Another One Bites the Dust

[restoman]

I was startled to see another house in my neighborhood getting torn down today. I drove by late in the morning and saw that a demolition crew had already taken down the front of a Queen Anne style house (c. 1890) a block and a half from mine. At one time I had considered buying this place and went through it twice to assess its condition. Ultimately other houses were more appealing projects and I passed it by. It was on a small, narrow lot, and needed considerable work. Again, I had hoped that someone else would rise to the challenge, but unfortunately, no one did. :-(

Comments

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

And sadly somebody will build something ugly new in it's place. :o
Hugs, Jon

[restoman.livejournal.com]

I believe that the tiny plot of land where this house stood will just become part of the parking lot next door. :-(

The land is too small a plot to build on by today's zoning laws, Jon.
*headdesk*

*Hugs*

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

UGH to a parking lot. :o

[stormdog.livejournal.com]

Do you end up with split feelings over all this work and demolition lately? It's nice to see energy and time invested, but sad to see long-lasting neighborhood features being removed. It seems like overall, the neighborhood is progressing in the right direction. Do you worry that it's character will change too much in the process?

[restoman.livejournal.com]

Yes, and Yes, Chris!

I wish there were more people who are dedicated to preserving the architectural history of the neighborhood, and not just trying to cash in.

Salvage>

[thirteenrocks.livejournal.com]

Anyone Salvage it before it went down??

Re: Salvage>

[restoman.livejournal.com]

Not as far as I could tell, Kevin. The newel post, front doors and interior trim were all still in place when it got torn down. :-(

Re: Salvage>

[thirteenrocks.livejournal.com]

Ooh that is very sad. Salvage is salvage and better to try to reuse than end up in a land-fill.

Re: Salvage>

[restoman.livejournal.com]

Yes, Absolutely!, Kevin.

[changeling72.livejournal.com]

What a pity! Does the town not protect old buildings from demolition?

[restoman.livejournal.com]

Theoretically, yes, Mark. And this house was within a registered historic district which gave it more protection than most old houses have. But it was in poor shape and the owner decided against restoring it in favor of increasing the size of his parking lot a little.

[changeling72.livejournal.com]

As loss to the town.

[kishenehn.livejournal.com]

It's really sad, but I admit I'm getting more and more fatalistic about that sort of stuff ... not everything can be saved, and often the politics and money behind it are far too draining for me these days. :(

[restoman.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, Mark, you're right, not everything can be saved, nor is everything worthy of being saved. But the whole point of an historic district is to save the buildings in their context as a neighborhood. This house was part of the historic district, and contributed to the historic character of the neighborhood. The vine-covered house that was demolished last week was not.

The back story, or politics, behind this house as I understand it is this. The house was in poor condition. The lesbian couple who owned it and lived there moved away and tried to sell it but couldn't. Back taxes accrued and the city seized it. The city put it into their "land bank" program and tried to find a buyer for it. I was briefly interested but when I heard that my neighbors Michael and Nick were interested in it, I backed away and pursued more interesting projects. Michael is a hairdresser who owns a shop (and parking lot) next to the house. His partner, Nick, is a good craftsman/carpenter. The two of them have restored 2 buildings in the neighborhood. They bought the place this summer. Michael wanted to demolish the house, Nick wanted to restore it. Apparently Michael won out. :-(