The most frightening moment of Luciann Nadeau’s life was followed by overwhelming relief. It was in the middle of the night last April 22, and the historic hotel she has owned and lived in for four decades had caught fire.

“I was never so scared in my life,” said Nadeau, who bought the Olde Glencove Hotel, a National Historic Registered Place that overlooks Glen Cove on the Key Peninsula, with her husband, Lawrence, in the 1970s. “This was my dream, the dream of me and my husband for 40 years. But when I found out it was going to be OK, I could’ve done a happy dance.”

Firefighters quickly rushed to the scene after an electrical splice caused a fire in the guest house adjacent to the hotel’s main building. The guest house fire, and the fire that spread into the hotel, were extinguished by a crew from the Key Peninsula Fire Department led by Battalion Chief Chuck West.

The building was safe, but the rebuilding would be a long and arduous process.

West himself has taken the lead, as Nadeau hired his Chuck West Construction as the general contractor to handle the repairs and renovations. The two had never met before the fire but, Nadeau said she believed West would honor the hotel’s history.

“We’ve worked very well together,” Nadeau said. “He really has a grasp of the old business and everything.”

West, who also helped to renovate the old Glencove schoolhouse several years ago, said he considers himself a history buff.

“For me, it’s more than just a job,” he said.

“It’s more than just a building,” Nadeau added.

The Glencove Hotel was built in 1896 in the Victorian style, and it was passed down through the family of original owner Nicholas Peterson, who discontinued hotel operations in 1930.

The Nadeaus returned the building to its original function after their purchase, and they spent much of the past decades restoring the hotel and its grounds, which include the guest house and a gazebo often used for weddings.

Because the hotel is a county, state and national historic site, several historical societies offered input on how the fire damage could be repaired in a manner that stayed true to the original nature of the building, such as using plaster rather than sheetrock in wall and ceiling renovations.
Nadeau and West agreed they needed to stick to the historical spirit, but some of the construction process has been slow as a result.

“It’s been quite a challenge at times, because I couldn’t buy some of the woodwork – they don’t make it any more,” West said.

He found a sawmill that could produce vertical-grain wood made from old-growth timber, as the Petersons would have used in the 1890s, and it’s been turned into much of the hotel’s new attic and siding.

Nadeau said that, during the months of repairs, she’s found she has a large network of friends, neighbors, former guests and other people disturbed by the damage who have been ready and willing to help get the old hotel back to normal.

“I got emails from all over the United States (after the fire), going ‘what?’ ” Nadeau said.

She said she’s had visitors from the Glencove community who remember visiting the property decades ago, before the hotel reopened, eager to see the building restored.

Nadeau has received donations of antique furniture to add to the historic feel of the hotel, including a claw-foot bathroom and a luxurious old setee.

“It’s really become a kind of community project, because people are so enthused,” West said.
Other touches of history during the renovation, such as the thematic new wallpaper in the drawing room or the engraved tin ceiling in the kitchen, have been the result of Nadeau and West’s research into the look of the late 19th century.

Nadeau said the building will be ready to reopen sometime in the next few months – possibly by Valentine’s Day. She said she’s heard from many people interested in holding weddings or escaping for a bed-and-breakfast weekend.

“I think it’s coming back better than it was in the first place,” she said. “This certainly isn’t what I planned, but (the hotel) was getting a little old and tired. It certainly hadn’t aged as well as I have.”

West agreed that the Glencove could end up coming through the fire looking new and improved.

“I certainly want to think we’ve left it better than it used to be,” he said.