Beautiful house demolished in east end
A beautiful house dating from 1916 was demolished this week in east-end Mercier, near Parc Bellerive. Item says it was too decrepit to be saved. I don’t doubt the trees on the property will also be razed so something more profitable can go up on the lot.
Alison Cummins 15:09 on 2020-04-30 Permalink
My grandparents’ house in upstate NY was built in 1916. They moved into it in 1947 and my grandmother was disappointed from the start—she’d have preferred something more modern and convenient. (My great-grandmother chose it when my grandmother was in the hospital, probably having a baby.)
It was a wonderful house to visit as a child. There were high ceilings, a banister to slide down, spooky rooms to visit (attic, old servants’ quarters, coal/root cellar).
There was one downstairs bathroom leading off the kitchen with a bathtub that was added in a 1950s renovation, an upstairs bathroom with bathtub shared between the master bedroom, the kids — of which there were 11— and my great-grandmother. There was also a toilet and shower in the servants’ quarters.
When my grandmother died and my grandfather moved in with one of his eight sons—early 2000s—he had been paying $900 US per month to heat the place.
It had wood clapboard that had to be regularly repaired and painted. It was gorgeous—brown with pink, blue and cream detailing.
There was no room on the lot for more than two cars, so it was hard to sell as student housing: all those students would have had lots of cars.
So I agree it’s a beautiful house, but I get that it had done its time. Some beautiful things are ephemeral.
The sad thing will be when it’s replacement is ugly.
Jack 17:05 on 2020-04-30 Permalink
By the way Parc Bellerive is beautiful. Well served by a bike path that isn’t too trafficked. Which is of course understandable seeing as about 5 km is oil tankers and a refinery.