A Sad Old House, and Meeting Nahkeem

all photos copyright 2008 Larry Hoyt

-- click on photo to enlarge image

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Exploring the North Side of Syracuse during my evening bike ride, I came across a heart-breaking sight for anyone who loves older houses.

Near the corner of Danforth Street and North Salina Street, there stands what must have been at one time a fine, handsome brick house, adorned with fashionable details and ornamentation.

Today, the house appears as a tattered ghost of its once proud past. Many windows are broken or covered with plywood, or even bricked up completely. The roof, especially towards the front of the house, is in need of major repair.

If this house were a human cancer patient, one would probably think it best to get in touch with Hospice and make arrangments for the final days.

But as I was taking some pictures of this house, a young lad named Nahkeem came by on his skateboard and asked the inevitable question: "what are ya doin'?"

I explained that I was shooting photos to show to people who might feel sad and/or angry that such a fine old house was in such bad shape.

"But they're fixing this house up," said Nahkeem. "I work for the owner."

In my rather quick, two-minute interview with Nahkeem, it never became totally clear just what work Nahkeem did for the owner.

"He and his wife were here, working on the house, but then they left. They haven't been back in a few weeks," said Nahkeem.

In answer to my questions, I was informed that Nahkeem is 10 years old; he attends McCarthy School ("It's a bad school, for kids who are bad.")

Nahkeem has apparently misbehaved a bit at school, but we did not go into details.

When Nahkeem saw my bike leaning against a fence, he asked if he could ride it.
I said "I think it's a little big for you" but he was determined to prove me wrong, which he did, as he rode my bike up and down the driveway a few times and then across the front yard.

I have no idea how accurate or inaccurate were Nahkeem's observations regarding the rehabilitation of this house. I hope Nahkeem is indeed working for the owner of this house who is indeed in the process of bringing this architectural treasure back to life.

I plan to stop by this house again, and I will post an update to this blog. I hope Nahkeem will be there again to give me all the details. And once again, I will let him ride my bike.

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more of Larry Hoyt's photos can be found at www.flickr.com/newfolkfotos

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