Wow! Can’t fix stupid.
Big red brick house on 30-A
- Thread starter desertbluff
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Hello. I just found your post after joing this forum last night. July 9 2024.
I know your post is rather old but I have a little info on the Davie's house.
I was a carpenter in the late 70s and worked on that house from beginning to end. It was built be a Ft Walton Beach contractor named Wayne Watts. His brother, Edwin Watts, you may have heard of, "Edwin Watts Golf"
Dr. J Clayton Davie, a neurosurgeon from Birmingham, built it as a summer home. He would fly down every Friday from Birmingham in his private plane to land at Destin airstrip. Then he would drive his jeep to the construction site to bring all us workers cash for payday. He would also bring sub sandwiches, beer and was accompanied by a very attractive red head; supposedly his assistant.
Before landing in Destin, he would buzz the construction site in his plane; tilting his wings left and right. About an hour later he'd come driving up.
You may have read the story where he flew into restricted air space of US Air Force. He was asleep at the controls and had to be awakened by a couple of fighter jets. The stories were true. He told us all about it, and how much it cost to fix the trouble he got in.
Friday were great while building the house. It was payda, and always envelopes of cash. The house was built as a cost plus job. Nothing was spared. If he wanted it, he got it.
An interesting note. The beam holding up the upper deck overlooking the pool, was a beam from the old original Destin Bridge. The one crossing the pass on US 98 from Ft Walton Beach. He bought the beam, and four of us put it up using an old farm tractor with a bucket, and a rusty chain. We made a very unstable ramp to drive tractor up in order to get beam high enough to set. Two men on ladders guided the VERY heavy steel beam into place. I was one of those brave but stupid men. 19 years old.
I have lots more stories about the house, and Dr Davie. BTW he passed away in early January of 2023.
Dr. Davie did lower back surgery on my younger brother in 1974. He was (is) a Marine and was wounded in Viet Nam in 1969 and Dr. Davie had to navigate around sharpnel that could not be removed due to proximity to nerves in his back. He told me the story of Davie's nap in restricted air space.
Unfortunately it was bought by crazy, it'll likely be the South Walton Horsepower Pavilion.
That's real sad indeed. So much beautiful woodwork was done in that house. The crown mounding was made of seven seperate components, all milled on-site. I wonder how such a wonderful home in a perfect location could come into such ill repair.
Matt covered it with lack of use, but if you leave anything unattended down here with no heat or AC, mother nature will fight to reclaim it really fast.