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I didn't think I could still have my heart broken by
impending
loss
but this mansion on Queen Anne slated for immediate demolition
made me sad. Sure, it's a monument to
unfettered
capitalism and
selfish overindulgence, but man was this thing put together. Even
after having been divided into 5 apartments (extra kitchens), and now
gutted and
wrecked
after rounds of
asbestos
abatement, the essential
charm,
grace and
craft of its
construction still
showed
through.
High
ceilings,
huge
windows, the
elegant
curves of the
grand
staircase--
everything about it bespoke patience and imagination. Add to that
the salt air and
panoramic
views, the
subtle profile
of brick facade.
We were there to salvage
a back bar
from a Gatsbyesque parlor.
(This home would have fit in on the North Shore of Long Island--
I wonder who built it.) What people with aristocratic pretensions had
peered into their
drunken distorted
reflections in the curved glass?
Later, elsewhere, we saw
a trackhoe
tearing down a tree. Across the
street a block-sized hole promising a disposeable future. Density is
good, but the lack of
imagination in new construction will deaden the
spirits of those who live within. Such
small windows resemble
prison....
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