I would love to live in the city again. Actually, I live in the city now, as my home is well within the city limits. But it’s not real city, as I live in a suburban-style subdivision. I miss living on a grid of streets with sidewalks, and being able to walk to the store.
I had some expired Tri-X in my Nikon F2AS a couple weeks ago when I had business in South Broad Ripple, a neighborhood whose homes were built mostly during the first three decades of the 20th century. It was a great day for a stroll, and stroll I did. The homes in “SoBro,” as it’s called, are a mixed bag of architectural styles and of levels of care. A real showplace home can stand right next to one that needs a complete rehab. I shot a handful of homes that were well kept and that appealed to me. Like this one.
This Spanish-influenced house was built in 1925. (I looked it up.) I’m guessing it looked more conventional when it was new. It’s for sale and can be yours for $185,000. Homes in this neighborhood seem to sell as low as $50,000 and as high as $300,000. The median price seems to hover around the $150,000 mark.
I’m not crazy about this style of roof. But this is still a striking home, and it’s much larger than average for this neighborhood.
This home is more typically sized. I’ll bet it’s about 1,000 square feet on the first level. That peaked stone facade and arched front door shows up on a few other homes in this area.
This little house is on the small side even for this neighborhood. But early in the last century we had very different ideas about how much space a family needed in their home. Most homes here probably fall between 900 and 1,400 square feet, not counting basements.
I’ve lived in 900 square feet and I’m not sure I’d want to live in such tight quarters while I’m still raising teenagers. Maybe after my nest is empty! But to live in this neighborhood and stroll its streets after supper, and maybe stop in at a pub for a nip on the way home – that would be heavenly.
