Ugly houses have begun to creep into our neighborhoods. Monstrosities that look as though they are from some outer space collection of housing; or the movie, Farenheit 451. White. No color other than white. They resemble structures made from the kids toys, Legos. In fact, Lego houses would be more appealing than these ugly monsters. As my mother used to say, their (architects’) taste must only be in their mouth. I’m proud of Leo (who lives close by) who did not raze a small personalized house to built a behemoth; rather, he added to it in such a way that it continued to fit the neighborhood and, still, give his family more room.
My block has its own ugly house. A two story white with black trim. UGLY! The original house, a single story brick ranch with a basement, was razed to build this ugly house. It is so large that it covers most of the corner lot that it is on.
The block I live on is square. Builders constructed houses along three sides of the square; east, west, and south. That left a larger lot in the center of the block, facing north; my house is on that center lot. I have nine neighbors around my lot. Nine individual fences; some of them six feet tall. There are two more lots on the block, but they don’t have property lines contiguous with mine. So, we have a city block with ten houses that fit well into the “natural” appearance, and one that sticks out like a sore thumb!
When the ugly house was in the planning stage and the old house was taken away, apparently, the building permits had not been secured. At about that time, the city declared that that property and others along that side of the block to be in a 100-year-flood area. Building permits were not issued, and the lot stood empty for months – until decisions were made about the potential flood area.
Those of us who have lived here for more than forty years remember summers when the rain storms would pour so much water onto the area that it could not drain from the street at the bottom of our small hill. Kids with boats and canoes would spend time on the water until it finally drained away. Then came the summer when the city dug a huge ditch and put drain pipes the entire length of the street where the canoes used to float. Drain pipes that were so huge, a man could stand up inside of one. From that time until now, we have never had a problem with water back up on that street¸ even during gully washers. No more boats and canoes. And, yet, it is now in a 100-year-floodplain.
Other ugly houses are cropping up in other parts of our communities. I haven’t met one local person who thinks they belong, or do anything to enhance where they are placed. They only lament that they seem to be the wave of the future.
Be safe and well.
The Cranky Crone
If you have thoughtful feedback or questions, please let me know with a comment below.
3 replies on “Ugly Houses”
Add some gingerbread trim and you have a “authentic” farmhouse from the late 1800s!
I remember when they were wiping the lot and digging the basement or whatever it was they were doing. You are right, this house has no charm and doesn’t fit on your block!
The house is a monstrosity in your neighborhood. Of course, the owners don’t care. THEY have their HUGE house and no yard. Why would they care about the neighborhood?