Houses on north side of 10th st between Classen and Penn?

[John_T]

Does anybody have some pictures of this street before the houses were torn down? I barely remember them as I was young at the time but they seemed interesting. Sure I can find some aerial views but I want to get a good idea of the houses looked like from street view.

[rezman]

To get a good idea as to what they looked like, just take a drive up and down the the blocks either side of 10th street between Penn and Western. They were
mostly 2 story with basements, long covered the front porches with brick and wood columns, detached garages, etc.
When the city bought them all up and they were being demo'd, I went into a few of them just to have a look around. The scavengers and scrappers had already made short work of anything salvageable, and were in the process of removing what lumber they could. When I walked through the front door of one of the houses, I got a big surprise as the whole floor had been removed, and it was a straight drop into the basement. A small ledge was left around the perimiter to get around the the front room to the back of the house.

Officially, no one was allowed in the houses, but unofficially, the city looked the other way as the scavengers left less for the city to have to remove,

[John_T]

To get a good idea as to what they looked like, just take a drive up and down the the blocks either side of 10th street between Penn and Western. They were
mostly 2 story with basements, long covered the front porches with brick and wood columns, detached garages, etc.
When the city bought them all up and they were being demo'd, I went into a few of them just to have a look around. The scavengers and scrappers had already made short work of anything salvageable, and were in the process of removing what lumber they could. When I walked through the front door of one of the houses, I got a big surprise as the whole floor had been removed, and it was a straight drop into the basement. A small ledge was left around the perimiter to get around the the front room to the back of the house.

Officially, no one was allowed in the houses, but unofficially, the city looked the other way as the scavengers left less for the city to have to remove,

So they were mostly 2 or 3 story craftsmans? man, what a pity. I loved those houses when I was younger

I think that demolition could have easily been avoided. I know that they widened 10th street, but the could have done it without putting in that median, or reducing the front lotlines slightly on the properties on the south side without tearing anything down.

[John_T]

Plus, it's Classen-Ten-Penn, one of my favorite neighborhoods. But I guess back in the 90's it was just considered a slum.

[HangryHippo]

So they were mostly 2 or 3 story craftsmans? man, what a pity. I loved those houses when I was younger

I think that demolition could have easily been avoided. I know that they widened 10th street, but the could have done it without putting in that median, or reducing the front lotlines slightly on the properties on the south side without tearing anything down.

The manner in which they widened 10th was a real travesty.

[John_T]

The manner in which they widened 10th was a real travesty.

It was like a continuation of the urban renewal policies from the decades before. Just tear everything down, even if there are no plans to build anything.

[HangryHippo]

It was like a continuation of the urban renewal policies from the decades before. Just tear everything down, even if there are no plans to build anything.

Exactly. And 10th had great bones for a renewal.