Abandoned Multifamily House

Apologies for my absence from blogging; I've started a new job and am getting married in less than a month, both factors which are taking up energy I normally direct toward prowling around abandoned buildings like a weirdo. But I've been working on the facilities people at LSU to gain access to the historic condemned Huey P. Long Fieldhouse (if anyone can pull any strings, please do), and I got back to my prowling roots this weekend.

I don't know how I never noticed this huge empty house on the corner of Government and 22nd before, but it took biking right past it to finally notice.

 

But first, we took a quick stop at Acosta Cleaners, notable only for the large wire hanger out front that had grabbed my attention months ago.

 

The buisness was open since 1930, but there will be no wire hangers ever again for them.

Inside looks like this.

Back to that house. Front porch:

To get an idea of how enormous it is, a view in the front window.

It could be a great space, but it's not in the best shape. 22nd Street side:

Mold is a problem that will only get worse, as a lot of the structure's windows are broken.

Around back:

In one back door:

 

Around the corner on the yard side, Apartment 2.

 

 

 

Comments

[Randall]

Hi Colleen. Did you know you are on Matt Kennedy's blog, on WJBO's web's site? He mentioned your stuff the other day on the radio. The dummy said, "He takes great pictures." Well, they are great -- love them all.

[Ronnie Owens]

You wrote: But I've been working on the facilities people at LSU to gain access to the historic condemned Huey P. Long Fieldhouse (if anyone can pull any strings, please do)...
Contact the Foundation for Historic Louisiana, Carolyn Bennett is the director, you know her don't you.

Be careful going in those abandoned houses, they may be crack houses with undesirables in them.

[Colleen Kane]

Hey Randall, I didn't know that! Thanks, and thanks for the compliment.

Ronnie, I was told you have to go through campus facilities dept. to gain access? Though I can try Carolyn too. Also I don't go alone and this time I had my fiance with me as a bodyguard.

[Red Stick Modern]

This was originally a church, if you can believe it. It was later converted into an office with apartments all around it. You can see where there was a sign in the front yard for the business.

[jason]

Cool!
thought I'm a bit scared to think what a "Litholopes" is.

[jade]

it's crazy how you pass certain places every week & never notice these things... i'm gonna have to look soon.

[Jay]

This was the house I was refering to in the comments about a year ago, it has been an eyesore for some time:
http://abandonedbatonrouge.typepad.com/abandoned_baton_rouge/2008/07/abr-on-the-radio.html

Since then, I think someone bought this property and cut down most of the huge overgrown shrubs that were obscuring the building from the street. They first put up a FSBO sign last fall, then took down the sign and cleaned it up some more, then put up the current For Sale sign, which is in your pics. Obviously it is not a good time to be in that speculative of a real estate venture.

My wife and I joke a lot about buying that house. Actually, I joke a lot, the same joke over and over. She rolls her eyes and tries to pay no attention whatsoever. The joke only "works" because we actually did buy a house like that 15 years ago, about 4 blocks from there.

BTW, I saw you yesterday riding your bike down 22nd street, at about 6:35pm. I would stop my car and say hi, but wife and son's plane landed at 6:31pm, and I wasn't where I needed to be at that moment. I don't think I would recognize you if I was stuck behind you at the Wal-Mart checkout line (Alternate expression: I don't think I could pick you out of a police lineup), but I recognize your green 10 speed. I had a Schwinn Collegiate that looked like that when I was in college.

Good luck and have fun at your wedding.

[Keith]

I road by the house yesterday to check it out. It is amazing how many times I road by it and never noticed. But it was raining and we didn't get a chance to get out and wander around it.
I look forward to your journey to the HPL Fieldhouse.

[Bryan Perkins]

I love your site. I am trying to start up a new blog that is a collection of RSS Feeds from authors around Baton Rouge and I was hoping I could include your site. It is brand new so there are only two feeds right now, but you can check it out here:

http://batonrougebloggers.wordpress.com/

I hope you enjoy and let me know if you want to be included.

[Colleen Kane]

Jay, craziness! Say hi next time!

[Garden District]

Insider info on this property...

The property was tied up between multiple owners for several years; one wanting to sell or demo the building, the other absent and non-compliant.

Finally a demo order was issued, but revoked by the Hysterical Society (Historical) citing the building's historical listing.

Someone bought it with the intention of making it an art studio, gallery, something along those lines, but nothing has come of it. The FSBO and now MLS listing went up immediately after the current owner purchased it.

As of late the property is still a haven for druggies and the homeless. The Historical Society needs to get off their asses and stop interfering with the neighbors trying to improve where they live.

PS- A body was found hanged from the rafters within the past 4-5 years. He was likely the last person to occupy the building. (Suicide)

[Vanessa]

I took similar pictures of the same house! I have a fasination with abandoned places, I would love to have people with me so it's not so dangerous

[Keith Schiehl]

Wow, just came across this site after seeing an article about your book on TheAdvocate.com.

I lived upstairs in "the Church" in 1995-1997. It was an interesting place, with old wood floors, slanted roofs, crazy wallpaper, paned glass french doors between rooms, tub only bathroom with subway tiled walls and checkerboard tile floors. There were interior windows where you could look down into the "sanctuary" of the old church; that was used for storage. My place was the old choir loft and spanned the entire back of the building. I have some great memories of that place, even though I wasn't in the best place personally at the time. I remember having Chris LeBlanc over for a visit once in 95 and he thought it would be a great place to shoot a music video; but that never came to fruition. I still stay in contact with a neighbor who lived downstairs. So many stories from that place. I think I paid $250/mo in 1995, which was super-cheap.