Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Love old houses.

Sadly the city of fall river takes absolutely no interest in its ancient architecture.

I found a house for sale up on North Main street in the city. Only 169,000. A cape cod style house. Historical home. Just about the 7th oldest house in Fall River, having been built in 1795. Known as the Luther Winslow house.

The pathetic owners of the city allowed this historical property to be broken up into small parcels. What was once the back yard there are houses. The little cape was left on a postage sized lot. Almost criminal.

The city should take interest in such property and give buyers tax breaks to save and enhance the historical and period character of such a home. Properties such as this should not be allowed to be divided. Shame. I would love to purchase this house and move it. The inside retains much of it's old anatomy; old floors and chimneys. I can only envision what will happen to the place. Don't be surprise if someone buys it, demolishes it, and builds a new shinny raised ranch.

Something wrong with this site. Must post photos on single posts.

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The reason I leaned towards the tenor of this thread was due to a fire that burnt down an old house down the road in the town of Rehoboth yesterday. A modest 2 story colonial, being over 200 years old and having been built in 1815. Burnt to the ground. Sad.

http://turnto10.com/news/local/two-alar ... -farmhouse

On another thread I talk about today's practice of open concept living, where the kitchen is open to the living area as one big room. I'm not a fan of such building practices. But it is what everyone wants today. I for one do not want my kitchen inside my living room.

Below is a good example. This is an apartment at Commonwealth Landing in fall river. (small 'f', and small 'r' for the small minds that live there) It's an old mill that has been converted to living space, business space, and restaurants. It use to be the old Mechanics Mills on Davol Street on the shores of the Taunton River, or close by.

As you can see, the kitchen looks so unpractical and out of place. Dinning, cooking, and living all in the same place. Caveman style, I suppose.

Commonwealth Landing

Now here's one I don't understand. This house sits about 4 or 5 blocks from Maplecroft on Lincoln Ave.

Someone purchased this house and changed it's color. It was painted an exotic dark green, orange, and orangy-mellon yellow. Very striking and flamboyant colors, but very appropriate for an old Victorian. Attractive and eye catchy A lot of thought went into its paint scheme. Then someone purchased it and painted basically one solid color.... a light green with white trim. Ugh! Everyone has their taste, I suppose.

dull greenish....

Now here's a house you may be more interested in. It's a "Borden" house. Built in 1883. Philip Durfee Borden Jr. Cousin of Lizzie but I am not certain how close. Philip Durfee Borden Senior served on the board of directors of the Durfee Bank in fall river along with Lizzie's father, Andrew Borden. Philip Jr. was a city engineer for many years.

What a stunning house from the outside. It's uncommon color snags the eye as you drive by. But the inside is a rag. Neglected and awful. This was once a majestic single family home. It sits just about 2 blocks away from Maplecorft on Rock Street. The only beauty left are the fireplaces.

This is a good example of what happens to a single family home when you stick in 4 bathrooms and 4 kitchens. Sure, its got the room. But say goodby to detail. The real estate add boast about how much "Charm and Character" the house has. Yes some of the architectural ornamentation survives, but the charm and character as a whole are gone.

But it's for sale. Only $218,000 and you can probably own it for less than two. Its best feature is its location. Right in the heart of the Highlands and a much better location than Maplecroft.

The outside of the building is starting to look tired. I believe the porch post, far right, is rotted. (today it is wrapped with boards to support it) The chimney on the south side (photo below) was lowered. And the front steps when the house was built projected towards the street and not to the side as it does today.

Reminiscent of the Andrew Jennings house a block away on June Street.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandho ... 864#photo3

Street scene.

Their look is magical at a glance.
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For me an ideal house must have a fireplace, preferably in Medieval or Renaissance style. :-)

Rockalbert, I am sorry that no one has welcomed you to the forum, including myself! I hope you will accept my belated welcome.

Franz, I agree, a fireplace is a must, especially if you live in a climate like I do, which tends to get rather cold at times.

My latest book about American old houses. Oh how great houses they are!