The three houses going south onto John Street off Creighton were scheduled to come down Monday. They came down a little after that, so we missed it, but we were pleased to be able to see the Central Sports Building come down. I was also disappointed to not have had the camera with me the last time we were on John Street, because the three houses were getting ready to come down, with plastic sheeting over them going out quite a bit into the yard and big "WARNING! Asbestos Abatement!" signs over them. It actually was quite sad for me. All three, differing in size and style, were all quite beautiful. They had detail to them on the outside that was amazing. One could only imagine the woodwork that once existed on the inside, and all the moulding, the details in every room. The small beehive tiles in the bathrooms, perhaps. So I scorned PJ when he told me that all three were going to come down. But I also noted the sadness in his voice when he explained the cost involved with getting the house clean enough to demolish and the cost of the tear down (really quite a bit) versus the cost of cleaning it up enough to rehab then the cost of the rehab (unrealistic for a city project) . It was truly no comparison. So down they came, much like many others that had fallen prey to time and neglect in that neighborhood. I happened to catch a part of the porch still standing and got a shot, then looked back through photos I copied for PJ and found one of the existing house. The photo of the house when it existed really does not do it justice. It's by no measure the most beautiful home in the neighborhood, much less Fort Wayne, but it had quite a life, and stood proudly till the end.
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