Great day for a bike ride yesterday. One of my favorites is to cruise Brush Park. Bordered by John R. and Brush and running north to Mack, this nieghborhood once was the home of rich industrialists dating back to the late 1800’s. A lot of homes have been rehabed including Edmond Place on, where else, Edmond St

One home that has always fascinating me is the William Livingston House at 294 Elliot. In its day it was a gorgeous example of French Renaissanse architechture. Built by Albert Kahn in 1893, it was one of his first commisions at the age of 22 or 23. Nicknamed “old slumpy” because of the way the building is decaying, the property is fenced off to prevent injury. Several years ago the Red Cross wanted to expand and it was move it or lose it so preservationists moved to it’s present location. Problem was, the movers failed miserably and without a proper foundation it just began to droop and slowly collapse.

Actually, I believe the structure has a spirit of its own. Someone was filming a video of the site and while filming, the home began to fall apart. It is amazing when you think about the incredible odds of that happening at that very moment after standing for over one hundred years. Spooky, very spooky.