Goodbye to a Victorian Lady

Elsewhere in this newsletter and in almost every issue of this newsletter, we are pleased to welcome new neighbors.  Along with the happy arrival of new neighbors attacking homes that have been neglected for years, there is the sad news that the neighborhood is going to lose one of our early 1900s houses.  The City Codes Enforcement, Department of Development ahs requested and received authority to demolish 318 Oklahoma Avenue.  According to Ann Bennett, the unabated deterioration of the building has resulted in a collapsed front porch, trees growing through the foundation, numerous holes in the roof (including a large hole on the southwest elevation), missing walls in the rear, and the complete absence of a roof and roof covering on the rear wing.  While we deplore the need to demolish this house, we feel that it is necessary for the safety of the entire neighborhood.  Both the City and neighborhood have made numerous attempts to approach the owner over the past ten to twelve years to repair or rehabilitate this house, to no avail.  It is situations such as this that our neighborhood association is committed to try and prevent.  Our mission statement calls for us to preserve and protect old homes within the neighborhood.  This time we failed.

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