Stop in for a cup of coffee

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Wow Dave. That is sad.
Sometimes it just takes the right person or the wrong person to make things happen. Maybe too often.
Maybe a sidetrack (hey its the coffee club) but I recently come to believe a lot of things would work out better by having good people who know what they are doing (and let them do it).
 
Mattax said:
Like a lot of urban houses of that era, the exterior shutters were reserved for the sides and rear. Front windows got interior shutters - they fold into pockets on the bigger houses. However very interesting you did that. When Society Hill was getting 'renewed', many of the houses on my block got front shutters like you show. Almost all of them on houses that lost their porches. Victorian was just 'old' but Colonial was 'in'. I may have some digital pics - too dark now to take any - and we're getting hit with a little Thunder and Lightning.
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Yeah, we had inside pocket shutters on the front windows of the big old Victorian house we owned near Widener University. The house was built in 1889 for the Commandant of the old Pennsylvania Millitary College that became Widener. It was over 6000 sq ft and had a big double carriage house behind. 3 levels, 16 rooms, 9 fireplaces and servants quarters on the top floor with rear stairways for them to use. The carriage house had an upstairs tack room and quarters for the stable staff.
 
Hey, Here's one. There's one across the street with black shutters but I'm sure I don't have a pic of it.

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Yes sir.
Long story short. It was owned by a neighbor who rented in above mentioned house with black shutters. I bought from him winter of 2000.
Its handy in that its fully covered, and of course I like it.
Don't get to drive it off pavement as much as I'd like.

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Its much better city vehicle than my Barracuda with tight turning radius, power steering and stock cam.
Also, I don't get (as) pissed off when it does get hit.
OK I was PO'd when someone crushed the lens of one the Cibie foglights while parked.
As you can see, I just took them off and haven't put them back on -even though they would have been a plus up along the Delaware River.
 
That old Victorian house we owned was another sad story. It had been converted into a rooming house in the 1940s and then into small apartments just after WWII. My Dad bought it in the mid 1970s as an investment but it never made any money. My wife and I bought it from him a couple of years before we were married and moved into it.

We spent 7 years getting rid of the tenants and tearing the house back to the bones to restore it. We put all our blood, sweat and tears into the place...and just when we were finally turning the corner into real progress on the restoration, the City of Chester stomped us.

They got wind of the restoration and because it meant being a single family dwelling instead of 6 rental apartments, they threatened to triple our taxes and sent the building inspectors after us with a vengeance. We got the Chester Historical Society on our side and went to fight it with lawyers at the City Council. They just shut us down and gave us no recourse but to sell and leave.

That grand old Home is now back to being 6 one bedroom rental apartments in a hacked up old house...full of cockroaches and rats with peeling paint and a leaking roof. But the corrupt city is very happy to have six individuals to hit with local tax bills to fill their pockets.

They wanted it to become a low income run down tax revenue...and they got it.
 
Ddaddy said:
That old Victorian house we owned was another sad story. It had been converted into a rooming house in the 1940s and then ito small apartments just Afer WWII. My Dad bought it in themid 1970s as an investment but it never made any money. My wife and I bought it from him a couple of years before we were married and moved into it.

We spent 7 years getting rid of the tenants and tearing the house back to the bones to restore it. Wepjredlit blodd sweat and tears into the place and just when we were finally turning the corner into real progress on the restoration, the City of Chester stomped us.

They got wind of the restoration and because it meant being a single family dwelling instead of 6 rental apartments, the threatened to triple put taxes and sent the building inspectors after us with a vengeance. We got the Chester Historical Society on our side and went to fight it with lawyers at the City Council. They just shut us down and gave us no recourse but to sell and leave.

That grand old Home is now back to being 6 one bedroom rental apartments in a hacked up old house...full of cockroaches and rats with peeling paint and a leaking roof. But the corrupt city is very happy to have six individuals to hit with local tax bills to fill their pockets.

They wanted it to become a low income run down tax revenue...and they got it.
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Oh man Dave. That's just fd up. However nothing surprises me anymore.
Guy across the street did like you (smaller property and house - in fact its the one with light green shutters) and there was no problem at all. It had been converted into two apartments and yes there was a dead cat and squirel. Even an brick exterior wall was weak (ivy). He looked at current codes, and decided to convert it back to single family (you can still rent rooms as a single family 'boarding house'. Oddly enough, property taxes are lower if its rental, but no that much. Might be a statewide thing. During the last major reassassment, we were told at public meetings that the methodology is set by the state. IMO its got a lot of incentives backwars, such as a rewarding owners of neglected building in poor condition.
 
Mattax said:
Oh man Dave. That's just fd up. However nothing surprises me anymore.
Guy across the street did like you (smaller property and house - in fact its the one with light green shutters) and there was no problem at all. It had been converted into two apartments and yes there was a dead cat and squirel. Even an brick exterior wall was weak (ivy). He looked at current codes, and decided to convert it back to single family (you can still rent rooms as a single family 'boarding house'. Oddly enough, property taxes are lower if its rental, but no that much. Might be a statewide thing. During the last major reassassment, we were told at public meetings that the methodology is set by the state. IMO its got a lot of incentives backwars, such as a rewarding owners of neglected building in poor condition.
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The City of Chester is just a bunch of corrupt officials playing God over the slums they have created. It gives them Power and kick back money in their pockets and they rule without fear of anyone caring what they do in their slums There is a reason it was the 3rd most depressed area in the entire US back when we were trying to restore that house...and it was because of the corrupt government.

Big toothy fish in a muddy puddle...and willing to eat their own people without regard.

The strange part is that it was the County seat in the 1950s and once had the number one deep water port in the nation for shipping tonnage. The City likes it being a slum and has resisted every effort to revive the town except for a ratty casino that they can milk and a soccer stadium near the river that they can skim for cash from events. They don’t want anything living in their town permanently as a business with long term vision, just ones with people visiting short term and leaving money behind.
 
Ddaddy said:
That old Victorian house we owned was another sad story. It had been converted into a rooming house in the 1940s and then into small apartments just after WWII. My Dad bought it in the mid 1970s as an investment but it never made any money. My wife and I bought it from him a couple of years before we were married and moved into it.

We spent 7 years getting rid of the tenants and tearing the house back to the bones to restore it. We put all our blood, sweat and tears into the place...and just when we were finally turning the corner into real progress on the restoration, the City of Chester stomped us.

They got wind of the restoration and because it meant being a single family dwelling instead of 6 rental apartments, they threatened to triple our taxes and sent the building inspectors after us with a vengeance. We got the Chester Historical Society on our side and went to fight it with lawyers at the City Council. They just shut us down and gave us no recourse but to sell and leave.

That grand old Home is now back to being 6 one bedroom rental apartments in a hacked up old house...full of cockroaches and rats with peeling paint and a leaking roof. But the corrupt city is very happy to have six individuals to hit with local tax bills to fill their pockets.

They wanted it to become a low income run down tax revenue...and they got it.
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idiots :BangHead:
 
Ddaddy said:
The City of Chester is just a bunch of corrupt officials playing God over the slums they have created. It gives them Power and kick back money in their pockets and they rule without fear of anyone caring what they do in their slums There is a reason it was the 3rd most depressed area in the entire US back when we were trying to restore that house...and it was because of the corrupt government.

Big toothy fish in a muddy puddle...and willing to eat their own people without regard.

The strange part is that it was the County seat in the 1950s and once had the number one deep water port in the nation for shipping tonnage. The City likes it being a slum and has resisted every effort to revive the town except for a ratty casino that they can milk and a soccer stadium near the river that they can skim for cash from events. They don’t want anything living in their town permanently as a business with long term vision, just ones with people visiting short term and leaving money behind.
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Bout typical of most in government. It's all about the tax money. They literally think they are entitled to as much of the citizens money as possible. Counting sales tax, city(which I don't even live in, county, state and federal income taxes plus Medicaid and SS taxes,I paid nearly 40 percent of my income to some tax. I even get a penalty every year because I don't live in the county I work in, so I have to pay County income taxes in TWO counties
 
..and Power is probably at least as important to them as money.
If they had even a modicum of interest in their legacy they'd act different..well one like to think anyway.
 
Mattax said:
..and Power is probably at least as important to them as money.
If they had even a modicum of interest in their legacy they'd act different..well one like to think anyway.
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There's a saying I heard many years ago when training with a couple Kurds from The Peshmerga, we got talking about the new constitution in Iraq, it doesn't matter who is in charge, nor what type of government it is, money and power will rule within a circle of that government and any who threaten it will meet their maker. Something like that
 
nah, tax money is not where the most of the power leverage is at.
And beleive me, I put in my paid hours and then some every week I worked for the US gov't.
We bought very little - our supply budget was miniscule. We'ld do a lot of fixing, making and reusing.
 
It’s not true everywhere, they were just the worst example I have ever seen.

In the Town I live in now, they plow the tax revenues back into the community and are continually making it a better place to live and raise families. They are proud of the place and work hard to make it the most they can be at every turn...and they have zero tolerance for anyone trying to drag it down. That goes for government officials and offices and taxpayer alike.

Taxes aren’t inherently bad, how they are sometimes used can be.
 
Well said Dave. It comes down to people, doesn't it.
 
Ddaddy said:
It’s not true everywhere, they were just the worst example I have ever seen.

In the Town I live in now, they plow the tax revenues back into the community and are continually making it a better place to live and raise families. They are proud of the place and work hard to make it the most they can be at every turn...and they have zero tolerance for anyone trying to drag it down. That goes for government officials and offices and taxpayer alike.

Taxes aren’t inherently bad, how they are sometimes used can be.
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The town nearest me, spent 1.5 million on a sign to welcome travelers to it... they put it behind a building, at ground level, it can't be seen unless you pull off the road and into the alley...
 
Mattax said:
Well said Dave. It comes down to people, doesn't it.
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Yep, it’s all about the content of character of the leaders and the people who vote them into office.

Share a vision of progress and it will happen. It’s what makes America great.
 
Ddaddy said:
Yep, it’s all about the content of character of the leaders and the people who vote them into office.

Share a vision of progress and it will happen. It’s what makes America great.
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Here here
 
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