The House That Haunts Me
Because I'm a residential architecture and history freak, I often spend my Saturday mornings driving the streets of inner city Dallas looking for cool old houses. I usually head to South Dallas, mainly because there's lots of undiscovered greatness in that part of the world. South Dallas has been neglected forever --- it's too poor, too crime ridden, and too far gone in the estimation of people who don't live there to justify investment. But the upside of this bad reputation is that developers haven't come in and destroyed all of the turn of the century houses in the name of retail shopping.
Year ago, I stumbled on 2806 South Boulevard, a once stately imposing 3,000 square foot two-story structure that surveys a particularly scary corner near Malcolm X Boulvard. 2806 caught my eye for a number of reasons. It's in terrible shape, but I can easily see what it once was. It's a rare transitional Prairie style home built in 1910 --- the period between Victorian era of the late 1880's and the Prairie four-square style that became really popular in Dallas in the late teens. 2806 has three distictive gables in a configuration I've never seen before. And it has double bay windows on the front facade --- upstairs and downstairs --- another distinctive feature. You can still see the French doors in an upstairs bedroom that likely seperate it from a sitting room. The house's exterior is comprised of wood novelty siding, which I've always thought made a home looke a bit more warm and inviting than the more costly brick. The other notable feature about 2806 is that it's been abandoned for at least 10 years. A homeless guy now sleeps on the front porch and derelects occasionally enter the house through broken floor boards and do God knows what inside.
2806 has a fairly interesting history. It was built by a man named Wathan who was an officer in the Confederate Army. Later in life he built railroads. And he was responsible, I believe, for building the Santa Fe tracks that cut through the center of Dallas. He died about 1926 and his widow continued living in the house up until the 1940's. South Boulevard was once one of Dallas' finest streets --- Stanley Marcus and the Marcus family lived there, as did a number of other prominant Jewish merchants. But by the 1940's, most of the weathier people left the area for ritzier Highland Park, leaving their homes and memories behind. The neighborhood near 2806 began to decline big time in the 40's. The last thing I could find during research on 2806 was that a drug bust happened there about 1952 --- three guys that lived there were busted with 60 grains of marijuana (grains?). I'm sure that in the 1950's and 1960's, 2806 was likely a rent or boarding house of some sort, and a low rent one at that. Then it finally became abandoned. It was claimed by the City of Dallas --- likely because nobody wanted it.
When Karen and I were looking for houses before we got married, we looked all over East Dallas for a house like 2806. There were plenty to be had, but most were either ruined by bad remodeling or were restored and completely out of our price range. When we were worn out by our real estate search, I suggested that we actually buy 2806 and move it to a lot in East Dallas. But we couldn't find a lot to place the house for less than $60,000 ---- way more than I had estimated. Add in that 2806 needs well over $100,000 worth of repairs and that moving costs would be another huge chunk of cash, forced us to abandoned that idea, just like someone did to 2806.
I've never been inside 2806, and I may never get the chance. I mean, I've been tempted to crawl inside many many times. And I've already met two crackheads who crawled out of 2806 while I was contemplating that move. I'm sure there's little left inside except trash and rats. Scavengers have already taken many of the wood windows on the sides of the house and I doubt there's a fixture left in the whole house. But I still feel the need to go inside. I think if I did, it would satisfy something inside me. I want to do nothing more than walk around and get a feel for the place, as trashed as it is. Even in it's current state, I've never understood why a place like 2806 would go unclaimed for so long. And I wish it was me that could claim it, bad neighborhood or not. That, my friends, is why 2806 haunts me.
Year ago, I stumbled on 2806 South Boulevard, a once stately imposing 3,000 square foot two-story structure that surveys a particularly scary corner near Malcolm X Boulvard. 2806 caught my eye for a number of reasons. It's in terrible shape, but I can easily see what it once was. It's a rare transitional Prairie style home built in 1910 --- the period between Victorian era of the late 1880's and the Prairie four-square style that became really popular in Dallas in the late teens. 2806 has three distictive gables in a configuration I've never seen before. And it has double bay windows on the front facade --- upstairs and downstairs --- another distinctive feature. You can still see the French doors in an upstairs bedroom that likely seperate it from a sitting room. The house's exterior is comprised of wood novelty siding, which I've always thought made a home looke a bit more warm and inviting than the more costly brick. The other notable feature about 2806 is that it's been abandoned for at least 10 years. A homeless guy now sleeps on the front porch and derelects occasionally enter the house through broken floor boards and do God knows what inside.
2806 has a fairly interesting history. It was built by a man named Wathan who was an officer in the Confederate Army. Later in life he built railroads. And he was responsible, I believe, for building the Santa Fe tracks that cut through the center of Dallas. He died about 1926 and his widow continued living in the house up until the 1940's. South Boulevard was once one of Dallas' finest streets --- Stanley Marcus and the Marcus family lived there, as did a number of other prominant Jewish merchants. But by the 1940's, most of the weathier people left the area for ritzier Highland Park, leaving their homes and memories behind. The neighborhood near 2806 began to decline big time in the 40's. The last thing I could find during research on 2806 was that a drug bust happened there about 1952 --- three guys that lived there were busted with 60 grains of marijuana (grains?). I'm sure that in the 1950's and 1960's, 2806 was likely a rent or boarding house of some sort, and a low rent one at that. Then it finally became abandoned. It was claimed by the City of Dallas --- likely because nobody wanted it.
When Karen and I were looking for houses before we got married, we looked all over East Dallas for a house like 2806. There were plenty to be had, but most were either ruined by bad remodeling or were restored and completely out of our price range. When we were worn out by our real estate search, I suggested that we actually buy 2806 and move it to a lot in East Dallas. But we couldn't find a lot to place the house for less than $60,000 ---- way more than I had estimated. Add in that 2806 needs well over $100,000 worth of repairs and that moving costs would be another huge chunk of cash, forced us to abandoned that idea, just like someone did to 2806.
I've never been inside 2806, and I may never get the chance. I mean, I've been tempted to crawl inside many many times. And I've already met two crackheads who crawled out of 2806 while I was contemplating that move. I'm sure there's little left inside except trash and rats. Scavengers have already taken many of the wood windows on the sides of the house and I doubt there's a fixture left in the whole house. But I still feel the need to go inside. I think if I did, it would satisfy something inside me. I want to do nothing more than walk around and get a feel for the place, as trashed as it is. Even in it's current state, I've never understood why a place like 2806 would go unclaimed for so long. And I wish it was me that could claim it, bad neighborhood or not. That, my friends, is why 2806 haunts me.
posted by john clarke at 10:33 AM
2 Comments:
I embrace the John blog, I embrace it real hard.
Good to have you back.
Post a Comment
<< Home