The Ace of Clubs House got a bit of a facelift recently when workers replaced the exterior wooden staircase on the home's north side.
Work crews spent April 14 tearing out the staircase that leads from the ground to the 133-year-old structure's first floor. They replaced and rebuilt the stairs with new lumber, said Velvet Cool, president of the Texarkana Museums Systems Board of Directors.
"The work on this staircase is now about 95 percent complete," Cool said. "We will have to wait for the wood to cure for about a month, then we will start work on the hand rails."
Cool said the next renovation step will be exterior work on drainage, roofing and gutter issues, then repainting the vintage home's entire exterior.
Cool said the museum system is relying on private donations, some Main Street Texarkana facade grant money and Texarkana, Texas, municipally generated Hotel Occupancy Tax funds to help with these first three renovation phases.
Inside the house, Cool said the main focus in the near future will be plaster replacement on the home's second and third floors and installing central heating and air conditioning.
Cool added that these renovations will likely cost about $150,000.