Back in 2001, I took a few shots of a great old house at 839 Assumption. Signs pointed to it being built about 1906, although I suspect it was about 10-15 years older. A well worn, old inner-city home.
It sold cheap in the summer of 2007….
It was horribly remodeled and turned into a rental property.
What was a great old house…
Became indistinguishable from many others around it.
Sadly last week a fire tore though the building, and it looks like the end of the road has arrived.
The neighbouring house has already been demolished…
But those twin trees flanking the sidewalk still remain at 839. I suspect they’ll keep watch a long time over a pair of vacant lots.
Have a great weekend everyone. See you back here Monday.
They should institute an “irresponsible investor’s act”
1. hold slumlords accountable for blighting neighborhood’s, destroying antiquity and leaving empty lots in there wake,
2. legally if I cant build a house that doesn’t match the other houses in the neighborhood, so then my neighbor shouldn’t be allowed to renovate to such a ridiculous extent
3. If someone buys a historical building and wants to tear it down for the location/profit they should be legally held responsible to move it
Disgusting.
A few questions come up from pdmilly’s comments, why a person that buys a house updates the exterior,(do not know if the interior was fixed up, so can’t comment) Calls person slum landlord, do you know this for a fact , complain about fixing property. Is it a historical house or just an old not to well kept building. The house next door look similar to the updated one that burned.
Just curios.
Good points. The home was probably too far gone in an area that has a criminally low ceiling on property values. You can dump $50K into a wreck in Old Walkerville and come out on top. But in this case…. and I’m not saying this is fair, or this is right, but it is the case…. a lovingly restored heritage home would be a labour of love – not profit. And it’s a vicious circle, because now that street is worse off with vacant lots.
A merciful ending for a horribly disfigured old lady.
I’m sad to see the 2001 house go.