Six lucky Insiders won attendance to our wrap party at the Saratoga Springs Legacy Restored project house, and enjoyed a fun filled day of activities with the cast and crew.
The Saratoga Springs project was a true labor of love. As host Kevin O’Connor shared during the reveal episode: “Welcome back to a very special episode of This Old House here in Saratoga Springs. Special because today we wrap up our project and we turn the house back over to the homeowners.” After 13 months of work on the Dutch Colonial—which had morphed and grown since its start in 1864—the team celebrated a family’s legacy restored.
The Saratoga Springs home has deep roots in the community. Local historian Samantha explained during the project that after the Civil War, Saratoga Springs “really became a destination for the wealthy, many who made their wealth from Troy, but also from New York City. And it was a destination for many to come to the races, to come gamble, as well as to enjoy the springs.” The property was originally purchased by Henry G. Ludlow, known for valve manufacturing, making this restoration a true piece of local history worth celebrating.
Doug Wikle and his friend Tyson Berndt were two superfans who joined us on this awesome day. Doug is a software engineer who lives in New York with his wife and two sons. When he’s not watching them play baseball he likes to work on projects around the house. Tyson, a geologist, traveled all the way from Kansas City and worked for 12 years in the residential remodeling industry prior to becoming a geologist.
Brett Brown, a software engineer, attended with his wife Elsie Russell and could not be more excited to meet the cast! Brett and Elsie purchased a 1915 craftsman bungalow four years ago they they have been fully renovating themselves.
Our first to arrive, Insiders Tom Sirignano attended with his wife Lyn Sirignano. Tom started watching This Old House in 1980. He has watched every episode of every project since then.
Tom’s four-decade devotion to the show is a testament to the community This Old House has built. As fellow Insider Andrew Brettrager of Manhattan, IL, once put it about the bond fans share: “All my friends worship Tom Silva. We talk about our current projects and bounce ideas off of each other, but our favorite saying is WWTD: ‘What Would Tom Do?'” That same passion for the cast and their craft is what draws Insiders like Tom Sirignano to events like this one.
Our superfans took a private house tour with the homeowners, which some cast members jumped in on with fun facts about their favorite spaces. For a large portion of their visit, they spent some quality time with their favorite cast members and had a great time conversing in the kitchen after lunch after taking some pictures with them and collecting autographs.
During the final scenes, they chatted with the production team while watching a live monitor from the room over and played a This Old House trivia game. These fans got the chance to participate in the final scene of the episode, which means that when the episode airs you will be able to spot them in the shot!
