Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Small Town, Old Structures


 Little town ten miles up the road, site of our luncheon meeting.  The town may be small, but the church in which we met is a very large building, very nice.
And directly across the street from the sanctuary entrance is this quaint building, the original purpose of which I am unaware.  It's current purpose is to provide background, or ambience, or to serve as community eyesore, depending on your point of view.  Even the basketball hoop is disused.  I dare say a ball has not dropped through that rim in a generation.



Around the corner and a half block north is this fabulous old structure.  BBBH riding shotgun exclaimed, "Oh, that is my kind of house."  I knew this.  She is enamored of gingerbread and wrap-around porches.  The first, I claim, is a pain because maintenance (scraping, painting) is much too intensive.  The second is inefficient, roofing so much of the outdoors.
Given its lines my mind's eye pictures the magnificence of this place in its prime.

Like the old house, I am not what I once was.

11 comments:

Vee said...

I agree with your better half. I love these old homes. Heating them would also be a problem and one would need a maid to clean so much space.

Secondary Roads said...

Maybe it's a guy thing. I agree with you.

vanilla said...

Vee, I like the architectural style. I think that ownership would be impractical. When shopping for my first home purchase I looked at a house very similar in appearance. Seven bedrooms and technology nearly a century old.

Chuck, who, indeed, tends more to practicality? Just asking.

Pearl said...

I love the wrap-around porch as well, and am thinking of growing my own, perhaps around my middle. :-)

Pearl

Grace said...

A porch, a porch - my kingdom for a porch! Sitting on a stoop watching the world go by is just not the same thing as a swing on a porch...

vanilla said...

Pearl, oh, please. Perhaps you should have the porch on the house.

Grace, I do like a porch and a swing.
"Just a swangin'..."

Ilene said...

A good facelift would make the one with the porch a real beauty.

vanilla said...

Ilene, it does seem to have, as they are wont to say on HGTV, "good bones." A bit of "curb appeal" could make it quite desirable.

vanilla said...

Ilene, on further reflection, I recall Father's: "A little putty and a little paint makes a girl look like what she ain't." Might apply to an old house. Thinking the heating bill is likely to be prohibitive.

Lin said...

I'm with you and Chuck....all I see is work with that place. I wouldn't mind a brand new house like that and then when it starts to need work, I'd sell it. :)

vanilla said...

Lin, we think somewhat alike. That architectural design built with modern techniques would make quite a desirable house. Building maintenance is not high on my list of "fun things to do."