Free House for the moving at 1704 W. Markham
Thanks to John Schelp for alerting me and others that the owner of 1704 W. Markham Ave., who is intent on getting rid of the historic house currently in his way, is willing pay someone $5000 to move the house off the lot (the house is free.) As reviewed before, our city policy is that it is unnecessary to have policy that protects any property in Durham from demolition. The maximum protection is a 1 year delay that can be enacted by the Historic Preservation Commission (a city commission much like the planning commission) for properties in local historic districts.
This contributing structure in the Trinity Heights Local Historic District received this one year stay of execution, which did not dissuade the owner.
As a last resort, I'd much prefer to see the house moved than destroyed - ideally within Trinity Heights, as it is part of what makes them a historic district. Here is the text forwarded by John.
"Folks, now is your opportunity to own a part of Durham
history.
You can have the Tate House for free if you move it
from its current location at 1704 West Markham Street.
In February 2007, the Historic Preservation Commission
approved the demolition of the yellow house behind
Dollar General -- with a 365 day delay. According to
Steve Cruse, City of Durham, 1704 Markham is being
prepared for demolition as early as February 12.
I spoke with the current owner yesterday. Jeff Monsein
is offering the house for free to someone willing to
move it. He'll also write you a $5000 check to help
defray the costs of moving the house. He is asking for
a firm commitment by Friday, February 8.
If you are interested, and if you have an empty
parcel, please email Carrie Mowry at Preservation
Durham at carrie@preservationdurham.org as soon as you
get the chance.
Here's some background on the Tate House at 1704 West
Markham in Trinity Heights...
I understand that library records indicate the house
was built in the early 1920s. (It might be older.)
The fist occupant was W.G. Tate, who worked at
Imperial Life Insurance. From 1955 and 1956 Erwin
Mills supervisor William Bumpass and his wife Imogene
lived there. From 1957 to 1958, Erwin Mills tech
worker Herman J. Reid and his wife Claudia lived in
the house. In 1959, Erwin Mill assistant overseer
Robert Holder and his wife Virginia lived there. Since
then, a number of Duke faculty and others have lived
in the house across from the East Campus wall."
Posts
8 comments:
glad this house has a potential new life. hopefully avoiding the fate of the house next door. soulless now. maybe someone should figure out how to put it on 9th where the house burned down.
i still think the owner is a complete jerk and i cringe when i hear his spots on npr.
The good news here is Endangered Durham readers can help save an old house from the wrecking ball.
When we worked out the deal with Duke to save the 12 mill houses near Duke Gardens, Preservation Durham created a list of preferred locations to move the houses. They'll do something similar for the Tate House.
Preferred locations for 12 mill houses (from memory, not official)...
1) Same neighborhood (ie. Erwin Mill village).
2) Same context, nearby neighborhood (ie. nearby mill village, like Orient St).
3) Same context, across town (ie. East Durham mill village).
4) Similar context, nearby (ie. working class neighborhood like Burch or West End).
5) Similar context, across town (ie. working class neighborhood near Driver & Angier).
6) Historic Durham neighborhood (ie. Trinity Park).
7) Durham County.
8) Streets at Southpoint, near blue collar smokestack (just making sure you're still reading this). :)
I understand from Preservation Durham that some of the traditional lots in Durham's older in-town neighborhoods may be too narrow for this particular house. (They do have a couple sites in mind but, as always, ya gotta get your ducks in a row.)
They've also agreed to review the waiting list for the 12 mill houses and contact any potential "matches." (I was told that news about the mill houses generated more phone calls and emails to Preservation Durham than any other issue in the history of the organization.)
Please take a moment to think about someone you know who has a parcel and might be willing to move 1704 Markham. Make a phone call. We can save this house if we try.
PS
Here's a little history of the area around 1704 Markham... http://www.owdna.org/selfguidedtourOWD.htm
Gonna have to pass on this one. I have the land, but I can't pay to move the power lines on my side of Norton. Still thinking about the shorter mill houses, however.
Does anyone know the ultimate intent of the owner with this land? The present owner, Jeff Monsein of the renowned Aluminum Company of North Carolina, has worked for decades to "improve" the appearance of properties in and around the Triangle with its vast selection of vinyl windows, vinyl siding, aluminum siding, porch enclosures, etc. How sad it is for him to own this property in the first place. I recall, in the last few years that it was occupied and rental. I've not understood why it has been boarded up recently until now. It is my understanding that Mr. Monsein also butted heads with HPC with the other house next door he owns or owned, when it was being rehabbed. As you may recall, that house stayed naked for many many months without any type of siding. It was "rehabbed" still as a duplex rental, and has that beautiful "architecturally appropriate" Lowes special looking front door (thanks HPC for approving that one.)
I will give Mr. Monsein credit for providing $5K to help defray the moving costs, but the whole idea that it is likely to be torn down is so disappointing. Mr. Monsein, if you must continue your "home improvement" business, please please find somewhere else besides Durham's Urban tier to do it. You and your company's philosophy undermine what we committed preservationists advocate every day.....quality appropriate materials, respect for the original structure, and in general the priority that the good of the whole neighborhood and it's architectural integrity, is more important than the dollar we can make by making one structure "look pretty" using the materials provided by the ACNC.
Oh, and yes, please don't try and rebut the above comments by saying how much money has been saved by folks better weatherizing their homes. There are many effective ways to increase energy efficiency without destroying an older home's architectural integrity. Your approach happens to be the quickest & easiest and looks great to an uniformed homeowner using a glossy brochure. In the long run sadly this approach undermines the real value of one's property....
You can get a glimpse of the house's interior tonight on ABC 11. We've got a story about the giveaway on the 6 p.m. news.
thekeeper
"[blank] is a [blank]" aren't generally the kind of comments I allow; particularly if profane and unaccompanied by anything else of substance.
GK
I grew up down the street from this house I lived on Minervia AVE and lived in a home that several generations of my family lived in. I am looking now for a older house free/ cheap to retore. I know this is an old post but may be someone can help me. As kids and I am only 26 we could walk the streets around watts and trinity park area.Now I have a family and see how much things have changed My family who where a big part of LM tobbaco co and now there old buildings that used to smell of tobacco and be empty are now expensive condos.
Post a Comment