Shameful building demolition

[GoldenRivet]

There is a beautiful building where i live that used to be an antique shop.

It is modeled after an English Country Home almost exactly like this one (http://media.onsugar.com/files/ons1/192/1922794/26_2009/5a7f296f3bfa5592_madonnavogue_wideweb__430x318.jpg ). Im sure that it was a home built long before the city ever expanded into it's domain and the homeowners sold it when their land was rezoned.

it has been standing for as long as i can remember my 31 years on this earth, and im confident it has been standing at least 10 years before that. The antique shop closed about a year ago and we were curious to see what would open in it's place.

it would make a lovely day spa, or fine dining establishment or even a REALLY nice pub.

we saw a "coming soon" sign about 3 days ago for a restaurant we hadn't heard of before and were excited to see the little building getting a new start.

today, driving by... only half of the beautiful building remains standing, and in the fresh pile of rubble sits a massive bulldozer.

Sad to see it go :nope:

EDIT:

im sure it will be replaced by one of these (http://images.ourfaves.com/107/053_1.jpg)monstrosities

[FIREWALL]

And they call it progress to replace a thing of beauty with an eyesore. :nope:

I know how you feel John.

[Gargamel]

im sure it will be replaced by one of these (http://images.ourfaves.com/107/053_1.jpg)monstrosities

I think it's sad and I thought that looked quaint. Like in on a pier or coastal town.....

[August]

Always sad to see that type of thing.

BTW GR, you should bold or underline your text links, especially the one worders. They can be difficult to pick out for us older folks... :)

[GoldenRivet]

Always sad to see that type of thing.

BTW GR, you should bold or underline your text links, especially the one worders. They can be difficult to pick out for us older folks... :)

I'll keep it in mind :salute:

[AVGWarhawk]

They wanna replace it with a megamall I'm sure.

[Herr-Berbunch]

Unfortunately it's a lot cheaper to knock down and start again, especially if it's some prefabricated fast food joint. Personally I'd rather see old buildings have a bit more TLC and see some *common sense* planning laws to sustain older buildings - not necessarily to keep them exactly as they are/were but to sensibly drag them into the modern era, especially with insulation and other more environmentally aware features.

[mookiemookie]

Houston has very lax zoning and property laws, so this type of thing happens a lot here. A couple of years ago, they ripped down part of the River Oaks shopping center, which had been there since 1940, and was an example of beautiful art deco architecture:

http://www.underconsideration.com/speakup/archives/riveroaks_old.jpg

http://losthouston.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/riveroaksshopping4.jpg

So that they could build this piece of sh...err...garbage:

http://culturemap.com/site_media/uploads/photos/2009-09-28/Barnes__Nobel_River_Oaks_exterior-7.263w_350h.jpg

[August]

So that they could build this piece of sh...err...garbage:

http://culturemap.com/site_media/uploads/photos/2009-09-28/Barnes__Nobel_River_Oaks_exterior-7.263w_350h.jpg

I wonder if people will look at this as a cool piece of architecture someday too.

[The Third Man]

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,
With a pink hotel, a boutique,
And a swinging hot spot.
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

Joni Mitchell

[August]

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,
With a pink hotel, a boutique,
And a swinging hot spot.
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

Joni Mitchell

I WENT BACK TO OHIO
BUT MY CITY WAS GONE
THERE WAS NO TRAIN STATION
THERE WAS NO DOWNTOWN
SOUTH HOWARD HAD DISAPPEARED
ALL MY FAVORITE PLACES
MY CITY HAD BEEN PULLED DOWN
REDUCED TO PARKING SPACES
A, O, WAY TO GO OHIO

WELL I WENT BACK TO OHIO
BUT MY FAMILY WAS GONE
I STOOD ON THE BACK PORCH
THERE WAS NOBODY HOME
I WAS STUNNED AND AMAZED
MY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
SLOWLY SWIRLED PAST
LIKE THE WIND THROUGH THE TREES
A, O, OH WAY TO GO OHIO

I WENT BACK TO OHIO
BUT MY PRETTY COUNTRYSIDE
HAD BEEN PAVED DOWN THE MIDDLE
BY A GOVERNMENT THAT HAD NO PRIDE
THE FARMS OF OHIO
HAD BEEN REPLACED BY SHOPPING MALLS
AND MUZAK FILLED THE AIR
FROM SENECA TO CUYAHOGA FALLS
SAID, A, O, OH WAY TO GO OHIO.

The Pretenders

[The Third Man]

I WENT BACK TO OHIO
BUT MY CITY WAS GONE

The Pretenders

Those were the lyrics I was looking for, but settled with Joni because I couldn't remember The Pretenders.

I lived in Cincinnati for three years as a teen and was domiciled in Cleveland for six months.

[Lord_magerius]

I live near Manchester in the UK and I see this crap happening all the time, not just in my town of Accrington but in Manchester as well. As some of you may know Manchester is the most re-developed city in the world. After the 1996 IRA bomb leveled the city centre they started re-developing it. Just over 10 years later most of the re-developement is being re-developed over re-developement that happened 14 years ago. :down:
Edit: And most of the re-developement on the re-developed re-developement is nowhere near the centre. Try saying that when you're drunk :P

[krashkart]

It's a cryin' shame. There was a stretch of country road west of town here that I enjoyed driving, but that's all gone now. All that farmland was bought out, scooped out, leveled and compacted, and converted into another "shopper's heaven" eyesore. We don't have enough of those already?

One aspect of modern life that I really cannot stomach is this economic proclivity to obliterate the old and replace it with drab, soulless blocks of facade masonry on lightweight steel frame. Same goes with housing; everything looks like a near-identical cracker box. I favor a firestopped balloon frame or similar relic; anything that's been gang-nailed and glued together is blasphemy in my book (unless it's a friend's house). :yep:

I could go on and on and on about this, so I'll stop with:

2x4's aren't even 2"x4" anymore!! *spit* :stare:

[Sailor Steve]

2x4's aren't even 2"x4" anymore!! *spit* :stare:
When were they ever?

[krashkart]

When were they ever?


Weren't they of those dimensions before? :06:

[Herr-Berbunch]

Nope, never were, which I also thought they were until a couple of years ago!

Good job I'm not a joiner/carpenter/builder... I'll just stick with my desk, that is 70" x 31" :D

Edit: After a little research, at my 70 x 31, it turns out that the timber starts off being cut into 2" x 4" sections, but after it's been smoothed - so as not to give the big, hard-men wielding it splinters - it only measures (approx.) 1" 5/8ths x 3" 5/8ths. Once again, something new at subsim.com

[krashkart]

Well, bugger me sideways. :huh:

[Sailor Steve]

Weren't they? :06:
Not in our lifetimes, nor our fathers'.
For example, in 1910, a typical finished 1-inch- (25 mm)board was 13/16". In 1928, that was reduced by 4%, and yet again by 4% in 1956. In 1961, at a meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Committee on Grade Simplification and Standardization agreed to what is now the current U.S. standard: in part, the dressed size of a 1 inch (nominal) board was fixed at 3⁄4 inch; while the dressed size of 2 inch (nominal) lumber was reduced from 1 5⁄8 inch to the now standard 1 1⁄2 inch.
Yes, the reduced dimensions have become smaller, but they were always reduced.
Lumber's nominal dimensions are given in terms of green (not dried), rough (unfinished) dimensions. The finished size is smaller, as a result of drying (which shrinks the wood), and planing to smooth the wood.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumber

[Herr-Berbunch]

Well, bugger me sideways. :huh:

Would you mind awfully, old chap, if I didn't? :nope:

[krashkart]

Would you mind awfully, old chap, if I didn't? :nope:

It's a figure of speech. ;)

[Herr-Berbunch]

Well, bugger me sideways. :huh:

Would you mind awfully, old chap, if I didn't? :nope:

It's a figure of speech. ;)

http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/files/2010/07/phew.jpghttp://www.toondesign.biz/PhewSite/Graphics/Phew_logo.jpg

[GoldenRivet]

:har:

[krashkart]

:haha: