Architectural history lost: "It's gone, Jim."

[thunderw21]

Early last year on a clear, freezing February night and morning a fire raged in the center of Boone, Iowa, my hometown. It consumed two buildings and damaged another. One person was killed in their upstairs apartment, where the fire started.

News story and video

The buildings were beyond repair.

Destruction of the buildings began on July 5 of this year. The two fire damaged buildings were destroyed first. While from the early 20th century, they were not of architectural importance: they'd been changed so much and somewhat rundown that I considered them an eyesore.

However, today they tore down the important Mason/Meyers building. The photo below is from the very early 20th century, the Meyers building on the left side with the tower and cupola:

It housed businesses throughout the building (including a bank, jewelers and men's clothing store) until about the 1950s/1960s when the upper floors were made into apartments.

There's some family history in this building; my great-grandpa owned it from the early 1940s to the 1960s. During WW2 he donated the cupola to the war effort. His last name was Modeland, hence the "Modeland Apartments" sign in the following photos. Meyers was a men's clothing store in the middle of the century and I own a fedora and tie that were originally from Meyers.

Unfortunately the latest owner pretty much abondoned the building and let it rot, unbeknownst to the city and most folks who live here. Had he kept it up it probably would not have to have been torn down as the fire didn't do any real damage to the structure, though there was some smoke damage.

Here are some photos from today. Note the pink granite.

Unhappy me:

Here is a short news story and photos from inside a few months before it was torn down.

Thankfully my great-great grandpa's old haberdashery, a couple buildings down the block, survived untouched and is still standing. Boone has had bad luck when it comes to losing historical architecture, both to fires and the desire of the city. It lost it's big fancy downtown hotel to fire back in the '60s and several businesses were lost to fire some time ago on the same block as the Meyers building. At least three major fires within the last 100 years.

The turn of the century railroad station as well as the fancy old post office were both torn down by the city in favor of more modern construction. We're kicking ourselves now.

 

[LordBest]

That is tragic.

 

[davestlouis]

I think that a lack of respect for historic structures is pandemic in the US...bulldoze it and start over has always been the mantra. There's a gigantic TIF-financed development on the north side of St. Louis that is stalled in the courts. The premise was to raze dozens of whole blocks of homes and businesses to allow for this new development, taking structures by eminent domain if need be. The residents of the neighborhood went to court, and for the moment at least, have stopped the thing.

The other side is this...if you own an historic building, maintain the damn thing! Don't allow it to become an eyesore or a hazard or a crackhouse.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

I feel your pain. Portage is doing the same thing. Tore down the Woolen Mills, a block of turn of the century buildings. The old Hill Ford Dealership, which was built in the teens, among others. Those two were just recently.

 

[David Conwill]

I've been collecting postcard images of Saginaw, Michigan for about a year now. Most are from the 1900-1910 era. You would be appalled at what was done to that city in the name of "urban renewal". It's mostly empty lots now, and I despair of it ever becoming a proper city again.

The real kiss of death is when they drive an expressway through the center of town. Talk about picking winners and losers.

-Dave

 

[LordBest]

Anyone interested in the wholesale destruction of architectural heritage should read 'Britain's Lost Cities" by Gavin Stamp. A superb book, which will convince you that property developers and city council urban planners are the most destructive barbarians since Alaric sacked Rome.

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"Here in the Swan River Colony, the sleepy Port town of Fremantle escaped the Mining booms of the 60's and remains a 19th century port town"

 

[David Conwill]

Anyone interested in the wholesale destruction of architectural heritage should read 'Britain's Lost Cities" by Gavin Stamp. A superb book, which will convince you that property developers and city council urban planners are the most destructive barbarians since Alaric sacked Rome.

I’m not sure it’s fair to paint them all with the same brush. Certainly most developers seem to be more interested in a quick buck than maintaining lasting ties to a sense of place, and a lot of urban planners were drinking the wrecking ball Kool Aid during the “urban renewal” era of the ‘60s and ‘70s; but I think both types are starting to awaken to the possibilities of historic preservation and sympathetic infill.

The reason I mentioned Saginaw with such despair is that it’s a very large city, and so much of it was lost in the ‘60s and ‘70s. The core (cores, actually, as due to the Saginaw river, there are two historic downtown districts) could potentially be revitalized, but there is so much run down city around them that they would almost be islands in a sea of poverty. The east-side business district in particular used to be much larger, so one has to drive through endless empty lots to get to where the historic buildings still stand. It’s almost too much to successfully fill in.

The other problem is Interstate 675, which bisects the city running east-west. The northern parts of the city are psychologically isolated, and aren’t likely to go anywhere, but they’re very close to the downtown(s), so they will mar any development that goes there. The similarly sized city of Grand Rapids, Michigan had a similar problem due to U.S. Highway 131, but it was largely solved when the nearby state university moved its campus to that area. Sadly, I don’t believe Saginaw’s similarly situated state university has any interest in making a similar move.

-Dave

 

[The Lonely Navigator]

That would have been a neat building to visit - even if it wasn't fully restored.

I think there is quite a bit of 'sustenance' to what davestlouis said. When I moved into my first apt. in the building I live, I spoke with my landlord about my liking all this 'old stuff', and that I'm happy they kept it. He said that it turns a lot of people off actually. I'm thankful that my landlord kept as much original stuff as he could. When they were putting down new carpeting in the other apt. I have moved into (in the same building) - we discussed their hardwood floors. They (husband and wife team) said they'd love to have the hardwood exposed, but it is so worn, and the boards were already flipped that they had to put carpeting down to protect them.

 

[Undertow]

thunderw21, I remember that fire but I wasn't familiar with the buildings. Really too bad.

And I share your pain regarding the destruction of historical buildings; Des Moines is absolutely notorious for the practice. We have numerous empty parking ramps and grassy lots to show for it. We have very few old (read pre1950's) buildings anymore.

 

[davestlouis]

Fremantle reminds me of New Orleans, Louisiana. Cleaner, maybe....

 

[thunderw21]

Fremantle reminds me of New Orleans, Louisiana. Cleaner, maybe....

It really does.

That is a great building.

 

[davestlouis]

For a glimpse at an historic building in St Louis that escaped the wrecking ball, take a look at this...

www.continental-building.com

When I was in college, fraternities would sneak into the abandoned building, climb to the roof, and hang fraternity flags...now it's fancy apartments, just like it was in the early 30s.

 

[davestlouis]

They retained the front facade of the circa-1910 Wagoner Undertaking Company next door, and built the parking garage behind it, to unify the look of the 3600-block of Olive. The Continental LIfe building had been an eyesore since the late 70s but finally got properly renovated.

www.builtstlouis.net is a showcase for some cool buildings too

 

[GHT]

On the "So Trivial," thread, are a number of posts about demolished railway buildings. One in particular is New York's Penn Station. If anyone could find some photos of that station in it's heyday, I would love to see them. Wiki tells of the buildings demise, but if you ever used that magnificent building, do tell us of your reminisces.

On that theme, and in keeping with the spirit of this old thread, what buildings, railway or otherwise, do you know of that was senselessly demolished? Or, converted into something totally alien to the original design? I'm thinking of a church that became a burlesque club, but more about that another time.

London has two Highgate Stations, one underground, one above ground. The first one, built above ground, was as much to do with speculation as it was about need. At the time of construction in the early 20th century, London was expanding rapidly into the surrounding countryside. The area around Highgate and nearby Hampstead was all unspoilt farmland and wooded area. The speculation being that if a station was in situ and the surrounding land bought up, new properties built on that virgin land would command a very high price.

A wealthy aristocrat, name of Lady Barnet, got wind of this scheme and promptly bought up all 250 or more acres surrounding the station, thus pulling the rug from under the speculators feet. To make sure that no properties were built after she had passed away she bequeathed the land to the local authority with the proviso that it was for the enjoyment and recreation for all, in perpetuity. Today the area is known as Hampstead Common, a place much enjoyed by Londoners. The speculators were right about one thing though. Properties in the Highgate/Hampstead districts are among the highest in the country.

Today, Highgate's second station is underground, but the original first station still exists, how I would have loved to have made it a home. At least it's been spared from the wrecking ball, but I wonder if that's to do with some cunning ploy by an eco warrior? The Old Highgate Station is now home to a very rare, and protected species of bat. Could it be that the bats are actually protecting this fine station from the speculators?

 

[Zombie_61]

The Harvey Apartments in Whittier, California:

No exact date on the photo, but based on the vehicles I'd guess it was taken some time during the 1920s. The structure was one of four identical buildings built in 1888, referred to as "The Four Bricks"; the first buildings constructed in the city. This one was originally a livery stable, was then used as a commercial warehouse, and converted to 12 apartments in 1913. Of the four, this was the last remaining on October 1, 1987, when the Whittier Narrows earthquake struck.

It doesn't look bad in the photo above, taken five weeks after the earthquake, but less than an hour after the earthquake the building's owner and landlord advised all of the tenants to carefully remove all of their possessions as quickly as possible because once the city inspectors arrived the building would be sealed off and they would not be allowed in. A good friend was renting one of the apartments at the time and I helped him relocate, so I can safely say the damage was far worse than it looks. There were legal attempts to stop the building's demolition, but it was ultimately deemed too damaged (and restoration too expensive) to save. So it was torn down, and the new Harvey Apartments erected in it's place.

Hideous, isn't it? I can't be certain, but I'd bet this building won't last 99 years like it's predecessor did.