Comments on: 226 Sackett St

By: Faust

Faust — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 17:57:27 +0000

“P.S. Great story about the battleship paint Faust; that’s why I’m glad you post here.”

Another fun fact to know and tell. The landlording business has always included a concern for costs. I think paint has become relatively cheaper since the 1950′s. Until the invention of “latex” water base paint, I think they were all “oil base” or petroleum distillates. I remember reading someones biography where it was mentioned that up untill about 1900 if you said you were a “chemist” it was assumed you worked for a paint company.

By: Faust

Faust — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:57:12 +0000

“I too like these houses off Elmwood. What a place this must have been around the turn of the century. Some of the most posh addresses in the city, no doubt. ”

Around 1900, most cities developed what were known as “Streetcar Suburbs”. I suspect this was one of them. Streetcar lines made them accessible and people wanted to leave the congestion and smell of the central city. Apparently when all transport was by horse, the smell of cities was pretty rank. Despite the romance that now attaches to them, what the “Street sweepers” were picking up was horse droppings.

One of the good things about tackling houses of this age is that the bathroom had been invented. A lot of hidden damage (sawed through floor joists, etc) was done when plumbing was installed in an older house. Plumbers are not carpenters, they just removed everything in their way. A word about “craftsmanship” in these old houses, it is quite ordinary to find whiskey bottles hidden in the walls. Usually 3-4 per house.

By: Stump Blankenship

Stump Blankenship — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 02:52:00 +0000

I too like these houses off Elmwood. What a place this must have been around the turn of the century. Some of the most posh addresses in the city, no doubt.

Lower or upper Elmwood is the place to be. Areas off Atlantic, Congress, and Hamilton (middle) are well beat up. I put an offer on a house of Lenox a year ago last May. Just a few down from 251. It was rejected. Old Victorian. Had visions of our own “Paper St Soap Company”. We were going to call it Project Mayhem. Seemed fitting, given the house, and the area.

Probably for the best.

P.S. Great story about the battleship paint Faust; that’s why I’m glad you post here.

By: Faust

Faust — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:36:11 +0000

I like this group of houses off Elmwood, mostly because little has been done to them. For the most part, the exteriors look salvageable. If only Home Depot would carry under porch lattice that looked like the lattice that was installed on these houses. It seems to me this is the neighborhood where the city had a “sale” of tax foreclosed properties at $1.00 each. That was about 20 years ago, I was living in Boston but I recall my mother calling to see if I would be interested.

An aside, I was around Olneyville the other day looking for a replacement for a war production New Departure bearing and fell on Bath Street. I noticed there were 8-10 small houses all painted the same color. This usually indicates common ownership. Anyone know about them? They were all “Battleship Gray”. Here is an interesting Rhode Island story. For a period in the 50′s all rental property in Providence was “Battleship Gray”. According to an old landlord I used to know, after WWII the Naval Station at Quonset Point had so much “Battleship Gray” paint that they were giving it away.