January 2, 2007
inside 809 Mosby Street
809 Mosby Street is for sale. I recently got to go inside and take some photos.
This grand and very vacant house at 809 Mosby Street has always caught my eye. When the owner contacted me about running an advert to sell the house, I was able to finagle a tour of the property.
This is a very tall house! The doors enter on the ground floor and then there are two more stories. The house has been almost completely gutted, so no matter where you are in the house there are windows and light. There is a real sense of being above everything else around.
My guide said that the house was probably built in 1813, and that it has passed through a handful of owners in the past 10 or 12 years alone. The house looks to be fundamentally solid. There was frankly much less sign of any water damage than I was expecting and no signs of termites. Someone really really really needs to fix this house before it runs out of time…
Historic Richmond Foundation has a right of first refusal on the sale of this house, though the house is not being sold — the partnership that owns the house is being sold. There is apparently an easement on the house that prevents an owner from tearing the house down, but that doesn’t mean that the city won’t decide to do something irreversible.
There are some more&bigger photos on flickr and the info page for the house.
You know what they say “Coco”, when god closes a door, he sometimes leaves a window open. In the case of this house (or this block, or this neighborhood), take your pick. Anyway, why not put a bid on it and take advantage of the historic tax credits: once you have that roof stabilized you might even want to throw down a mattress. Why keep getting dirt on your back, or your knees for that matter? You might even put in some plumbing…to, you know, wash up between clients. Think big Coco, think big.
Thank you for posting pictures of this house - I’ve wanted to see the inside for years. A building permit dated 2/28/07 has been posted so maybe someone will actually save it.