Last Sunday during our little photography walk, we went down to snap a picture of my favorite house on our street. I passed by this place every day on my way to work last summer, and will do so again this summer. It always looks absolutely immaculate. It's bigger than it looks--it goes back further, and there is a separate garage and apartment in the back.
When we took this photo, I saw someone at the house for the first time. A woman came around the side of the house. I asked her if it was okay if we took a picture. She said that was fine and that the owner would be flattered. We got to talking and she told us a little more about the owner. Turns out he owns the two homes next to this one, as well as a vacant lot on the corner that he maintains--its just grass and a few trees. He has apparently lived in Provo all his life, and he bought these properties to preserve them, to prevent them from being turned into (ugly) apartment complexes. He allows people in the neighborhood to use the vacant lot on the c
orner as a park.
Needless to say, I was very much impressed. If there is anything that I dislike about this area, it is the lack of appreciation for, and preservation of older architecture. I think it is fantastic that this man has taken the responsibility upon himself to preserve a little bit of history. The only sad part about it is that he doesn't rent them out, and no one lives in them all. He only maintains them. These homes shouldn't just be admired from the outside, they should be occupied by people who appreciate them.
A couple years ago someone asked me what I meant when I said that I wanted to own a home with character. This is what I meant. This is no cookie-cutter, same-as-everyone-else's-home, modern-suburban-monstrosity. This is an individual work of art. While it may not be nearly as big as most modern homes (in fact, the first reaction from one person whom I showed this picture to was "it's kinda small."), I would much rather own this than any home that I have visited in the last several years. It hearkens back to the time when it was okay for a child to share a bedroom, and completely normal to have the entire family spend their leisure time in the same room. If this place is too small, then I have too much stuff.
