HISTORY-HATERS HAVE THEIR WAY, ONCE AGAIN -- "BUSINESS AS USUAL"

Yet one more of Cleveland, Ohio's, ever-dwindling stock of preserved/restored historic buildings has recently been lost. Built in 1881 for well-known real-estate developer Jacob Perkins, and occupied -- and later purchased -- by Herman Radditz, a jeweler, this house was one of three on a block just outside of the Tremont Historic District that were unusually (for Cleveland) preserved/restored. The photo with this post was taken in 1998, and a few years afterwards the owner at that time changed the color scheme to something more appropriate than the all-white look seen here. Several months ago, there was fire inside this house, which damaged mostly one room on the ground-floor, and the floor of the room directly above it on the second-floor -- nowhere near a "total loss" type of scenario. Nevertheless, a new owner -- an incredibly narrow-minded owner -- apparently decided that any need for any sort of repairs was ample justification for demolishing the house. The councilman of the ward this house was located in was trying to persuade the owner to sell the house to some other party -- some of which the councilman had already waiting 'in the wings'. But, the stubborn owner largely avoided even having a genuine conversation about such a proposition. A local Historic District had been nominated three years ago that would have included this property, but other narrow-minded and/or ignorant homeowners and neighbors decided that protecting the unique history of this neighborhood was of little-to-no importance. Soon enough, there won't even be a neighborhood left to consider protecting. "Business as usual" in a city infamous for its wanton disregard of its history.