Bungalow Blasphemy
Warning: The following post contains images that will horrify you. Readers are likely to experience nausea, vomiting, uncontrollable weeping and outrage at what they are about to see. Salvaged Beauty takes no responsibility for your weak stomach or anger-management issues, and advises that you proceed with discretion…
Sick is the only way to describe how I feel now whenever I head into Toronto via Kingston Rd. in Scarborough. I know this stretch of road pretty well, having traveled along it countless times when I was much younger, on my way to and from dancing classes.
The red bungalow you see in this photo spoke to me even then—long before I knew or cared about architectural styles and craftsman design. It was just my favourite house, and someday when I was bigger I was going to live in a house just like it.
That was back in the ‘70s, when this home was on the outer perimeter of the suburb of Scarborough. At that time, its neighbouring properties were other homes, all with similarly large lots of almost an acre. But this one was special—its style was quite different from all the others. I thought it looked like a giant gingerbread house, a chalet in Switzerland, or somewhere Goldilocks might have lived if fairy tales were real. The gardens were lush, and in those days there was a forest of mature pines behind this stretch of suburbia.
In 2001, my husband and I decided to search for a new home, and were already fans of the arts and crafts movement. John, who commutes to the city daily, kept telling me about this gorgeous bungalow that was for sale, and borrowed my camera one day to take photos—even though we had no intention of moving closer to Toronto. I laughed when I saw the pictures, since I knew this home well. Priced at over a million dollars, there was no way we could even entertain thoughts of owning it—but we wondered who would buy it, since that stretch of road was now a wasteland of deteriorating strip malls, gas stations and used car lots, and every other single-family dwelling that once stood nearby was razed long ago.
The charming red house was eventually purchased by a developer and rented out to a tenant, and thus began its quick descent into the annals of bungalow perversion.
Ironically, its first and last incarnation post-sale was as a religious temple…a religion whose followers were definitely guilty of having God-awful taste in decorating. What they did to the exterior of this house is deeply…sinful.
Believe it or not, now that the house is abandoned once again, it actually looks much better than it did a year ago – the tacky plastic devotional statues, religious posters and garishly-coloured signage which cluttered the property are gone—as is a great deal of garbage.
I took these photos on Tuesday as we drove by on our way to Niagara Falls (via Toronto). Honestly, I felt like I shouldn’t even be photographing this building in its present state. It seemed pitiful and almost shameful, and I wonder if that’s what taking a photo of a victim of abuse or tragedy must be like for the photographer. You can document the injustice, but in doing so, how can you not help but feel like you’ve just violated them further?
I suppose the end is truly near for my beloved red bungalow. She was unique – a house that was once one of the most admired and well-tended in the neighbourhood. The home of my dreams.
Yet, even in her ravaged state she stands defiant—those strong, graceful lines softening her vulgar makeup…she’s still beautiful in her last hours.
technorati tags: houseblog, remuddling, craftsman+bungalow, home+renovation+nightmares
Oh my gosh—it truly did almost make me weep. The stripes! They painted it in stripes!
Sob
Comment by Beth — August 18, 2006 @ 3:28 pm
Why? Why? Why? I’ve never seen such a thing! Bizarre and strange. Did the JonBenet killer or someone similar live here? It’s just too weird.
Comment by Laurie — August 18, 2006 @ 4:35 pm
siiiggghhh…i see the tragic bungalow all the time living ghetto-adjacent as i do…but stories like these still make me sad
Comment by merideth — August 18, 2006 @ 8:24 pm
Wow, what a surprise to find your blog and pictures of this house I know so well! I grew up on a street that runs south off Kingston Rd, just to the east of this bungalow. Growing up, I always loved this unique house. It is like no other home in the area. When I was about 6, my friend who lived across the street from me used to take piano lessons in that house. I’m 35 now, so that would have been in 1977. I can remember going with him once, and waiting on the porch.
I too have been dismayed with the home’s steady decline over the years. I can remember driving by and seeing some of the beautiful original wood divided-light windows on the east side of the house being replaced with smaller Home Depot style vinyl casements. They just boarded up the extra space around the new windows, with no effort to match the siding. I believe they also tore down the fireplace chimney at the front of the house. What a shame.
The religious temple incarnation that you mention really was the ultimate insult to this house. I’m not sure what religion or sect occupied it, but from the look of the facade it must have been the church of the almighty candy-cane.
Comment by George — September 15, 2006 @ 4:56 pm
Heartbreaking! Makes me want to cry! Poor, poor bungalow. I noticed that this posting is from last summer. What ever happened to this house?
Comment by Stephanie — June 6, 2007 @ 6:04 pm
How sad. It’s too bad there is no way of rescuing it….or barring that, saving pieces of it to use elsewhere.
Comment by joyce — March 15, 2008 @ 6:32 pm