La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
I got lost on the web Saturday evening. I was first looking at maps to see where my grandparents grew up in Russia and Poland. That wasn’t very cheery; my maternal grandfather grew up in Warsaw and left family behind when he escaped to England in the early 1900s after being conscripted into the Russian army. So, I then started looking on Google maps to see the places my grandparents (and my mother’s grandparents) lived in New York City. Many of those houses and buildings were demolished years ago, but there are some still standing and that was interesting to see. Then, I decided to look again at the three places my parents lived during their marriage. The second place was a brand new house that we moved into in 1956. San Geraldo and I did a drive-by in 2016 and the landscaping had changed significantly (my parents’ was more interesting).
I was excited yesterday to discover the house is for sale and there are interior pics. We clearly don’t have the same taste in furniture, but the original hardwood floors have been maintained. The basement was finished and included a playroom, two walk-in storage rooms, a laundry room, and my father’s workspace. I wonder what that looks like now. It had 1950s wood paneling, vinyl tile floors and built-in cubby holes for our toys. I sure did enjoy myself. It looks like it’s been staged to sell. Surprisingly, my parents didn’t take many interior pictures. I’ll see what I can find for a future post.
A side story: My grandmother loved that house. We found out years later that she had been crocheting a tablecloth for the dining room, but was so upset when we moved that she stopped her work. She gave my mother the half-finished table cloth in the late ’70s.
It has rained on and off the last two days (mostly during the night). I’m still hoping to go into Málaga in a few hours to see the drone show. It looks like the rain might hold off again until overnight.
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Me perdí en la web el sábado por la noche. Primero estaba mirando mapas para ver dónde se criaron mis abuelos en Rusia y Polonia. Eso no fue muy alegre; mi abuelo materno creció en Varsovia y dejó atrás a su familia cuando escapó a Inglaterra a principios del siglo XX después de ser reclutado por el ejército ruso. Entonces, comencé a buscar en los mapas de Google para ver los lugares donde vivían mis abuelos (y los abuelos maternos de mi madre) en la ciudad de Nueva York. Muchas de esos edificios fueron demolidas hace años, pero todavía quedan algunas en pie y eso fue interesante de ver. Entonces, decidí volver a mirar los tres lugares donde vivieron mis padres durante su matrimonio. El segundo lugar fue una casa nueva a la que nos mudamos en 1956. San Geraldo y yo hicimos un drive-by en 2016 y el paisaje había cambiado significativamente (la de mis padres era más interesante).
Ayer me emocioné al descubrir que la casa está a la venta y hay fotos del interior. Claramente no tenemos el mismo gusto en muebles, pero se han mantenido los pisos de madera originales. El sótano estaba terminado e incluía una sala de juegos, dos cuartos de almacenamiento, una lavandería y el espacio de trabajo de mi padre. Me pregunto cómo se verá eso ahora. Tenía paneles de madera de la década de 1950, pisos de baldosas de vinilo y cubículos empotrados para nuestros juguetes. Seguro que lo disfruté. Parece que ha sido preparado para vender. Sorprendentemente, mis padres no tomaron muchas fotografías del interior. A ver que encuentro para un próximo post.
Una historia paralela: a mi abuela le encantaba esa casa. Nos enteramos años después que había estado tejiendo un mantel para el comedor, pero estaba tan molesta cuando nos mudamos que dejó de trabajar. Ella le dio a mi madre el mantel a medio terminar a finales de los 70.
Ha llovido intermitentemente los últimos dos días (principalmente durante la noche). Todavía tengo la esperanza de ir a Málaga en unas horas para ver el espectáculo de drones. Parece que la lluvia podría detenerse nuevamente hasta la noche.
• Las rocas son una adición reciente y feo, creo, que abruma el salón. La foto fue tomada desde el segundo piso que tiene una terraza. Lástima que no hay vista de eso.
• Una nueva ventana en el comedor.
• Una nueva cocina. Las escaleras que bajan a la guarida a la derecha.
• Nuestro estudio era moderno de mediados de siglo y mucho más fresco. La puerta conducía al cuarto de barro (que conducía al garaje). Mi madre, la duquesa viuda, llamaba al recibidor el vestíbulo.
• Nuestro patio era la mitad del tamaño y había más árboles y jardines. La ventana de mi dormitorio está a la izquierda. Había un árbol de mimosa plantado cerca.
• Dormitorio principal, dispuesto de forma diferente. La cama era donde ahora se encuentra el armario.
• Mi dormitorio. El árbol de mimosa estaba fuera de la ventana a la izquierda. Mi cama estaba a lo largo de la pared debajo de la otra ventana, mientras que la de El Hermanito estaba enfrente.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
Amazing what you can find, if you have street addresses. I agree the stone face is too much for the space. Nice wood floors.
David:
Fun to see inside despite the changes.
Well, at least the hardwood floors are still the same!
Debra:
So true. The other choices made were not the best.
Good grief! Those occupants have no taste. That rock-pile wall is hideous, and I hate all that naff dark wood furniture too! I’m sure it was all much more tasteful when you lived there… Jx
Jon:
I agree about the furniture, too. The only slightly interesting piece of furniture is the roll-top desk stashed in the den. Nothing warm and welcoming in the entire house.
The kitchen is not bad, very nice….and I agree about the rock. Very overwhelming. People insist on using rock and most times if only works right if it’s in a rustic home or cabin. And just me, but I’ll never understand the allure of sectional sofas and motion furniture, like recliners. And what’s with the tile floor??? Not very warm is it?
Mistress Borghese:
I agree about the kitchen. But what were they thinking with that floor? Nothing warm in the house.
That was cool finding your old house for sale on-line!
Jim:
Now I have to see what other houses I can find for sale.
Such fun! Very nice exterior… it’s rare to see a house (especially a split level) that has its original cedar shingles still. Hardwood floors are so hard to find in newer houses these days–what a treat that these are still there (I routinely see old houses that have had vinyl flooring placed over hardwoods!).
Judy C:
Vinyl flooring over hardwood? Yikes! The den had black and beige checkerboard vinyl asbestos tiles. I know that would have had to have been removed but those white tiles are so cold. I was shocked to see the original wood floors.
Nice house, though you can tell the rocks are an addition because they look out of place.
Funny what you can find with a Google search.
Bob:
And now I’m going to see what other houses from are past might be for sale. Asking price of this one is only 40 times what my parents paid. I have them knock off several thousand for rock removal.
Wow what a find! I would love to have a look-see at the houses I lived in once upon a time.
Urspo:
That’s something I would really enjoy.
It’s great to see the old places again. I do that with google maps from time to time, but of course with no interior shots.
That house is very similar to a house we lived in when I was in high school in a suburb of Albany. My bedroom was on the street side, only one window. My sister got the corner room with two windows. The four boys shared the fourth bedroom. My parents had the other corner room with two cribs for the infant twins. Yes, count ’em, eight kids in all. The downstairs family room was very much as you described yours.
Walt the Fourth:
Dale had the one-window room on the side of the house. Eight kids! How many bathrooms?
Only one bath that I can remember. Sometime after we left that house, the new owners added another level over the living/dining area. I’ll bet there’s another bathroom up there.
Walt the Fourth:
One bath. Eight kids. Wow! My mother grew up in 2-bedroom apartments; one bath, 7 kids. I can’t imagine. We had 2 baths, which was bad enough.
How cool to “visit” the old homestead! The internet really IS amazing. I don’t think the rock wall looks too bad, but I can see how it would look intrusive to someone who wasn’t used to it being there.
Steve:
I would love to find interior shots (that we don’t have) of other old homesteads.