I drove by a house today which is undergoing an unfortunate and all-too-common procedure: it is losing its architectural integrity and will be gaining lots of vinyl and other synthetic products.  I caught the house mid-way though the process… replacement windows have been installed and no doubt vinyl will be next to conceal the scars.  A new metal roof has already been installed.  Following are three pairs of photos – each pair showing a “before” from 2012 and a current “in-tranisition” image for comparison:

 

Although the front porch had been enclosed decades ago, the rest of the house – a gambrel-roofed Colonial Revival built around 1900 – still maintained its original character. The tall and narrow double hung windows look good in the decoratively shingled gable end.  Image courtesy Google Street View.

 

 

The original pair of windows has been replaced by an under-scaled vinyl unit. It appears that the porch will become more fully a part of the living space, though windows have been lost here, too. A new vinyl window is crammed into a corner at right where there was none previously.

 

 

A vine-covered trellis screens a window on the side of the house.  A cottage window with leaded glass transom is to its left.  Image courtesy Google Street View.

 

 

Gone and gone.

 

 

The back porch appears to be original, or at least a very early addition.  Image courtesy Google Street View.

 

 

The back porch, too, has lost its windows and appears to be merging with the main living space. The historic character of yet another old house has succumbed to commonplace mediocrity.