This is about the house across the street from me. It was condemned a few years ago and it took till yesterday to get through all the red tape in order to bring it down. It basically took about 30 minutes total to tear it down, it was like match sticks or a house of cards. At one point he lifted the whole side wall to the garage off the foundation without even trying (it's in the videos).

A few months back there were some people from the city doing some inspecting, kind of a last look before it was to be razed. I ask them what they planned on doing with the space, the reply was not sure just yet, so I planted a bug in their ears. I asked if the city could let it become green space for the neighborhood. This is not a high end area, it's a place for people in the middle class for the most part. When the neighborhood was constructed in 1972 it was government subsidized housing, meaning a sliding scale on house payments. You still paid the same price as everyone else, they just gave you longer term low interest loans than you would get through any bank. This has been my family home since that year, in fact we were the first in the neighborhood.

You cannot build any multi-story homes, no basements either, due to the fact most of this town has old mine shafts under everything. It is not a bad area, but it is not a great one either, it is not the same as it used to be at the very least. There was a time I could name who lived in every single house, now your lucky if you even know your next door neighbors name. Nobody is going to want to build on that lot, so it will just sit there for a few more years and making the place look even worse. I have been waiting for the house to come down so I could start my campaign to get the city to let us turn it into a park for the younger kids, maybe a dog run area or what I would really like to see, a neighborhood garden. Not food wise, but plants, benches, maybe a little walking path. Use it to attract the right birds to help keep the bugs under control. Give our local humming birds a new place to feed and possibly nest, something to make it a little more beautiful.

Anyway, below are the videos I shot as it came down, my card filled up before the house was all the way down. They are out there right now picking up the last bit, leaving nothing but the concrete slab that was the foundation for the house.

I am off to get some sleep...



Edit: Video Links Fixed

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