Several folks sent me a link about a kit house in northern Virginia that is being offered for sale with one very substantial condition: It has to be moved from its existing location.
Color me jaded, but in the last 15 years, I’ve seen this happen time and time and time again. Something (a college, government agency or corporation) wants to expand beyond its current borders, but an old house is blocking “progress” (a word I’ve come to hate), so to appease the crazy local historians, the bungalow-eating entity offers to “sell” the house in question.
But alas! No one comes forward and offers to buy the old house, so the onus is no longer on the bungalow-eating entity (hereafter called “BEE”); rather it’s the “lack of interested buyers” that have killed the home’s second chance at life.
It’s a win-win for the BEE, and a lose-lose for anyone who loves history and/or old houses and/or reducing waste at landfills and/or anyone who abhors waste.
Generalizations are only generally true, but generally speaking, moving a bungalow from Point A to Point B in a metro area is going to cost $75,000 – $100,000 and sometimes more. There are many other hassles and headaches involved in modern-day house moving. Let’s just say that it’s not something the average Joe has the financial resources and/or experience and/or ability to undertake.
Nonetheless, I’ll try to be hopeful during this holiday season that this house will prove to be the exception. We’ll know – by April 2016 – how this plays out.
Here’s the blurb from the site.
Historic Lewis House – Haymarket, Virginia The Town of Haymarket, Virginia is selling a historic house manufactured by Lewis Manufacturing of Bay City, Michigan, transported as a kit home by rail in about 1926 and erected at 14710 Washington Street, Haymarket Virginia. The identification of the house as a Lewis Manufacturing product is based on site findings such as the eaves bracket type, window and door trim taper treatments, pillar design and handwritten numbers in grease pencil in the attic. This house is the La Vitello model Craftsman-style bungalow. The Town of Haymarket, Virginia is accepting offers on the house in an effort to preserve it by having it relocated off site. All offers must be submitted to the Town Manager at 15000 Washington Street, Haymarket, Virginia 20169. Offers should include the purchase price and plan for relocation off site. The house must be moved by the end of April, 2016.
To read more about how homes were moved 100+ years ago, click here.
One more reason old houses should be preserved, not destroyed: The quality of lumber.
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The house being offered for sale in northern Virginia is the Lewis La Vitello (1924). Lewis was a kit home company based in Bay City, Michigan (as was Aladdin).
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Nice floor plan, but the house in Haymarket, Virginia has had a massive addition globbed onto the side. That's a busy little hallway behind the dining room. And that "breakfast room" is quite massive!
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Maybe if it gets moved, they'll leave this unappealingappendage behind.
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It looks a lot better from the front.
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That decking is unfortunate. The stonework is stunning. That will go bye-bye if the house is moved. It'll also go bye-bye if the house is destroyed. It's all such an egregious waste. As mentioned in a prior blog, about 40% of everything in our country's landfills is construction debris.
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The view down the side. One of the lovely features of this old house is that it still has its original siding, and the eaves - those magnificent eaves - have not been chopped into bits and encased in aluminum.
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Those oversized eaves make me swoon. What a house. What a pity.
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Inside the La Vitello
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Another view of the La Vitello from the 1924 Lewis Homes catalog.
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Here's a La Vitello in Bowling Green, Ohio. Photo is copyright 2012 Dale P. Wolicki and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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To read more about how homes were moved 100+ years ago, click here.
One more reason old houses should be preserved, not destroyed: The quality of lumber.
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This home has been saved! It has been moved next door and will serve as an ice cream and cookie store. The interior will be modified to suit retail operations but we are making every effort to keep the original exterior. The additions have been removed to bring it back to its original footprint (which is much cuter!) Some shingles will need to be replaced due to weather damage. I will post a picture after renovations.