October 1, 2006
what is going down on Venable Street?
The long-empty brick house at 2205 Venable Street, built in 1915, was pushed over yesterday after part of an exterior wall apparently collapsed during Thursday evening’s storm. This despite an owner interested in renovation?
We’ve been told that there was an interested buyer for this property, a buyer months into the process of getting the correct paperwork taken care of for such a project — a buyer now out thousands of dollars in fees to an architect. The way we hear it, the city is slow on the paperwork and awful quick to tear down a 90-year-old building…
2205 Venable Street (2004) (city GIS info)
2205 Venable Street (Oct. 2006)
Also on that block is a house with what looks like a tarp for a wall. Observe the pile of bricks at the base of that ‘wall’.
dey don’t have to tear down the whole fuckin city do they… I’m tired of seeing things disappear… And I’m tired of seeing those Newer than needed homes going up! They cant make the homes out of the same material all the other old homes are made of or sumthin???
thanks anonymous. my thoughts exactly. i think the brick home they demolished could have been saved. I hope something appropriate will replace the pile of bricks we see today, but I am doubtful it will be as nice as the older home that once graced that lot. peace.
What I do NOT understand is why, when only a part of a wall at the house at 2205 Venable fell into a vacant lot, the building was demolished less than 10 hours later - while the place in the third picture has an ENTIRE exterior wall that’s been missing for more than a month. And there are stress cracks in the brick across the face of the building…and this potential disaster is 8′ or 10′ away from an apartment house full of people, many of whom are small children. I know the city has been notified about this hazardous situation at least once because I called 2 weeks ago. Did the city demolish the top building because of some bricks in a grass parking lot of the church across the street? How bad a hit will city taxpayers take when the other building collapses on a couple of people? What the hell’s going on here?
Call the City’s new Commissioner of Buildings Authur Dahlburg at 646-6624 and let him know him you feel.
‘jc’
That was a good suggestion. Unable to reach Mr. Dahlburg by phone (voice mail only) I have sent him an email with a link to these postings…and copied several people who live in the general area; and Reggie Malone and Ms. McQuinn. Was not able to send a copy to you.
I understand a gentleman from france traveled all this way to start work on the now demolished house. What a welcome! The city should be embarrassed!
‘houdon’, you got that right. He got here just after the house had been demolished!