12 Comment

• Old School October 17, 2011 at 12:39 pm

  That bungalow on Woodhead is in excellent condition. Just needs a bit of landscaping. Sad to see it get demo-ed. I would hope someone would go in and recycle the flooring and other vintage elements.
• tino October 17, 2011 at 2:12 pm

  better than that dump on the left..
• Bernard October 17, 2011 at 4:40 pm

  That one plus two more on the same day in my NoNameNeighborhood. Color me happy. Out with the old. In with the new.
• AMD October 18, 2011 at 9:56 am

  Bernard, I’m appalled at your comment. I too, live in “NoNameNeighborhood” but unlike you I appreciate those bungalows for keeping the neighborhood quaint and picturesque. Most of the townhomes in our neighborhood are not only ugly, domineering and shoddily built, they offer no way of tapping into the kinship and unity of neighbors, with their front doors offset from the street and only a large blank garage door portraying the identify of the inhabitants. The bungalow in the photo is charming and attractive; the townhome to the left is guilty of taking the buildable lot line to the extreme and in my opinion, endangering the charisma of the neighborhood. I don’t have to go far to see what you envision our neighborhood to be, all I have to do is walk down McDuffie between Indiana and Fairview, canyons of townhomes, as far as the eye can see. For a long timer like me, it’s all so sad to be a witness to the destruction of what once was.
• Hellsing October 18, 2011 at 1:06 pm

  Don’t let it bother you, AMD. Bernard pulls this all the time. If he truly has the courage of his convictions, he’ll retire to a cave once the first grey hair comes in as not to inflict his obsolescence and uselessness on any new shiny members of the populace.
• cm=corey October 18, 2011 at 1:59 pm

  Oh stucco lovers, for shame..
• Bernard October 18, 2011 at 11:36 pm

  For the record, AMD and Hellsing: I’ve been in this neighborhood a long time too. Graduated from Lamar High School many moons ago. I already have plenty of gray hair (at least what’s left of it). I disagree that most of the townhomes in our neighborhood are ugly (especially mine). To each their own, I guess. It’s just silly though to say that most are shoddliy built. They aren’t. In reality, it’s the first gen homes around here that were built on the cheap. I have tapped into the kinship and unity of many of our townhouse owning neighbors. You should look in the mirror, not at your neighbors walls, if you can’t make friends anymore. Yes, we are certainly destroying what once was, but only in the name of building something even better.

  I guess it’s just the cycle of life. 100 years ago, I’m pretty sure the dairy farmers who once grazed their cows on the ground we now call home were lamenting the loss of “what once was” as the prairie was carved up for these new-fangled subdivisions.
• Chris H October 19, 2011 at 5:03 am

  I like the new townhomes too when they’re built well. But I agree with others in that if a bungalow is good condition, keep it. I love the mix of old and new. But I don’t like dilapidated old or cheap built new.
• Hellsing October 19, 2011 at 8:48 am

  I simply think knee-jerk approval of ANYTHING new is as puzzling as the same reaction to destroying ANYTHING old. The two newer homes on the corner of Sue Barnett and 38th St. in Garden Oaks are gorgeous and probably more all-purpose than the homes they replaced. The Mel Reyna attempts at a Santa Fe style Hogwarts are comical. I can’t answer for building techniques, but I can say that EVERY Houston claim I saw after Ike for “roof lift” was on a house built in the last 20 years.
• AMD October 19, 2011 at 10:24 am

  Bernard, I also went to Lamar High School… and Lanier… and Woodrow Wilson. Like you, I have been in this neighborhood a long, long time. My complaint is with the glee in your tone and your lack of respect for the neighborhood as it was and obviously will never be again, ….I’m sure you remember… people sitting on their front porches relaxing and engaging other neighbors as they passed by or maybe Mrs. Anderson in her front yard gardening in a space larger than a postage stamp. Where I was sadden to hear that we have three original homes being destroyed in one particular week, you on the other hand, felt “happy” “Out with the old. In with the new.” Really? Are we even looking at the same neighborhood? You would rather have a chasm of townhomes (let’s not even mention the lack of street parking due to the zero lot line configurations…oh that’s OK, just park in front of my house, I don’t mind) than one that has a diversity of scale? Also, you are just kidding yourself if you think that the developers that have converged upon our neighborhood over the last 15 to 20 years went out of their way to bring you “quality” construction. I work in the construction industry and I’ve been to many construction sites in our neighborhood and well, I hate to burst your bubble but I’ve seen how those developers skipped many well known construction practices to save themselves a dollar and then just covered it up with sheetrock. Out of sight, out of mind. And as for friends, well, I’m lucky and I know it. Thank God for good neighbors and good friends.
• Hellsing October 19, 2011 at 2:32 pm

  AMD, one thing we can still count on – the Poe Fall Festival will be on October 29th. And go Purple Pups! :)
• AMD October 19, 2011 at 5:52 pm

  Hellsing, that sounds like a lot of of fun. I’ll keep that in mind. Don’t forget that it’s the Ballunar Festival at NASA this weekend. You haven’t lived until you spend the morning watching dozens of hot air balloons racing for the prize. Enjoy your weekend!