I saw a bunch of small houses recently that I thought were interesting. The first one has a sad ending, as when I photographed it the first time in my look at Virginia Avenue in Dutchtown (eleventh photograph down) it was still in good condition. I don’t know what happened.

Sometimes I forget that a house has been abandoned for as long as it has been. The house above, at the southeast corner of Mallinckrodt and North 19th streets in Hyde Park, has been abandoned since at least October of 2011, when I first photographed it (second photograph). I wonder what its story is.

These last two houses in Benton Park West make me chuckle. Fire insurance maps had already shown that behind the ugly siding were brick structures, but a recent owner had removed the cladding, proving it conclusively and showing how beautiful the Second Empire neighbor was. I think the best option for rehabbing would be to combine the houses into one for modern living. I recognize the owner’s signs from their holdings in southern McKinley Heights.

And not surprisingly, the third bay on the right was originally a porch that was filled in later; I have seen that throughout the city on half flounders, such as one in Soulard just south of the market where it is still open.