BY NICOLE CIRIDON

UW News Lab  

At first glance the Shumway Mansion looks out of place among its smaller neighbors. Overlooking Kirkland’s Juanita Bay, the spacious house boasts a manicured lawn complete with a gazebo and duck pond.

Instead of using it as a private residence, owners Richard and Salli Harris turned it into a state-certified adult family home in October of 2008. The manager will be longtime nursing professional Julie Blakemore.

When her former husband, Marshall, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, Blakemore became more aware of adult family homes.

“I didn’t know anything about them but it was recommended by social services,” the mansion’s provider said. “My husband and I looked at several family homes. I saw a lot of bad ones.”

The experience inspired Blakemore, a certified nursing assistant, to open one of her own.

“I wanted to create an environment coming from a good perspective,” she said.

With 15 years of care-giving experience, Blakemore received her specialty training and license in mental health and dementia and will welcome the mansion’s first resident this week.

“In terms of the care giving, I want to create a warm and inviting home and to make sure there’s always great food available,” she said.

Before the mansion was turned into a family home, the community landmark had its share of transformations.

When it was built for the Shumway family in 1909, “the mansion’s original location was on 528 Lake St. in the south end of Kirkland,” said Ken Harris, the owners’ son.

After the property was sold in 1944, the mansion had several owners, including Fred Hall and his wife Ruth (Dr. Hayer) who converted it into a nursing home and later a chiropractic clinic.

Through connections with realtors, the Harrises became aware of the mansion in 1982. After learning it was facing demolition, they purchased, relocated and restored the structure.

“My dad and I had been involved in the moving and reconstruction of some homes,” Ken Harris said. “My mom had a wedding advisory service. She worked at a number of beautiful old homes and always dreamed of having a venue of her own to hold weddings at.”

The three-mile move occurred in March of 1985 and “was originally supposed to take five-and-a-half hours but it took two-and-a-half days,” Ken said.

That year it opened as a 24-room antiques-furnished reception center and bed and breakfast inn.

Today, the facility is licensed for six residents and the Harrises hope to get all the rooms filled.

“I eventually hope to get a second adult family home once this gets up and running,” Salli said.

The mansion recently celebrated its 24th anniversary since its relocation and its 100th anniversary since it was built.

“The most remarkable part of the journey is that the Harrises sold off the surrounding property and they decided to turn the building into a community-oriented location,” said Bettina Carey, the marketing and nursing consultant at the mansion.

“It’s remarkable that the mansion, as it was sold and bought by various people, had been a nursing home at one time. It’s kind of going back in history.”

Nicole Ciridon is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.