We had not checked up on the landmark townhouse at 449 Convent Avenue for some time now and was surprised to see its present condition. The above photo was taken of the block just north of 149th Street from last November and shows the burnt out shell. A fire had severely damaged the SRO townhouse several years back and braces were holding up the building until it could be restored. So what does the building look like today? Current photo after the jump.
Walking by this section of Hamilton Heights in the past week, we noticed brand new chain link fences set up and expected the worse. It now appears that there was an emergency demolition that took place a couple of months back since the property was so unstable. The big question now is how a building like this could have been saved from "demolition by neglect" since it was an official city landmark.
I walk by this nearly everyday and saw the progress. Too bad it had to come down like this. Speaking of fire, nearby the abandoned large building on the northwest corner 150th and St. Nick caught fire over the weekend. I'll e-mail pics.
ReplyDeletewhat exactly made this particular building a landmark?
ReplyDeleteYou think that's bad? Check out 72 Hamilton Terrace. Talk about neglect and a waste of a beautiful building. Prevailing current theory is that it cannot be saved. Isn't there anything that can be done? Owners have refuse to do anything for 8 years!
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