As I posted the last weekend, Ol’ Slumpy over in Detroit, finally met the bulldozer. It’s sad that there is such a general disregard for built heritage in North America. Something like this would never happen in Europe, where culture seems to be of higher importance.
I have recently discovered that this house was the first building designed by a young architect working for the Detroit firm of Mason & Rice. That young architect’s name? Albert Kahn. The house was designed for William Livingston, who was born in Dundas, Ontario just outside of Hamilton. The Livingston shipping channel in the Detroit River is named for him.
Here’s a look back a Slumpy through the years.
2002
2005
2006
Feb. 2007
April 2007
Sept. 2007
It’s a shame, but it would have been super-expensive to fix up Slumpy by the time most of us were aware of it. Maybe if it had been caught earlier, maybe it could be moved somewhere.
On the other hand, there are lots of people who would miss the point of fixing a house like like this. Is it wired for cable, Cat5e? Handicap accessible? Whirlpool tub?
It’s interesting that the street and sidewalk in front of Slumpy appear to be new.
Oh, well. Maybe what was there before Slumpy – woods – will return.
JB, it was moved and the new foundation was junk. That’s why it ended up Slumpy.