How Boston Designer Dawn Carroll fell in love with a Historical Home and a Duesenberg car

There is no doubt that truly spectacular individuals have walked this planet, achieved their seemingly impossible dreams, and then utterly disappeared into the dust of the past. The heaviness of that reality exists all around us. Stories go untold. Songs go unheard. Words go unspoken.   

However, the astounding thing about being a human is that we are infinitely curious. We are natural seekers! So when we find a crumb of a story from the past, WE WANT TO KNOW MORE!

A decaying house spoke to me and sparked a curiosity that became a full-time obsession. I found many stories about magnificent people lost in time, including a Tchaikovsky piece. The Walls began to talk with unforgettable Architectural History, Women’s  History, Sports History, and Music History lessons. A fascinating man named  Woogie Harris owned this house and “Big Ol Daddy” on our soundtrack is our song about him.

While researching for my show about the house, If the Walls Could Talk, an Automotive History lesson landed on my screen—a Duesenberg, a car that I had never heard of before. Like so many stories, history is changed, forgotten, and lost in the dust of yesterday. It is up to us to save it! 

“The Duesenberg Chicago branch sold a Murphy bodied convertible sedan to a William A. Harris of Pittsburgh. Its serial number, which is also the engine number, is J-209. The car itself does not exist anymore, just the engine J-209 remains”

I’ve met fascinating collectors of dazzling autos as I search for J-209, Wooggie’s Car—or anything that is left of it! That car has become one of my favorite parts of the script and will be a big part of the design restoration show!

My mission is …  to tell the stories of the house in vivid color, chronicling every detail while we restore it to the grandeur of its past. We are also saving the legacies of some spectacular humans.