HomeMy WebLinkAboutHDC1998-029 Letter From Little Rock Historic Comission To Ladies And Gentlemen 10/01/19981409 Cumberland
Little Rock, AR 72202
October 1, 1998
Little Rock Historic Commission
615 West Markham Street, Suite 100
Little Rock, AR 72201
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Re: 1415-1417 Cumberland Street, Dr. Myra B. Ash, Owner
Hearing for permission to retain applied artificial siding
This is to give my support to retention of the applied artificial
siding at the above address.
The siding, the house front, the trim, the window treatment --the
entire house --presents an attractive appearance in keeping with
the character of the house and of the neighborhood. In fact, it
is my opinion that only close inspection would reveal that the
siding is in fact other than the original, painted wood siding.
While I am in understanding and appreciation of the role of the
historic commission in assisting homeowners and the city in
preserving the character of the historic sections of our city, I
ask that you consider other factors.
Homeowners such as myself and Dr. Ash, have elected to invest and
live and in an area of the city that is on the outer edge of the
historic district and which has a history of neglect and crime.
It has only in recent years begun to show signs of improvement as
a decent place to live. We and our homeowner neighbors are
constantly improving our property and our forgotten neighborhood.
We invest large amounts of time, sweat equity and money in our
homes and yards and we must continue to do so in order to
maintain them. It seems punitive and an unreasonable financial
burdon to disallow siding that has contributed to the
attractiveness of the home and neighborhood and which will also
lessen the maintenance cost to the owner.
Our neighborhood is mixed in character. On our block there are
owner occupied homes and tenant occupied apartments. In the case
of Dr. Ash and myself, our properties are our homes and they also
provide rental units which are clean, attractive, well
maintained, safe and reasonable in cost to our tenants.
On our block is the East Side School (with its continuing
r
problems), and in the next block the Cumberland Nursing Home (not
historic in character). Nearby at 15th and Rock is the newly
constructed apartment complex for mentally disabled which is also
not historic in appearance.
Dr. Ash has invested a great deal in properties that were run
down and has done considerable work in improving them. She has
been a good neighbor and it seems that we should encourage, not
discourage such urban pioneers if we are to save and continue to
improve our intercity neighborhoods.
Sincerely,
i
❑ a O. ena le, Homeowner