At first I thought it was an upright piano on top of the pile. M-a-n-t-l-e is usually a cloak. M-a-n-t-e-l is the fireplace one. Although it seems they are interchanged frequently. I try to spell correctly on this blog but sometimes it’s tricky.
Driving to school I saw this pile of rubble which was a house last week. An abandoned, boarded-up house but still standing. Webb Construction guys were nice to let me take the photo. I asked them how they do it and he said you start at the top and work your way down. Oh, and I met a contractor who restores houses and is looking for worthy pieces to salvage for the homes he restores. What a contrast.
When It Is Too Far Gone to be Repaired or Restored
It gets torn down.
No one has the money to fix it up.
Houses stand boarded up a long time.
Sometimes there are occupied homes right next door.
Seems the city is demolishing abandoned homes at breakneck speed.
No archeological digs as in Philadelphia sites.
It is wonder no one has tried to salvage it. We used to do a show called Mantelpiece Theatre – hand and rod puppets in the upper mirror portion and marionettes in the lower fireplace opening.
I wish we could see the inside before
Sad photo. Are we better off with or without these abandoned homes. I can see both sides. But history is lost.
Yes, it would really be something for someone to go around and try to find out the background on these houses. If they could speak, they’d have wonderful tales to tell!
At Braddock Hospital, the wrecking crew started up the hill at the back and are working forward and down toward the front ….. sort of like: we’ll fool you until the very end (this week) when: presto change-o – structure into rubble!
The stories of a Hospital must be the stories of a house to some unknown power!!
We saw a museum exhibit in Minneapolis one year that traced the history of a house. A lot of work went into the final product. They had things from each family that lived there over the years. It was very interesting.
I get sad about things like this. We have a similar mantel (not green) in our house!
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