A James Street Metamorphosis

Images of Centretown has recently been added to Blogawa, a tracker of Ottawa-related blogs. It's good to be aboard. I had added a few posts in late August, but Erigami didn't have time until September 1 to add it to the blogroll. Then I was too busy to post! I've been too busy enjoying Centretown, I guess. ;)

I quite like construction, and I'd post more photos of the various big construction projects in Centretown, if only I had the chance to wade through my hundreds of photos of each one! So when I saw this smaller residential renovation on James Street, I felt it would be more easily blogged. The work also appears to have finished, so it makes for a nice complete story.

Of the many houses on James that are being renovated, this one has had the fastest and most noticeable transitions. Here is a shot I took when I first noticed the porch had been removed in late May. Note the grass line and the last post still stuck to the wall:

This next shot is from mid-July. A tasteful patio walkway has been installed, and work was well underway on a new porch.

Incidentally, a small stretch of sidewalk was repaired next door in this timeframe as well. I thought I had a photo of it being worked on, but my camera memory cards seem to indicate otherwise. Here's an "after" shot of the sidewalk:

In a few days' time, the porch was complete. It looked very nice, although the ghost of the old porch on the front wall of the house was a bit grotesque:

Evidently, the owner agreed, as the whole building was painted biege in late August! Instead of making the house more bland, it actually brought out the geometric accents in the brickwork, giving it a modern, yet cozy, appearance.

Finally, the reason for all this beautification became apparent yesterday, when a "For Sale" sign appeared on the front lawn:

I hope the person or people who purchase the house will come to enjoy Centretown and feel welcome!