Prabakin stari stan

To je priča o 1942-44 Hebert Street, which is in the Old North St. Louis susjedstvu St. Louis, MO. Like its neighbors, ova struktura je vidio i boljih dana. Postao sam zainteresiran za zgrade, jer je moja prabaka je živio na ovoj adresi u 1930.

Obitelj mog djeda po majci živjela je u sjevernom dijelu St. Louis during his childhood from 1915 to the early 1930s. Posjedovao je kuću na Aveniji Dryden 1950-ih, which is in better condition than this building. Nostalgično je govorio o odrastanju u Walnut Parku i životu sa svojim ujacima Julesom. Nažalost, Ujak Jules’ kuća na Thrush Avenue sada je prazna parcela.

Gornja slika je od 1942-44 Hebert Street today. Builders completed the flat in 1882 making the dwelling 131 godina. O tadašnjim standardima gradnje svjedoči činjenica da joj je krovište gotovo potpuno nestalo, the entire rear of the building has collapsed into the backyard, na nekim zidovima nedostaju cigle i čini se da su se gornji katovi srušili zbog kiše koja je ulazila kroz krov. Još, the building still stands.

A “For Sale Sign” is visible on the 1944 entry board but it is old. The Land Revitalization Authority, St. Louis City delinquent property owner, took over the property in 1996. According to city records, it has been vacant since at least 1995. The city condemned the building in January 2013, which means a date with the wrecking ball is on tap within the next few months. The city will demolish 1942-44 Hebert Street with nary a whimper. Neighbors will celebrate that they do not have to live with the eye sore anymore. Old North St. Louis has been experiencing a revitalization. Residents are saving the buildings. If the 1942-44 Hebert Street could have still been intact a little longer, rehabbers could have saved the building.

Nažalost, kratkovidni urbanisti mislili su da bi bila sjajna ideja pustiti da stari stambeni fond u sjevernom dijelu grada istrune. The city could demolish the old housing and replace it with newer housing. Builders constructed south side buildings over a series of caves, so the sinkholes in the area made it difficult to build. The North side built up sooner, so the buildings tend to be older.

Naturally, the housing stock was older, but city planners gave little thought to its place in the history of the city or the superior construction of the time. 1942-44 Hebert Street is an eye sore now but in 1930 it was a haven for a widow with a young son, who wanted to be closer to her family. An all too familiar tale of a sad end to a once proud structure on the North Side.

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