Monday, November 10, 2008

400 31st Ave. N. Goes Down, Images And Anecdotes







Photos By John Hoff, except third from top is by "Patty Cake"

1.) Top, a champagne toast with "Patty Cake," Jeff Skrenes and "The Polish Lady" as 400 31st. Ave. N. goes down.

2.) ....

...The sunlight in the camera lens produced an interesting effect, a sort of "lavender aura." I've been taking many pictures for many years...I've never seen this before.

3.) Eating a Polish sausage with Jeff. I'm sure this picture will come back to haunt me. There is no good way to pose in a photo with a Polish sausage.

4.) "Patty Cake" views the massive hole from 400 31st Ave. N. The workmen didn't dig into the part of the yard where an old furnace is reportedly buried. There is no way to prove or disprove the legend. Maybe it is better to leave some things like that.

5.) Jeff talks to Gabe from 612 Authentic. Naturally, Jeff found a way to tie it all back to the mortgage crisis. Naturally.

6.) The Polish Lady's house in background, tree nursery in the middle, and the hole from 400 31st Ave. N. Personally, I think the City of Minneapolis should just expand the tree nursery over the former site of 400 31st Ave. N.

7.) Fixing a broken backhoe tread. The nasty, decrepit old building got in one last lick.

6 comments:

Ranty said...

I have to say, this is kind of depressing.

So when are y'all going to start building anew?

Johnny Northside said...

Oh, Connie, even you couldn't have found much to love in that sad, decrepit little house.

As for when we're going to start building...not my call to make. I don't have a problem with green grass sticking around for a while, though.

Tell you what...just for you, I'll get around to a celebratory and historic post about block houses, including the one where Jeff lives now with your...interesting and legendary secondhand bed you put on Craigslist!

Anonymous said...

Interesting article about the South Side of Minneapolis (near Powderhorn) closer to where I've been looking at homes. I guess the article could be about any neighborhood that has foreclosed and abandoned houses. We'll probably see a lot more articles like this in the coming months...

http://www.minnpost.com/from_our_partners/2008/11/11/4515/twin_cities_daily_planet_strip_and_steal_tactics_hurt_minneapolis_homes_and_neighborhoods

Anonymous said...

It appears that you'd already know about this though! :)

Here is the house pictured in the article:

http://thehealyhouse.blogspot.com/2008/09/another-burglary.html

Jeanie Hoholik-TwinCityRealEstateChat.com said...

I'm interested in the lavender aura. It's very cool!

Johnny Northside said...

I don't know what to make of it, though "Patty Cake" swears that her Aunt Liz and Uncle Jack's spirits still inhabit her house.

So maybe one of those spirits was interested in the goings-on with the demolition next door. Maybe one of them is in the middle of the picture, posing.

Or maybe (most likely) it's a trick of the light.