Old houses torn down

TWO OLD HOUSES have been demolished recently on the south end of town. We are way better off for it.

Before the preservationists get all fired up and history lovers get mad, I agree it's sad to see an old house come down. We lose a lot of history in the process, but blame the owners for not taking care of the property. Perhaps they shouldn't have owned the buildings in the first place. Perhaps they didn't care. Whatever. It's done.

South Eighth Street looks better!

The first one was on Eighth Street near the Save-A-Lot, next to 805 S. Eighth and across the from the old Second String Music location at Eighth and Washington. This derelict building was once home to one of Quincy's more notorious meth users and dealers. I think the owner tried to keep it up for a while. But it was in really bad shape until a local developer bought it. It is being flattened as we speak and the new owner plans to put in a nice duplex. It is a huge upgrade for Calftown.

The second building was located just south of York on Sixth Street. It was used by vagrants and squatters for a long time, as it had no services or running water. A few months ago the body of a woman was found in the house. She was ruled to have died from natural causes.

Anyway, a nearby business has purchased the property, and house came tumbling down last week. The street looks way better.

Here's an example of somebody taking initiative and doing something to improve the neighborhood. Again, I don't like seeing old houses torn down. But owners who neglect old houses are even worse.

Down with the old, up with the new. And we'll move on to the next building which needs to come down.