Updates
October 22, 2010 | Filed Under blight | Leave a Comment
I’ve neglected this blog for a little too long. I ran out of properties to post, but as of late many properties have been in need of an update, as they’ve been torn down, remodeled, and otherwise. Expect a post or two soon.
CT Farm and Country
September 30, 2009 | Filed Under blight | 2 Comments
This building is located at 2810 South Federal Avenue, near the Rose Bowl. Quality Stores, Inc. went bankrupt in 2001 and had to shutter many stores, while Tractor Supply Co. bought up a bunch of the leases. This town ain’t big enough for two places that sell Carhartt coats!
600 Block S Federal and 7th St SE
September 27, 2009 | Filed Under blight | 3 Comments
Hunting for property information can sometimes be a crap-shoot. Obviously based on the signage it’s owned by Brallier Plumbing, and the lot next to this one is owned by Brallier, but I was not able to locate the specific property listing for this parcel on the 600 block of south Federal Avenue. I’m chalking it up as a documentation anomaly.
Does anyone have any information on what used to be in this building? It looks like either an old service station, or the word’s smallest hotel.
425 S Federal
September 26, 2009 | Filed Under blight | Leave a Comment
The intersection in this photograph is 4th Street Southwest and South Federal Avenue. This intersection probably has the most traffic during the day, and is highly visible. The decaying building foundation you see in the photo is 425 S Federal, former location of Mechanical Air Systems, which was a large brick building. Everything else is a gravel covered lot that has been a gravel covered lot as long as I can remember.
Element Building
September 25, 2009 | Filed Under blight | 3 Comments
I don’t recall there ever being anything in this building, but I’m sure there was some forgettable business in here. I like the building despite its simplicity. Was this some sort of Home Decor store? It’s located across the street from the Casey’s on South Federal Avenue, amongst the plates of decaying concrete of the Southport parking desert.
Firestone Building
September 24, 2009 | Filed Under blight | 1 Comment
The Firestone building is located on the 100 block of west State Street. Various businesses have occupied this building, but I’ve never been inside. I don’t know the condition of the building, but it’s always been one of my favorites. It’s located across the street from the Principal Financial building, and near the YWCA building.
1510 S Federal
September 23, 2009 | Filed Under blight | Leave a Comment
This building was initially a Target store. When the nation’s first SuperTarget location was built on the west side of town in the 90s, this facility sat vacant for many years until Hobby Lobby occupied it.
Len Jus Building
September 23, 2009 | Filed Under blight | 1 Comment
This building was built in 1882 and has some work done on it recently. It’s the third in a line of empty buildings on the 200 block of North Federal, which is only a block from City Hall, Central Park, Southbridge Mall, the Park Inn Hotel, and the rest of Downtown. It also made the list of a ‘Most Endangered’ list for historic properties, and has a Wikipedia page.
This until recently had a sign advertising it as Len-Jus Salve. There’s an old Chevy Caprice wagon seen around sometimes advertising the salve on many magnetic stickers on the vehicle. There’s also one that simply says ‘WEB SITE’. It doesn’t have an address on it, just the words ‘WEB SITE’.
Former Holiday Gas Station
September 22, 2009 | Filed Under blight | 2 Comments
Former Holiday gas station, South Federal near Happy Wok and Diamond Vogel Paints. It’s been vacant for several years, but I can’t recall exactly how many. It’s amazing how fast a structure can look like it’s been closed for far longer than it actually has.