Both Restoration and Decay Characterize Lakeland’s Historic Dixieland
LAKELAND | It was the front porch that captivated Mary Smith.
As she and her husband, Jack Smith, drove through Lakeland’s Dixieland neighborhood in 1997, checking on homes for sale, a bungalow house on Highland Street captured her heart. She said the 1923 structure reminded her of the quaint houses common to their hometown in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Elegant but needing repairs, the house the Smiths bought symbolized the condition of Dixieland, one of Lakeland’s six residential historic districts: oozing ancient charm yet desperate for rehabilitation. The retired couple has spent 16 years meticulously restoring the house, from its exterior, with its handsome double gables, to the interior, typified by such period details as French doors and an ironing board cabinet.