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Ruchs make Langroise house a home
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As fall begins to cool toward winter, an historic house on Warm Springs Avenue is finally ready to provide the warm welcome befitting a university president’s residence.
During the last year, major renovations have transformed the 75-year-old house into a home for Boise State President Charles Ruch and his family as well as a reception hall for important university functions.
“In a way, it’s like living in a museum,” Sally Ruch said.
“It’s so huge. I don’t want to put away a lot of my things because I’m afraid I’ll never find them again.”
Her concern is justifiable. The house is 6,000 square feet, not including the now-defunct chauffeur’s quarters over the garage.
The house, donated to the university by William Langroise in 1977, served as the residence for Langroise’s wife Gladys, until her death in 2000. It then reverted to the university along with a $500,000 account the widow had established in 1981.
The money was used for the renovations, with enough remaining in the account to grow and provide funds for future changes to the house.
According to Ruch, her husband had the house inspected by several engineers before agreeing to take the property.
She said they tried to maintain the flavor of the historical house, but several changes were necessary to make the space more livable.
The kitchen, which Ruch said was actually once a very small space with a back stair to the servants’ quarters, has been expanded into a full catering kitchen.
It now includes two rapid-return dishwashers with a cleaning cycle of three minutes, an industrial refrigerator, a stainless steel crisper which stands over seven feet tall and a warmer of approximately the same height. The kitchen also has three ovens, a six-burner stove and an industrial-size coffee maker.
“It’s overwhelming most mornings,” she said. “Especially at 7 a.m.”
In response to the kitchen, the Ruchs installed a small breakfast nook including an under-the-counter refrigerator, a ten-cup coffee maker, and a small sink in a small room just off the master suite. They renovated the room, dividing it into two, and converted one section into a small laundry room.
Finally, to make the master suite completely convenient, the Ruchs opened a door to the adjacent room and created a workable office space.
In addition to the changes in the kitchen and master suite, a large closet off the entryway was converted into a handicapped-accessible bathroom, The former maid’s quarters, located above the kitchen, were renovated, opening two small rooms into a single room.
Ruch said one can tell where the servant’s quarters ended and the family portion of the house began by the design of the rooms.
“The doorways in the family area are all rounded. In the servant’s area, they are square,” she said.
The old radiator heating system was also removed. While the house is still heated by the geothermal system that runs down Warm Springs Avenue, the bulky radiators were extracted and replaced with a modern forced-air system.
Finally, the electrical system was updated to fit code.
Though the changes are extensive, the Ruchs did their best to retain the old look of the house. The Great Hall, a vast room just off the entryway, kept the original hardwood shelves. The floor of the room was refinished, and some flooring needed replacement after the old radiators were removed.
According to Ruch, the original window glass was left instead of replacing them with double-paned windows and the original doors were retained as well.
Much of the original lighting system was restored, using the existing chandeliers. She said the all-glass chandeliers and wall sconces in the dining room are “particularly precious.”
A wall mural in the dining room was cleaned, and the room was painted to accentuate the original art. The artwork depicts a rooster on a hill above a river while the sun rises.
In the solarium, the carpet was removed to reveal a polished slate floor.
“Those are actually the same slates they used on the roof,” Ruch said.
She said they are looking forward to living in the Langroise house for the year her husband has left before retirement, but they are also looking forward to finishing construction on their retirement home and passing the historic residence to the next president.
Elizabeth Puckett, The Arbiter
