Bloody Hell

“You will never get to the end of the journey if you stop to shy a stone at every dog that barks.”
— Winston Churchill, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, December 3, 1923

I have gone and done it again, shying stones at barking dogs.

I had set out to photograph the Newby-Duke House on the corner of Western Avenue and South Howell Street, the newest house biography in my House Biography Series.

As I stood there, I smiled, remembering a photograph I had taken a few years ago. A workman installing the new roof looked down, smiled, and waved. That roof was part of the remarkable restoration Adrienne Copland was undertaking, one house at a time, proving what vision, craftsmanship, and perseverance can accomplish.

I did get my photographs.

But then the barking dogs drew my attention across Western Avenue.

Thus the title for today’s blog.

Here is what I saw.

Click the arrow on the right to view the slideshow.

Instead of continuing to focus on the newest house biography, I found myself distracted by another story, one that demanded asking a few questions.

A little detective work revealed that this has not appeared overnight. A longtime Howell Street resident told me it has been an ongoing situation for years. None of us knows the full story. It may involve illness. It may involve personal tragedy. Neighbors have tried to help. The city has been contacted. Code Enforcement has been involved.

Yet the conditions remain.

Whatever circumstances brought this property to this point deserve compassion. But compassion and community standards are not opposites. There comes a point when neglect affects an entire neighborhood, the investment of nearby homeowners, and the dignity of the community itself. Somewhere, a line has been crossed.

How can this kind of neglect and blight be allowed to consume a property?

How does a neighborhood that is working hard to restore its historic homes find itself living beside this?

Those are questions worth asking.

Historic preservation has taught me that every neighborhood tells more than one story. Howell Street is telling two.

One is the hopeful story of restoration, neighbors investing in their community, preserving beautiful old houses, and believing in the future.

The other is the painful story of what happens when a property is allowed to slip beyond every reasonable boundary.

Both stories deserve our attention.

Both stories belong to Rocky Mount.