Fall River Houses Of Ill Repute, 1892

Yooper · Post by **Yooper** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:44 am

So there was no open side relative to Maplecroft when it was built. That makes more sense, maybe it didn't make any difference which side faced where when it was constructed.

Tina-Kate · Post by **Tina-Kate** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:47 am

Harry---I pinched this picture from your post on another thread.

This shows the proximity of the Swift house on the west of Maplecroft, as well as the proximity of the Kenney house that was removed on the east side. Also shows the original front porch---

From the style, I would guess the Swift house is older than Maplecroft.

Yes, it's "unbalanced" even when built---Maplecroft being a lot closer to the Swift house.

I guess unbalanced is rather apropos for Lizzie's house.

Yooper · Post by **Yooper** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:59 am

Actually, a lot of Victorian architecture might be described as fairly chaotic and unbalanced. Not a lot of rhyme or reason to it. This was one of Frank Lloyd Wright's complaints about the state of "modern" architecture at the time he began his career.

Yooper · Post by **Yooper** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:05 pm

One other thought about the house orientation, did the Kenney house perhaps share a driveway with Maplecroft? They may have wanted the house oriented away from the driveway for some reason.

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:14 pm

Yooper @ Fri Jan 25, 2008 11:44 am wrote:So there was no open side relative to Maplecroft when it was built. That makes more sense, maybe it didn't make any difference which side faced where when it was constructed.

I mis-spoke when I said the there was a house on that lot when they bought Maplecroft. I don't know when the Kenney house was built, before or after Maplecroft. Perhaps mbhenty knows. The 1877 map shows that area where Maplecroft is fairly unsettled.

Tina-Kate · Post by **Tina-Kate** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:55 pm

Harry---was it ever figured-out the vintage of that picture? The year that comes to me is 1907. I think the Kenney house was moved in '08 or '09. Once upon a time I think someone on the Forum was trying to figure out the vintage of the parked car.

Rather funny Maplecroft is being discussed on a thread titled, "Fall River Houses of Ill-Repute". I suppose technically Maplecroft had "Ill-Repute", tho not for the standard reason.

The Kenney House might have shared a driveway with Maplecroft. Lizzie bought part of the Swift lot (behind the house) with intentions of putting in an access drive...but the Swifts put the kibosh on that idea & Lizzie ended up having her garage on the Kenney lot with the drive coming from French Street.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 1:58 pm

Yes HARRY / TINA-KATE.

Maplecroft was built in 1889.

The Marcus Swift house was built in 1875, then considerable work done on it in 1881. (Fire, addition, completion?)

I have the year the Kenny house was built somewhere. From what I remember I am sure that it was older than my house. My house was built in 1879. It, and the Kenny House are not on the 1877 map.

But, I remember that when Lizzie moved the Kenny house it was around 24 years old.

So, when Allen built Maplecroft it was done so on a small lot, as was true with many of the big homes on the hill. So it was tightly sandwiched between two existing buildings.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:16 pm

The house Lizzie purchased to the east of Maplecroft, known as the Kenny House, was moved around 1899/1900 and disappears from City Directories after 1900 as being on French Street.

"The Rebello" seems to imply that via city directories, the Kenny House was built around 1886. For some reason I believe it to me much older. But, I have been wrong more than once.

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:24 pm

Tina-Kate @ Fri Jan 25, 2008 12:55 pm wrote:Harry---was it ever figured-out the vintage of that picture? The year that comes to me is 1907. I think the Kenney house was moved in '08 or '09. Once upon a time I think someone on the Forum was trying to figure out the vintage of the parked car.

Rather funny Maplecroft is being discussed on a thread titled, "Fall River Houses of Ill-Repute". I suppose technically Maplecroft had "Ill-Repute", tho not for the standard reason.

The Kenney House might have shared a driveway with Maplecroft. Lizzie bought part of the Swift lot (behind the house) with intentions of putting in an access drive...but the Swifts put the kibosh on that idea & Lizzie ended up having her garage on the Kenney lot with the drive coming from French Street.

No, I don't think we ever did come to a conclusion of the date of that photo. I remember William mentioning the the wood railings on the front steps. It's somewhere in the archives.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:32 pm

OK.

The 1883 map shows the Kenny House. But it is not the Kenny house but the Davenport house. It shows the Davenport house the next lot over from the Hooper house, then it shows an empty lot, then the Swift House.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:41 pm

Ok, Ok.

Though I have studied the history of my building, I have not taken enough interest in the old Kenny House.

Rebello's entry is probably right. The Kenny house was built around 1886.

The 1883 map is in error. It labels the Davenport house as the Kenny house. That is wrong. They probably meant of place the "Kenny name" to the left of the house on the map over the Kenny property?

But this is more confusing because Hannah Kenny (husband james) did not inherit the property ( from Sarah Ramsay) till 1886, when the Kenny's probably built their home.

So this would look like the Allen's purchased their lot from the Kenny's to build Maplecorft. Hmmmmm! Interesting....

So, the Kenny House was moved in 1900.

It appears that I have written down in my records that the Kenny property was sold to Lizzie in 1897.

The garage was not built until 14 years later, in 1911.

Harry · Post by **Harry** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:48 pm

We had a discussion of that photo at this thread, beginning at post 94. Lots of discussion and photos of dresses before that.

http://www.lizzieandrewborden.com/Archi ... riddle.htm

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:04 pm

Yes TINA-KATE:

The old photo you display above in your post:

The house you see in the background is not the Kenny house. it is the Davenport House. When that photo was taken the Kenny house was already moved.

I have duplicated that camera angle and took a photo from the same location as the old photo, that is to say, standing across the street so that the Swift house and Lizzie house line up as they do in the photo.

After doing so, there is no way you would see the back of the Kenny house from that angle. Also, I can see the extension to the rear of my building in that photo lining up just as it should.

For many years scholars have labeled the house in the photo as the Kenny House. It is not.

Capisce

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:17 pm

Let's look at Maplecoft and the Kenny lot for a minute.

Between the walkway that leads to the back door of Maplecroft and the property line to the east, that is, the Davenport house, there is about 65 feet more/or/less.

The Davenport house has very little property, about five feet on the west and 10 feet on the east. The house itself is about 32 feet wide. That is tight. A tight 45 feet.

Now let us lift up the davenport house and place it on the Kenny lot, say, right in the middle. That would leave just about 16 feet on each side. So the Kenny house was no farther than 20 feet from Maplecroft. Yes, sandwiched.

Also, there is driveway on the side of the Swift house and a parcel of land. The driveway is at least 10 feet wide and the parcel of "Lizzie land" is a little more than that, say 15 feet. So there is at least 25 feet between the Swift house and Maplecorft. Sure does not look that way in the photo on Tina's post above.

Perspective of the photo must be taken into account.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:21 pm

cars

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 9:32 pm

Above are 2 FORDS. I believe the black one is a 1909 and the white one is a 1912. Very similar to the car in front of Maplecroft. Of course, not sure what brand of car it is and Ford is just a guess.

But I would say that photo was taken between 1907 and 1914.

I would think that a good guess.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:52 am

This is a 1915 Ford, as close as I could get to the one in the photo.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:58 am

I have a blown-up print of that photo of the car in front of Maplecroft. (paper print, you know, like the old days) And, from what little I can see, over to the yard on the right, there does not appear to be a driveway there. (?) But, it is hard to tell.....it looks like all grass. If so, the photo was taken before 1911, when Lizzie built her garage.

Tina-Kate · Post by **Tina-Kate** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 9:51 am

mbhenty @ Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:04 pm wrote:

Yes TINA-KATE:

The old photo you display above in your post:

The house you see in the background is not the Kenny house. it is the Davenport House. When that photo was taken the Kenny house was already moved.

I have duplicated that camera angle and took a photo from the same location as the old photo, that is to say, standing across the street so that the Swift house and Lizzie house line up as they do in the photo.

After doing so, there is no way you would see the back of the Kenny house from that angle. Also, I can see the extension to the rear of my building in that photo lining up just as it should.

For many years scholars have labeled the house in the photo as the Kenny House. It is not.

Capisce

Thanks. The houses were a lot more squished together than I imagined.

Tina-Kate · Post by **Tina-Kate** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 10:12 am

Emma & Lizzie must have had a coach house at some time, which would have required a drive of some sort. We know they had horse & buggy, and later Lizzie had cars which might have pre-dated her 1911 garage.

mbhenty · Post by **mbhenty** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 2:11 pm

Old Grove Street Parking Garage, just about 2 and a half blocks away from Maplecroft. It was built for storing cars, probably around 1920. Such garages were constructed here and there in the city for those who wish to, but did not have room to store/house their cars.

You are right TINA, they must have kept their buggy somewhere? There could have been a building for that behind Maplecroft? The garage in this post is not far from Maplecorft, but by the time it was built Lizzie had probably already constructed her own garage on her property.