The photo above ran in the Border Cities Star in November, 1927:
More evidence of the building that has gone on in the Border Cities this season is shown above in the English type cottage, completed at 666 Victoria avenue, between Ann and Erie streets. Steven F. Robarts is the builder, and this is the last of six houses of similar character which comprise his season’s program.
Looks like the driveway was widened over the years, but it also looks like the scrawny little tree in the top photo on the left has grown pretty big in the last 82 years… 😉
It looks like ther never was a driveway as you can see the house next to it just peakingout in the old photo. The driveway takes out the pathway to the door.
I believe this house was for sale last spring and I think they were only asking somewhere around $170,000.
A friend of mine lived in it for several years…was a disaster inside needed all kinds of work…electrical, plumbing, repoint bricks He was doing alot of it. The neighbours house is worse though…you can insert a pen right into the mortar holding the bricks together
It’s disappointing to hear the condition of places like this…if people in this city would take care of their properties, a neighbourhood like this downtown would have so much more potential. More people would want to live downtown and create a bustling core.
Well at least they cut the lawn and don’t have any trash in the front yard.
One of the biggest concerns in thse areas (and those with so-called mixed zoning) is the propety taxes…absolutely outrageous.
Why buy these when you can buy a 28-3200 sqft house in Lakeshore, LaSalle or other and pay $2000.00 in taxes and still have great shopping nearby. What do these neighbourhoods offer? Better yet what does the city offer? Not fucking much!
Time to amalgamate Essex region so the suburbs like Lakeshore and Lasalle pay their fare share of taxes. The City of Windsor is only 46 square miles, London is 166 square miles and the amalgamated City of Toronto is 243 square miles. We are paying twice the tax mills rates because of things like higher per capita welfare rolls while the suburbs pay less. It’s not fair.
Agreed David, that may be another argument for another time, but if we had a regional government with each area paying their fair share for services that many people use, maybe this area could see an economic rebound much quicker with focused government efforts.
I happened to visit this house while shopping for houses last fall. It’s very pretty, but unfortunately, not much of the original character remains on the inside. This section of Victoria is also, sadly, freeway-like. I would like to see a revised traffic plan that would take traffic off of the street and onto Ouellette to give these people a break.
The property tax issue that ME cites, is nothing short of frightening. We have a Detroit scenario on our hands and nobody in the political class seems willing to acknowledge it. I too would like to see regionalization, but given the political calculus required to achieve it, we’d better figure out an interim strategy. If we can’t compete with the tax havens on property tax levels, lot size, newness of schools, fancy recreational facilities etc. then we’d better figure out a way to have efficient local government, cohesive neighbourhoods, cylcing/walking paths, arts and culture and a diversified business class.
To start with, I’d settle for having the bus stops shovelled this winter…
Amazing how the early branch structure of the trees is still the same today.