Oops, I bought a mansion ... (+ video)

It was an unexpected happening – which, for a person such as Breedlove, is perhaps what could be expected.

There she was a year ago, little more than a curious auction onlooker. And yet she left as the proud, unanticipated and very much overwhelmed proprietor of a 200-year-old historic downtown mansion.

“And I am saying, ‘What in the world have I done?’” she recalled.

Breedlove – the moniker she prefers these days to her full name of Wanda Gale Breedlove – is a local character well-recognized in the arts and cultural community for her ballroom dancing presence.

She’s known for making a splash on dance floors around town and beyond with her partner, Richard Durlach, for being a regular attender at arts and cultural events, for having a brilliant intellect, a striking hat collection and an unmistakably unique personality.

“She’s just a sweet, warm person who definitely marches to her own beat – her style and everything,” said Stan Gomberg, a friend who met Breedlove and Durlach years ago through his wife, Terry Ross.

“She just kind of does what she wants to do,” said Doug Williams, a longtime friend of Breedlove’s and Durlach’s who, with his wife, Bunny, often plays music at events where the pair dance. “She thinks this whole thing of life is worthwhile if you apply yourself to the right things.”

Now, Breedlove is also known for buying – nearly on a whim and certainly without a great deal of planning – one of the city’s most historic properties out of foreclosure, as only a certain kind of character would ever dare to do.

Breedlove, who turned 70 on Earth Day (April 22), says she never dreamed of owning something of the scale and significance of the DeBruhl-Marshall House on Laurel Street. Built in 1820, the house has sat vacant for two decades after two centuries as a home, boarding house and office building.

“I was expecting there to be some big players who would (bid),” she said. “But there weren’t, so I couldn’t resist. ... I had no plan. I didn’t expect it.

“I did it because I thought it was a bargain, and maybe I helped sort of rescue it.”

If she’d had the chance to get a thorough look inside the house, or even taken the time to grasp all the baggage that came with it, Breedlove probably would have found 20 reasons to talk herself out of it before topping out on a $651,000 bid.

Good thing she didn’t have that chance, she said.

“It’s changed my life,” she said. “Sort of like instead of feeling like I was coming to the end of my life – you know what I mean – it’s like my real life is just beginning.”

A retired University of South Carolina education professor and one-time literacy consultant for school districts in the Upstate, Breedlove had been searching for properties near the university to transition from her Gregg Street cottage. But nothing had “captivated” her.

Though it has striking front columns, spacious floor plans, lush gardens stretching nearly a city block behind high brick walls and an intriguing history, many people don’t know the house is there. Laurel is a low-traffic street in the Robert Mills Historic District.

The DeBruhl Marshall House has done for Breedlove what no other property could.

“I think it’s stellar,” she said. “All you have to do is look at a picture of it, and everyone, I think without exception, just thinks how incredible, how amazing. But I don’t think many people think they want to take it on.”

Sure, it’s a project not fit for just anyone.

“It’s a pretty daunting task,” said Robin Waites, director of Historic Columbia, which manages a number of historic homes and properties in the city and has consulted with Breedlove on the DeBruhl-Marshall property. “It’s a really important building. To have the responsibility of caring for that, well, it’s a big one. But Breedlove is certainly a woman who’s up to that task.”

Breedlove’s first year with the house was largely spent dealing with a bat infestation in the attic. Now, she turns her attention to areas of water damage and applying for grants to help fund the house’s renovation. She’s still learning to maintain the sprawling gardens, with a lot of help from her friends.

She camps out in the ground-level basement, where she says she doesn’t hear a creak at night. She’s hardly had time to consider decorating the place.

But she doesn’t have to do the work alone. She’s reconnected with numerous friends who have taken an interest in her venture and offered their assistance and advice.

“I would say the best thing about all of this has been reconnecting with friends of mine who I didn’t have any reason to be in everyday contact with,” Breedlove said. “But it was amazing, once they found out I had done this, probably because they realized how overwhelmed I was, they would say, ‘Well let me come over and do (something).’”

And most importantly, she has Durlach – her dance partner, project partner and rest-of-her-life partner. He’s been right there to help her make decisions, including the decision to bid on the house, help her do the work and help her plan the house’s future.

“I don’t think I would have had the courage to raise my hand (at the auction) if I didn’t expect him to save me when I need it,” Breedlove said. “Richard would rescue me. If I get to where I can’t manage it, he is ready to step in.”

To which Durlach replied: “I know that you can manage under any circumstances. I’ve known you long enough to know that.”

Long enough, indeed.

It was almost 23 years ago at a ballroom dancing event, in October 1992, when Breedlove, in a memorable red dress, captivated Durlach. That night, the pair closed down three dance clubs.

“We just danced all night. Danced until they closed and threw us out,” Durlach, 67, remembered.

“And that hasn’t changed,” Breedlove said with a laugh.

He’s a contractor, engineer and university dance instructor. She, an environmentalist, educator and creative mind. It’s dancing that’s been the glue between them for so long, Durlach says.

They danced together for the first time at the DeBruhl-Marshall House on the one-year anniversary of Breedlove’s purchase, when she held a high-noon champagne toast and “State of the House” address to celebrate the date.

Both Breedlove and Durlach fancy the house will see many more years of dancing.

“The house has a history, it has a presence, it has the right scale to make dancing seem important,” Durlach said. “It has the right feeling and possibly the right history. The house is 200 years old – you can be sure that there was music and dance here.”

Breedlove envisions environmentally friendly weddings and events on the grounds. Perhaps she’ll create separate spaces in the house for her private residence and for public use.

She and Durlach like the idea of hosting vintage dances – although, Breedlove said, “The dilemma is, ‘Can I tolerate people dancing on a 200-year-old floor?’”

Durlach has other thoughts about the house’s potential future. But for now, he simply defers to Breedlove’s vision.

“In spite of the fact that dancing is an enormous bond and occupies a substantial amount of our time, we have other interests in life that aren’t identical,” Durlach said.

But whatever it will become, he reiterates, “It’s Breedlove’s house.”

It’s not just Breedlove’s house, though. It’s her home.

“Always before, I don’t think I ever felt settled,” Breedlove said. “Everything felt temporary to me. Although I’d been in the same little cottage for 30 years, it seemed like I might be doing something completely different next week or going someplace completely different or end up in Seattle or the Seychelles, or Tahiti, who knows.

“But once I did this, this feels like home.”

This story was originally published May 16, 2015 at 6:52 PM.