Giving an old home new life
With a mixture of old and new, Pierre-area native Rick Jensen and his wife, Ana, are embarking upon the massive project of converting one of Pierre’s most historic homes into a bed and breakfast.
The home, currently located on East Wynoka Street, served as the governor’s mansion for Gov. Peter Norbeck from 1917-1921, and was completely restored, beginning in 1993, by former owners Dr. Kelly and Cynthia Krizan.
purchased the home in November but still reside in Florida, where Rick works as a financial advisor.
According to Rick Jensen, their plans are to move back to Pierre in March and have the bed and breakfast, which will be called the Norbeck House Inn, up and running by the end of May.
They spent their first few nights in the house while visiting over the Christmas weekend.
“I’ve always dreamed of living in a historical home, and it just made sense to also buy it as a business. We enjoy meeting people, and it’s really too big for just a couple,” said Rick Jensen.
According to the Pierre Historic Preservation Commission, the house was built in 1904 by Col. E.P. Farr. His wife, an osteopathic physician, planned to use it as a hospital.
In the 1940s, it was transformed into apartments and will now again be used to house guests. The Jensen’s hope one of their first guests will be Norbeck’s grandson, who they would like to host during the grand opening.
The house is 7,700 square feet and boasts two kitchens, three fireplaces, a parlor, a massive dining room and five guest rooms to be used as part of the bed and breakfast.
According to Rick Jensen, Ana will provide a full breakfast for their guests, but that is only the start of what the Norbeck House Inn will offer.
The house is set to have a full exercise room, a massage parlor with an on-call massage therapist and a 1,000 bottle wine cellar for anyone who needs wine storage, complete with an area for wine tasting.
“We want it to be an experience, rather than someone just staying in a motel,” said Jensen.
The third floor’s huge open-floor plan, Jensen said, will make for a great entertaining area, that will feature a pub and a dancing area.
And while the common area and guest rooms will be redone to be made to look and feel as close to the 1920s period as possible, the kitchen area and the master suite feature modern appliances and marble floors.
“Parts of the house will be modern, like the basement area apartment, which we have rented to a couple legislators for the (legislative) session,” said Jensen.
One of the home’s most modern features is a central vacuum system, which is designed to remove all the dirt and debris from the house and send it through tubing located in the walls to a receptacle in an out-of-the way location.
In addition to its modern features, the house also contains some of the original woodwork and all of the house’s original windows, according to Rick Jensen.
Currently the Jensens are bustling about with decisions regarding interior design, furniture and wall hangings.
“Well, it’s going to cost a lot of money just to furnish it,” Rick Jensen said.
