This 1920s bungalow at 440 Mission Street SE was demolished this week leaving a tangle of weathered lumber, shattered household debris and discarded foliage. Three of its neighbors along Liberty Street are also scheduled to be razed. Within the Gaiety Hill/Bush's Pasture Park Historic Residential District, their condition had deteriorated in the last several years because of no maintenance or occupancy. Finally, the Community Development Department of the City of Salem condemned all four for reasons of public safety. Historic houses like these, recognized on the US Department of Interior National Register of Historic Places, are community assets: they establish the character of our neighborhoods. All along the neighboring Liberty Street, there are many examples of residential historic preservation as either living or work space. Unfortunately, these were not valued in the same way.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Historic Preservation: Gone Missing
This 1920s bungalow at 440 Mission Street SE was demolished this week leaving a tangle of weathered lumber, shattered household debris and discarded foliage. Three of its neighbors along Liberty Street are also scheduled to be razed. Within the Gaiety Hill/Bush's Pasture Park Historic Residential District, their condition had deteriorated in the last several years because of no maintenance or occupancy. Finally, the Community Development Department of the City of Salem condemned all four for reasons of public safety. Historic houses like these, recognized on the US Department of Interior National Register of Historic Places, are community assets: they establish the character of our neighborhoods. All along the neighboring Liberty Street, there are many examples of residential historic preservation as either living or work space. Unfortunately, these were not valued in the same way.
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3 comments:
What a crime! This event made me angry that there are owners looking for loopholes to break the rules/laws. Why not have put all that effort into turning that once grand old house into an office with historic cachet?? {sigh} I hope, at least, that time was taken to remove the valuable wood, fixtures, windows and such first.
I adored that house near the corner for years and was so sad to see it just ignored like that.
I do remember and admire the remodel of the house on top of High Street hill, near the creek.
Makes me curious to see what they salvage from the Blind School. I hope they do make an attempt.
Very sad and stupid. These buildings made the blocks they sit around look horrible for 5 years...what a waste for some doctor/dentist (cant remember which) to get their prime real estate. They were very cute houses I would have loved to live in.
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