208 Bank Street, Brownsville, Pennsylvania 15417, United States
In the News
Brownsville Film Location Gets Makeover and New Life
June 7, 2021
By Dave Zuchowski for Mon Valley Vista
https://monvalleyvistas.com/brownsville-film-location-gets-makeover-and-new-life/
Brownsville councilwoman, Barb Peffer remembers the three thrilling months in 1983 when a film crew set up camp, energizing the historic town on the Monongahela. To film “Maria’s Lovers, director Andrei Konchalovsky, brought in Hollywood actors like Nastassja Kinski, John Savage, Robert Mitchum, and Keith Carradine, temporarily lighting up Brownsville with a Tinsel Town glow.
“I was 9 at the time and had a newspaper route,” Peffer said. Along the way, I noticed a lot of equipment and people milling around. There was a hubbub for a while then everything stopped and it got quiet. Bank Street where Maria’s Lovers’ house stands was also blocked off and I had to make a detour on my paper route. That’s when it dawned on me that they must be filming something.”
When the film came out, Peffer wasn’t allowed to see it because her parents didn’t know what it was about and the title didn’t suggest it was something appropriate for a nine-year-old. Eight years later she finally found a copy in the library and watched it for the first time.
One of the main focuses of the film is a modest, circa 1906, single-family house located at 208 Bank Street, which served as the title character’s home. Stunning views of the town, river, and the lofty Lane Bane Bridge gave it cinematic and visual clout, attributes that make it an enviable vantage point to this day
After the film crew left town, the house fell back into everyday use and was subsequently abandoned for the last 15 years. Time and neglect had taken its toll on the structure and vines and weeds covered the unoccupied building. Seeing the potential in restoring a Brownsville landmark, Philadelphia investor and part-time Brownsville resident, Stephen Beckman, purchased the house from Fayette County for $2,000 through his company, Iroquois Properties.
With the goal of revamping the building as a short-term rental property and a center for small events like weddings, bridal and baby showers, anniversary celebrations, family reunions, girls’ nights out, tea parties, private dinners, and graduation parties, Beckman financed the extensive restoration with help from local government.
“With the aid of several volunteers, we removed fifteen 30-cubic dumpsters of debris from the property and another two 30-foot dumpsters [of detritus] from the house,” Beckman said.
“Starting in May of 2020, we spent three months getting the house back to its barebones and another month to clean the hearths,” said councilwoman, Beth Bock.
The porches had been supported by logs assumed to be original, which had badly deteriorated, so the restoration added new supports that raised the porches 1-½ feet. The exterior of the house was repainted in its original white with green trim pattern, the pine flooring was refinished and a new roof was added. The house’s heating and plumbing were also revamped, and new windows were added.
For much of the restoration, Beckman sourced local craftsmen and vendors. Despite the changes, much of the original framework, siding, woodwork, porch windows and other details remain such as the pocket doors between the living and dining rooms. Even an old fuse box (now seeing life as a nightlight in the kitchen), has been saved to add interest to the décor.
Because the film was set in the post-World War Two time frame, Beckman wants to recreate that era with furnishings and details from that era. Memorabilia of both Brownsville and the film, including autographs of the actors, will be scattered throughout the house, with the bulk of the items housed in the smallest of the three bedrooms.
Helping furnish the house, Antiques on Broad, which maintains a store just down the street, is adding furniture and décor items, some of which can be purchased by those who rent the house for short term stays.
“Renters can also schedule a private tour of the antique store with the owner,” Beckman said.
For those who rent the house or schedule a private event, Beckman wants to create a right-out-of-the-1940s experience as much as possible. For instance, replicas of Maria’s coat and hat hanging on a rack will greet visitors as they enter the vestibule, and a period stove has been installed in the fully operational kitchen. While much of the house will harken back to the mid-1940s, it is also equipped with modern amenities such as WiFi and USB ports.
The attic, which is accessed by a hidden doorway, will function as a game room and hideaway where guests can read, relax, and watch films on DVD, including “Maria’s Lovers.” The house can be rented through the website www.marialovershouse.com or though www.airbnb.com. Beckman likes to point out, however, that the house is not a bed and breakfast establishment. Rather it’s a short-term rental with a maximum occupancy of seven.
Already the house has been rented for an end-of-June visit, and Beckman is hoping for an official opening event later with local officials in attendance. At the event, the plan is to have Denise Bock, dressed as Maria, available for photo shoots. Interestingly, Denise’s aunt, Destiny Bock, stood in as a double for Kinski during the filming process.
To cross-promote with local businesses, the plan is to offer discounts to restaurants such as Fiddle’s and establish ties with area wineries, distilleries, cigar shops, honey producers and more.
Already, guests will find the house stocked with Black Stove Collections soaps, a Grindstone enterprise, and guests will be able to purchase additional Black Stove items to take home.
In the future, Beckman hopes to stage an annual Maria’s Lovers’ event, which will feature an open house and the screening of the title film at the local Brownsville Drive-In or Cast Iron Amphitheater. Peffer is already planning a future film location tour of the town, which boasts at least four films including “Riddle” with Val Kilmer, “Deer Hunter” and “Abduction” plus the Netflix series “I Am Not O.K. With This.”
“When I purchased the house, my goal was to help bring the community along to where it should be and inspire others to do more of the same,” Beckman said.
This original piece was penned by Dave Zuchowski for Mon Valley Vistas. Visit Dave’s blog for a plethora of eclectic upcoming events, performances, and activities taking place in our region: www.pittsburghowlscribe.blogspot.com
In the News
Observer-Reporter, May 29,2021
By Scott Beveridge
BROWNSVILLE – Visitors to “Maria’s Lovers” house in Brownsville will step into the World War II era, the time period of a Hollywood movie that made it an offbeat tourist destination.
The house and its dizzying high perch above the Monongahela River featured prominently in the movie about a lovelorn young woman whose high school sweetheart returns from the war with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“They’re going to step into the movie,” said Stephen Beckman, a Philadelphia investor whose company rescued the house at 208 Bank St.
The 1984 movie was largely filmed in the Brownsville area, taking advantage of its time-stood-still appearance and the foggy river valley. Filmed by Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky, it also starred Robert Mitchum, John Savage and Keith Carradine and featured John Goodman in a bit part. The film struck a chord with local people because it spoke to experiences many people shared in the Mon Valley after their loved ones returned home from war with mental health concerns, said Barb Peffer, a Brownsville councilwoman.
“To see a house (Beckman) bought being brought to life in my hometown is inspiring,” Peffer said.
The century-old house had been long abandoned and covered in weeds and vines when it was purchased by his company, Iroquois Properties, for $2,000 from Fayette County.
Beckman said volunteers, a substantial cash investment and cooperation from local government made the restoration happen.
“This will be a showpiece,” he said as workers applied finishing touches to the house in anticipation of a possible opening in May. The house will be marketed for short-term stays and smaller events. The house has all modern conveniences and a second-floor bedroom with a secret door to the attic. The attic will serve as a game room through the door disguised as a bookcase. It will be decorated by Antiques on Broad, a store next door to the house.
“A lot of people are excited and want to know when it’s reopening,” Brownsville councilwoman Beth Kendall Bock said. Various items in the decor will be available for purchase, including a locally-produced line of soaps. “You can take a piece of ‘Maria’s Lovers’ house home with you,” Beckman said.
For more information visit, marialovershouse.com
In the News
Observer-Reporter, June 23, 2020
By Scott Beveridge
Brownsville's house from 'Maria's Lovers' movie to be restored | Living | observer-reporter.com
BROWNSVILLE – The enduring 1984 film “Maria’s Lovers” was made with a cast of big names in Hollywood and filmed mostly in the rundown Brownsville area.
Starring Nastassja Kinski as the forsaken Maria, her house in the set has since become somewhat of a tourist attraction in Brownsville, even though it adds to the blight problem in this Fayette County town. “People were upset with its condition,” said Brownsville Councilwoman Beth Bock, referring to the large house that is being restored at the base of the steep Bank Street.
The location created dramatic backgrounds as the street leads straight into the downtown and to the Monongahela River.
The movie filmed by Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky was risqué for its time because the young and beautiful Kinski, as the movie’s title implies, has several lovers in the film.
One of them, as the dialogue suggests, was her husband’s father played by Robert Mitchum. The plot revolves around Maria’s childhood sweetheart, John Savage, surviving a Japanese prison camp during World War II by dreaming of returning home and marrying her.
The two wed, but Savage was unable to consummate the marriage because of his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. Keith Carradine also appeared in the movie as did a young John Goodman.
The house is being given new life with a crew of volunteers, including members of council and the Brownsville mayor, who are working with an investor from Philadelphia, Stephen Beckman.
Beckman said he works during the week for a Canonsburg pharmaceutical company and one weekend went to Brownsville to roam around and create photographs.
“I just fell in love with the town and was saddened by the state of affairs,” Beckman said.
His company, Iroquois Properties, purchased the house from the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Fayette, and the team of volunteers recently removed five truckloads of garbage and debris from the property.
Bock said the house survived because its roof was sound and it still has its indoor plumbing.
She said Antiques on Broad, a store next door to the house, will help to fill it with period furnishings. Photographs taken during the filming are being digitized for the project, and a local woman who was Kinski’s double will be donating one of her costumes to the house, Bock said.
Beckman said he hopes to have the project completed by early next year and open it for tours and exhibits, use it for short-term rentals and make it available for special events.
“I’m more than excited, Bock said. “There’s quite a following online for that house.”