1919 home to be restored to become a home

MOSES LAKE —An old piece of Moses Lake history hides on Interlake Road and its revival has begun.

A home at 557 Interlake Road was resting at the site for several years. According to a document concerning the construction of the house, it was built in 1919.

Nancy Henninger has reason to believe otherwise. The document might be wrong, she said. It may be a few years older.

Her father, Harold Hochstatter, began the legacy of the house being in their family.

“It’s when I moved back to Moses Lake I realized I had a desire to have a connection with where I live,” Henninger said.

She has a lot of fond memories of the house. The family ties make it so much more than a home, she added.

She held her wedding reception at the house 10 years ago. She said her son hoped to grow up in his grandpa’s bedroom; that was very important to her.

“We’re trying to do as little as possible,” she said about changing the home.

She plans to keep a lot of the original plaster. Repairs will be made to doors and the wood floors, among other areas.

“Our big project is we’re going to add a fire place,” Henninger said.

She was surprised the house did not originally have one, she added.

The kitchen will be remodeled and a master bathroom will be added to the house.

Thanksgiving marks the 60th anniversary of the house being in their family, she said. A family celebration is planned at the house for the special day.

The restoration project might not have been possible if not for the Moses Lake City Council.

In previous years the house was zoned as a general commercial and business zone. Stand-alone single family residential homes are not allowed in those areas.

She asked the council to approve the home to be used as a residence because of the significance it has to the city. The restoration of the home benefits the community because there are very few old buildings in Moses Lake, she said.

The council agreed and approved her request Tuesday.

Council Member Jon Lane thanked her for caring about the city’s history and gave her a standing applause at the council meeting.

Henninger is also considering registering the home with the historical register to make it an official historical site. Normally a building has to be more than 100 years old to register but since the building is so unique to the area there should not be any problems getting it approved, she said.