Moon Lorn preservation a possibility
Steve Leonardi, a neighbor and fellow artist, points out vandalism at Malcolm Parcell’s Moon Lorn.
Steve Leonardi, a neighbor and fellow artist who knew Malcolm Parcell, looks at areas that have been vandalized at Moon Lorn.
Moon Lorn was the longtime residence of the late Malcolm Parcell, a globally renowned artist. The building and grounds have fallen into major disrepair, largely through vandalism, and the county history and landmarks foundation is trying to save it.
This building at Moon Lorn was once Malcolm Parcell’s studio.
Steve Leonardi, a neighbor and fellow artist who knew Malcolm Parcell, points to areas that have been vandalized at Moon Lorn.
Moon Lorn, the longtime residence of the late artist Malcolm Parcell
Moon Lorn remains forlorn in appearance and hope. But it still has a chance of revival.
The home of the late artist Malcolm Parcell, which has fallen into serious disrepair in Prosperity, has been nominated to the 2017 Pennsylvania at Risk list of endangered historic properties. That list is compiled by Preservation Pennsylvania.
Preservation Pennsylvania, according to its website, “is the commonwealth’s only statewide, private, nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of historically and architecturally significant resources.”
Erin Hammerstedt, director of Preservation Services, cautioned Moon Lorn supporters that the organization has not winnowed down that list and that selected properties will not be announced until late January. Yet she did not discourage them during a telephone interview last week.
“It is definitely in the running for that designation, which helps draw attention to the property and allows us to really dive in to try to find/help implement a solution (to preserve) the property,” Hammerstedt said.
Southpointe-based CONSOL Energy owns Moon Lorn. Sandy Mansmann, coordinator of the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation, nominated the property for the at-risk list ahead of the early-November deadline.
Park Burroughs, retired executive editor of the Observer-Reporter, detailed the travails of the once-idyllic Prosperity property in an article Oct. 16.
Parcell, a globally renowned painter who died in 1987 at age 91, played in an old log cabin on a rustic ridge as a child in the early 20th century. He returned there in 1925, an accomplished artist seeking a place to work. Parcell kept adding on to the place, and ended up living there the rest of his life.
The Malcolm Parcell Foundation purchased Moon Lorn following the painter’s death, with the intent of preserving the home and using it as a residence/studio for artists. That lasted for about a decade, until the home could no longer draw artists, and the foundation sold to a couple, Steven and Rosemary Rosepink, in 1999.
The Rosepinks owned Moon Lorn until June 2014, when it sold to CONSOL, which was ramping up its longwall mining operations in the area. The longtime energy company paid $270,000 for the home, its 14 acres and mineral rights.
CONSOL has since severely scaled back on coal and not used the property. The house has been unoccupied, and thieves and vandals have put it in a deplorable state, stealing copper plumbing and wiring, furniture and a stained-glass window; breaking doors and locks; scrawling graffiti on walls; and depositing beer bottles and trash throughout.
Since the October article in the O-R, CONSOL has stepped up its oversight of Moon Lorn. “Windows and doors have been secured and our contractors are now monitoring the property on a regular basis,” company spokesman Brian Aiello said in a statement.
Mansmann said CONSOL’s efforts have been successful at halting damage to the house.
Hammerstedt, who works in an eastern Pennsylvania office of Harrisburg-based Preservation Pennsylvania, visited Moon Lorn a few weeks ago. She did not get a close look, but enough of a glimpse to envision potential.
“We really like this property, in such an inspired setting,” she said. “We haven’t done all of our research yet, but we think this house is historic.
“This definitely has rehab potential if we can find someone who wants to dive in. We hope (CONSOL) will be willing to sell or lease.”
The presidential election may have a bearing on that. Although CONSOL has de-emphasized its mining operations, Mansmann speculated that with president-elect Donald Trump vowing to bring back coal, the energy company may be reluctant to part with a property in that location.
CONSOL’s Aiello said: “We have … investigated potential partnerships with individuals and organizations who may have interest in restoring the property, and we will continue to do so. The property does sit within our future operational plan, so we will assess the appropriate time to engage in such conversations with those who may have interest in partnering.”
For now, Moon Lorn is sitting idle and decaying. That bothers Hammerstedt.
“Because it is not in use, it is not being taken care of,” she said.
In a sparsely populated area where artists no longer want to congregate en masse, Steve Leonardi – a neighbor/fellow painter/acquaintance of Parcell – is wary, as well.
“The place won’t last another year,” he said. “It probably can be saved. The problem is, what do you do with it afterward? Unless someone lives there or uses it every day, I’m not sure what the solution is.”