Monday, July 13, 2009

Familiar old mansion







You can hardly see it anymore, but, it's a monster of a mansion. It's my old childhood haunt. This is in one of those countless Iowa towns where there are literally six houses in the whole town and two streets. But there used to be two enormous mansions here. We lived in one and this was the other. It was a showplace in it's day and still was when I was a kid. Endless porches and balconies. Now it's just a ruin. I still like it though. You could have 15 kids in a house like that and they could all have their own room. Something tells me this will be our last visit to this one. That is the third floor peeking out in that first shot.
*
And yes, that sure was a HUGE old tree. Completely hollow. Nice old fence.


21 comments:

Dirty Disher said...

It's a weird old place and I think I like it because it's one of the few places I was happy to live as a kid. This mansion is pretty much like the one I lived in, only ours was better because it was built right over the river. We had a dumb waiter to play in and a servants quarter. No plumbing..lol..but, who cared?

Tricia said...

For some reason these pics remind me of the movie 'Jumangi'

Dirty Disher said...

Ahhh. Parts of that movie were familiar to me. Lissa likes it. She likes that on about the space guys better. Same people made it..can;t think of the name.

Dirty Disher said...

I think it was the house in Jumanji, it looked like my childhood home.

Dirty Disher said...

I should scan in a pic of that house. I took a lot of pics of it, with a Brownie, at age 10, like I was a photograper..lol. We only lived there a year and a half then we were off again. I cried so hard when we moved.

F' EVERYBODY! said...

That would be a great place to film a scary movie. Nothing cool like that where I live.

Love the pictures.

Dirty Disher said...

It's dangerous now, you can't go inside. We know where the well is. I feel sorry for anyone wondering around there who doesn't. The big basement is caving in now too, you can't stand next to the house anymore. It should be demolished and filled in before some kids get hurt.

Dirty Disher said...

I sure would like to save that fence. I know the family who owns it a little, I should ask them about it.

Our Beautiful Life said...

That makes me so sad. Abandonded, run down houses always make me sad, especially when it's a historical place. Who lived there, and loved it? Why did they let it go? How could that happen? I would love to know the house's history...

Dirty Disher said...

There's a mess of them around here. There's no shortage. That one is special though.

iwhyawli said...

It's nice. I've been living in a tent,because I've been going thru my 8th divorce,so not a lot of moolah. Coming out of the closet isn't easy.

Dirty Disher said...

I knew a chick once who ran away and lived in a tent by the river. She eventually found a sugar daddy though.

F' EVERYBODY! said...

The Stringham 4 said

Who lived there, and loved it? Why did they let it go? How could that happen? I would love to know the house's history...
***********************************

Me to!

F' EVERYBODY! said...

That shithead posted the same time as me!

Hmmmm. It's 8:41 here in Arizona. Time for me to do some detective work.

F' EVERYBODY! said...

Oops. Checked the time again. The shithead didn't post at the same time as me. This is what happens when you drink and post folks. Sorry DD.

Unknown said...

LMAO!!!

Anonymous said...

1:41- I think iwhyawli could indeed be that sugar daddy.

Nina said...

I'd love to know the history of those that lived there, etc...

No abandoned mansions by me. It's a summer spot and a lot of folks have vacay homes that get boarded up come fall. Doesn't look bad, just sort of empty.

Roxanne said...

Thats a fantastic property. It's too bad someone isn't building a nice home there. Or a couple of nice duplexes for people to rent. Such a waste! Great pictures!

Dirty Disher said...

It was a family home. They obviously had money once and then..they didn't. It became run down and eventually they scattered and moved to smaller places and trailers. It happens. People with no money get tired of the hardness of living in those big old mansions. Heat, water, foundations, roofs..all of it is too much.

Anonymous said...

oh, what a shame. i hate seeing these big wonderful houses neglected like that. if i had the cash i would buy a house like this & restore it to original.