The Lehn House

They moved old lady Lehn’s house last week.

Not often does one see a 130 year old Italianate-style house rolling down the street. Miss Lien was a fixture in my city for over 90 years. In her later days she cut quite a figure driving around town in her giant Cadillac. Her brother, who lasted nearly as long, ran a small electrical shop on Main Street, his shop an anachronism, selling lamp parts and doorbells, up until a few years ago.

After Miss Lehn died, the house sat empty for a while; it was due to be torn down but one of my son's buddies worked up a plan to have it moved. It only went a block, it will still be in the same neighborhood. The house had always intrigued me with its three front doors (out of view to the left in this picture), its tall windows and the sleeping porch (just visible in the right rear.)  There has been a spate of new construction here recently, including tasteless McMansions replacing a wildlife refuge and anonymous split levels filling in lots made empty by tear-downs. All of them feature drab paint schemes and garages in the front. This charming building will, in its own small way, hopefully counteract the creeping conformity of modern architecture.