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A solid, brick four-bedroom ranch house with two fireplaces, a large screened porch, and a walk-out basement, located in a well-to-do suburb of a large eastern city, belonging to a member of my extended family, is at risk of this very thing now. My relatives, parents of the present owner, had the house built in the mid-1950s, and selected the bathroom tile, kitchen design, floorplan, materials, wallpaper and paint, landscaping, etc. It was their dream home. The kitchen has been gently remodeled - new stove and refrigerator, same cabinets, new floor tile and new paint - the rest has been repainted and maintained, but not remodeled.
Now it's on the market, and the next generation-relative who is selling it expects there is about a 50-50 chance it may be a "tear-down", as it's in a very desirable neighborhood where this is common. There are no zoning design requirement overlays in place (as is the case in my own older neighborhood in another city) to help protect and preserve neighborhood continuity of appearance and yes, character.
My relative and their sibling don't seem terribly distressed by the prospect of this happening to their family home - but it saddens me considerably.
A solid, brick four-bedroom ranch house with two fireplaces, a large screened porch, and a walk-out basement, located in a well-to-do suburb of a large eastern city, belonging to a member of my extended family, is at risk of this very thing now. My relatives, parents of the present owner, had the house built in the mid-1950s, and selected the bathroom tile, kitchen design, floorplan, materials, wallpaper and paint, landscaping, etc. It was their dream home. The kitchen has been gently remodeled - new stove and refrigerator, same cabinets, new floor tile and new paint - the rest has been repainted and maintained, but not remodeled.
Now it's on the market, and the next generation-relative who is selling it expects there is about a 50-50 chance it may be a "tear-down", as it's in a very desirable neighborhood where this is common. There are no zoning design requirement overlays in place (as is the case in my own older neighborhood in another city) to help protect and preserve neighborhood continuity of appearance and yes, character.
My relative and their sibling don't seem terribly distressed by the prospect of this happening to their family home - but it saddens me considerably.
Craig, it sounds like a wonderful house! I agree that in upscale neighborhoods, homes such as this are in great danger of becoming "tear downs". And I don't understand it. There is a website that helps to market homes such as this to a preservation oriented demographic.
It's called "Retro Reno". If you go to the website there is generally a home of about that age that is being sold. While it is not a real estate web site at all, caring sellers and Realtors can put the house on there to market it to those who actually appreciate that type of architecture. The "win win" here is that tear downs fetch less.
I know is the past year a couple of homes were sold to people who were thrilled to find mid century modern homes that are intact. It's worth a try. "Retro Reno" focuses on mid century modern homes - and your relative's is perfect for their audience. They feature homes and decorative tips from the 20s through 70s, the Victorians and so forth, generally take care of themselves.
Check it out. And best of luck. retrorenovation.com/
I used to get the magazine (this old house) where they had a section of remuddled homes. It amazed me
back then what people did to some wonderful older homes thinking they "updated it." I really don't understand
the mentality of the current remuddlers who tear down sweet older homes to put up a mcmansion or to
add so much more square footage for 2-4 people to live in. Just imagine if everyone did this. What would
those desirable and historic neighborhoods look like? Imagine what cities would look like if those great
old buildings were all gone. Sadly, many cities tore down incredible buildings and replaced them with
cost efficient & boring crap.
People follow like sheep. Where is the creativity or appreciation for craftsmanship?
Back in the 70s people would buy beautiful century homes. First thing they did was paint over the wonderful oak molding and trim with enamel paint- usually some silly shade of purple. The second thing they would do was lower grand 12 foot ceiling for that "modern look" - The most wonderful home I lived in was this rambling three story farm house. It was fine brick..The last forty years a family of really proper Austrians had rented the place.
There was not a scratch in the building...everything was mint- Not a pane of glass had been replaced. The ceilings were high...the kitchen huge- three floors of 19th century luxury...it was an absolute thrill to have lived there for a few years. Outside were a circling grove of huge black walnut trees - The lawns were spectacular (took a couple of days to cut) - To sit on the front porch was like being an emperor...Now the place is surrounded by tightly packed subdivided homes...I was lucky to have had the experience while it existed.
The lot was about ten acres with access to 200 more acres out back....I hope they at least preserve the place.
My grandparents' modest but charming classic 1920 white frame bungalow had three bedrooms, half-walls topped with squared wooden columns between the living room and dining room, a swinging door into (and out of) the kitchen, and a screened front porch (the screened part rose up from wooden beadboarded half-walls with red brick half-columns regularly spaced) with a wonderful porch swing and a set of natural wicker furniture. It had a red hipped roof with a false dormer window in the attic, directly above the centered front porch door.
My grandfather, a retired farmer, planted a large and very productive vegetable garden, flower beds, fruit trees, a grape arbor, blue hydrangeas and chinaberry bushes. My grandmother's red rose bush under the front bedroom window would bloom until Christmas (they lived in the South). A large Bartlett pear tree stood at the back porch - it bore delicious fruit, lived an exceptionally long life, and always supported a rope and board swing during my childhood. It was often filled with climbing grandchildren and great grandchildren, and was truly our "family tree".
Now, the house still stands - but it's been remuddled dreadfully, and it saddens me to see it. It was covered with ugly yellow brick, the front porch was enclosed, a new but drab brown roof replaced the soft red of the old roof, the dormer window in the attic was removed, and the flower garden, orchard, arbor, and vegetable garden are long gone. There are no shrubs in front to soften the now very boxy lines of the house. A row of pine trees replaces the flower beds that paralleled the house along the side yard, and the hydrangeas are no more.
The old pin oaks still stand along the street in front, and the present resident has refinished the old wooden floors and is interested in the history of the house - but the person from whom she inherited the house destroying most of its charm. Inside, the swinging door remains, but the half-wall with its square columns has been turned into a full wall, making the living room much darker (as does the enclosure of the front porch). Remarkably, some of the old kitchen cabinets remain. The bathroom has been completed remodeled and the old enclosed-in-beadboard clawfooted tub is gone.
It's as if almost everything that was distinctive and interesting in this simple old house was deliberately destroyed or changed past recognition. Some of my cousins refuse to drive past it now, since the former owner had so little respect for or appreciation for its best qualities.
The pear tree lived a good 35 years after my grandparents were gone, and eventually also died of old age. I am so thankful it was allowed to remain.
If that house were still intact, or if it had been renovated by someone with more insight and appreciation for historic domestic architecture, its value would be considerably more than it is at present, as other neighborhood houses of similar style and age have been restored in recent years, and are much in demand. Now, the house is so changed from its original appearance that it would be almost impossible to make it right. It would be simpler to tear it down and rebuild a replica. But that wouldn't be right, either...
I wish that house had never left our family.
Last edited by CraigCreek; 04-12-2013 at 09:15 AM..
my thoughts are that you let other people do what they want to their homes and you do what you want. why do you feel that your preferences are any better than theirs?
There is good taste and bad taste. Vinyl, granite, Mc Mansions, with huge gaudy chandeliers and those obnoxious curved windows are ostentatious. And thus, in bad taste.
There is good taste and bad taste. Vinyl, granite, Mc Mansions, with huge gaudy chandeliers and those obnoxious curved windows are ostentatious. And thus, in bad taste.
I take it a lot of you would be fine if our towns and cities still looked like these:
Simple, and "less is more" sort of construction, right?
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And I don't understand it. There is a website that helps to market homes such as this to a preservation oriented demographic. 
