Big Brown

OK, to start this off, check THIS out. This house is HUGE. Huge and ugly. Click on the picture to get a blown up view, you can see the details in all their offensive glory. It has everything: old aluminum siding, '70's era brown and tan paint, busted and rotted railings and porch posts and most all vintage detailing either lost or damaged. But amazingly, it still has its original doors. The left entranceway still has the transom over the door, but on the right? Who knows, it might be under the siding.
notice the plain unadorned windows; in times past, you can imagine Victorian flourishes, large sills and carved trim. the mind reels imagining this homes' glory in times past.
The 3rd floor dormers give a clue of what is missing. They are not wood, but pressed tin. Very cool, but unadorned as they are, they are lost in the mess.
I've seen the inside of one of the apartments in this building. the parque oak floors were recently refinished, there are intact pocket doors even. But the new owners have so far neglected to refurbish the exterior. I guess the lure of easy rental money is too hard to resist.

the purpose of this blog

I have been living in the tiny hamlet/city of Easton PA for 14 years or so. we reside in a wonderful Victorian duplex/townhome/half a double (I guess whatever you call it depends on how much it's worth). we bought it REAL cheap. it somehow had avoided the fate of so many formerly beautiful homes in Easton, that of being uncerimoniously chopped and hacked up into apartments, turning from proud homes of distingush to flop houses.
Easton, like so many towns and cities across the US has seen its share of ups and downs. I've always had more than a passing interest in the history of different areas; why they wind up like they are, where they used to be, what hope for restoration and what not.
the purpose, then, of this blog is to, in no certain order or rhyme or reason, to photographically editorialize about what I find to be some of the more visually appaling examples of historically disrespectful treatment of homes in the area. there will be many examples of tin houses (I HATE aluminum siding!), hack jobs, ill maintained homes and the like.
I am not a historian, nor an expert on the history of Easton. I just hope to draw a circle around embarrassments to help people to appreciate what once was and might be again.
the rain has stopped, so I hope to have some pictures up soon.