A reader contacted me recently, bemoaning the presumed fate of the building pictured above. It is a house at 39-38 56th Street in Woodside, Queens. And it's for sale. And according to this reader, it was recently sold by the old lady who owns it, and the new owners plan to tear it down.
My correspondent is very upset about this, and wishes she could save the structure. Why, you ask? I can understand you asking. But look beyond the awful layers of be-uglifying siding which have coated the house over the years, and recognize the innately handsome frame of the building, which is actually 110 years old. (Surprise!) And then consider how ugly Woodside is in general and how little it can afford to lose yet more of its older edifices. Look at this real estate listing and squint, and you can see the possibilities. (Ah, the porch! Ooh, the fireplaces!)
Those possibilities are not to be, of course. It will come down. I'm just pointing out the kind of hidden-in-plain-sight thing that is being lost every single day in this short-sighted town. Is there any chance—ANY chance—that the home that replaces this one will be a patch of what will be lost?
It is a fabulous house. I love the interior. The front looks like it was cut off to expand the road, that takes away a lot of the charm. I hate it when I see that, and I see it way too often.
ReplyDeleteReplace the worn out siding and put some shutters on the windows and it could look quite charming. The reason the front steps look like that probably has a lot to do with the city changing the height of the roadbed in the early 20th century. Before that, the front porch probably was at sidewalk level.
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