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CNN Live Saturday

National Park Service Rents Historic Houses

Aired September 01, 2001 - 17:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: Finding the money to preserve decaying historic property in the nation's parks has long been a challenge. Now, one park along a once-busy waterway is asking history buffs to move in and help out. CNN's Kathleen Koch has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The address is Lock #6, the closest transportation a kayak. And joggers, the major source of traffic. Such is life in a LockHouse on Maryland's scenic C&O Canal. David and Jill Drupa are among eight tenants leasing historic properties along the 180-mile-long canal from the National Park Service.

DAVID DRUPA, LOCKHOUSE RESIDENT: It's the greatest thing that ever happened to us. It's fantastic. We get to do something for the park, and in return we get this great place to live.

KOCH: Tenants must renovate the properties, the cost credited toward their rent. So the Drupas pay $800 a month to live in a two- bedroom home once occupied by the canal lock keeper, a bargain for this part of town, and an adventure.

JILL DRUPA, LOCKHOUSE RESIDENT: The house right now doesn't have gutters, and we get a lot of rain leakage onto the sills.

D. DRUPA: It had been eaten through by insects in certain areas and there was water damage in others.

KOCH: The Drupas have, though, spent $16,000 replacing the floors, kitchen cabinets, and adding central heating and air conditioning to the 170-year-old stone house.

SONNY SAUNDERS, ARCHITECT: You see what moisture has done through the roof at one time and how it sags right there?

KOCH: The National Park Service began seeking industrious tenants for homes like this one in Sharpsburg, Maryland, because it couldn't afford to maintain them. It hopes to eventually lease 50 properties, some which have been sitting empty for years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What they see is what they get. We're taking the opportunity to let the public come in and help us restore these properties and have a nice place to live. KOCH: The 123-year-old Moore House in Oldtown, Maryland, is in better condition than some, much to the relief of its future tenant.

BARBARA VAN BALEN, RENTAL APPLICANT: I think that it's a way to contribute. And how many people can contribute and then live in what they've done?

KOCH: The Drupas say even exceeding their renovation budget hasn't dampened their enthusiasm.

D. DRUPA: You have to embrace the lifestyle, which is a little slower, you know, a little bit more organic, and you have to give up a few modern amenities to be happy here.

KOCH: Kathleen Koch, for CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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