Driving down 370- “Hey, what’s up with the smoke… it looks like its coming from Carrollton.”
I hadn’t finished the history behind the last house fire from this weekend when I was alerted to a fire in the old neighborhood. When we got there, it wasn’t just one, but two homes on fire. They were 4217 Manteca, a giant, white two-story with red front doors and a huge favorite of mine, and 4050 Chartley, the lonesome white house on the corner lot of Chartley and Bondurant. The Chartley house is largely still intact, but the Manteca house, like its neighbor just up the street, is completely down to the concrete basement foundation.
When will Lambert learn? Again, I hope the fire district slaps the airport with enormous fines for allowing these houses to be put in this condition in the first place. If they needed them so badly, then they should take them down as soon as the owners move… not sitting vacant and useless for years. Its sad to see them destroyed via wrecker, but its even more sickening to watch them get vandalized and victimized to the point of arson. I hope the airport will now have the dignity to take out the rest of the homes soon before more families watch their homes burn away for nothing. The embarrassing news from last week’s post is bad enough for the residents. Hopefully, this rash of arson will make the news and give Lambert a slap on the other cheek.
4217 Manteca was completely destroyed on April 29th, 2008 by fire. It is the house from the night shot in this post. This house was in the top ten favorites for photographing, mainly because it had good light in the main rooms coming through the holes in the wall, and was fairly interesting overall. It was charming and definitely well-cared for until the very end. I’d even venture to guess that these people had pride in their house as it was updated with good carpet and contemporary kitchen styles. The clashing juxtaposition of an updated and cared for home with the vandalism made for a great subject. I’m not entirely sure when the occupants moved out, but it sat vacant for some time. (more…)
J. Desy Schoenewies
56 Houses Left 