his life in the war,” she said. “You’re thinking, people were sitting here reading the paper thinking, ‘Hmm, who should we vote for? Lincoln?’ It’s that timeframe. It’s really kind of cool. You find these little trinkets around.”
One of the home’s past owners was the Keep family, who owned the house in the 1920s and updated it then, adding pocket doors and other things that were modern for that time period.
An relative of the Keeps visited the house a few years ago and shared some memories with the Muscatos. Standing in the family room, which the Muscatos now use as a TV room, the relative told the family that was where her grandfather’s billards table once was.
"She said they had a big, scary moose head on the wall, and this was where her grandfather and the men would come in and play pool every night," Julie said. "It's a whole different lifestyle."
The family has tried to preserve some of the history of the house with their decorations. Throughout the home, Julie has decorated the walls with oil paintings in decorative, antique frames.
"I try to purchase them locally, so they're all local artists or from New York State," she said. "It's kind of neat to have it all within this region."
The colorful lanscapes are joined by other antique-style decorations, including the furniture and dramatic drapery. The walls are painted with bright colors, reds and greens and blues. The hardwood floors are covered in places by colorful oriental rugs, including a dark, dramatic rug that runs up the curving staircase.
Julie said to modernize the house "would kind of be a shame."
"We love antiques, so it just really kind of fits," she said. "We're able to showcase a lot of the things we love."
The kitchen has been remodeled for modern appliances, but the family tried to keep the look of the room in keeping with the rest of the home.
We did try and keep it within the period of the house, (but) update it and make it really modern,” Julie said.
On the north end of the house is a conservatory, which the family uses as an extra porch in the spring and summer.
“The conservatory is a seasonal thing, because there is no insulation,” Julie said. “In the winter, it gets closed up and buttoned up.”
Contact reporter April Amadon at 439-9222, ext. 6251.

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