Estate Sale at 9828 Newville Avenue

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brycem said:
...If only a fan had bought the house from Richard and up kept it...

You don't know how badly I wanted to buy the A&M Records Lot and have preserved its History...!!!

(Or at least have gotten some help keeping it A&M, while still being the Commercial Conglomeration the Record Industry has become...) :neutral:inkshield:



Dave
 
It's obvious that the owners were not really fans, in fact one of Rod's comment of one of the daughters was that she didn't even know who Karen was or just the girl that died from anorexia. How sad that they were not affected by the musical legacy Carpenters left behind.
In a way I'm glad we have this account of what happened and what it looks like for the folks that could not make it over to the west coast but on the other hand it's so sad to read and you get a sick feeling. Soon we will only have memories and pictures of what the home was like.
 
There has been a concept at work for many years in urban housing markets called "filtering."

In many urban residential areas, a gradual decline occurred as neighborhoods underwent demographic and socioeconomic changes. These changes often occurred in a negative direction, and over a period of time, what once were quality areas gradually declined into less desirable and less well maintained areas. Eventually, a few of these areas actually became slums.

What is being described above in regard to the Downey house sounds a lot like the filtering phenomenon in action, especially if the comment about Downey being a declining and less desirable area is correct. If the community has undergone some degree of downward cycle, then the area where the house is located has probably changed in its overall desirability, and the specific house in question would not be exempt from this "filtering" process. It is my understanding that many of the post-World War II suburban town areas south of LA have experienced decline over the last half century. I would use the Hawthorne area where the Beach Boys originally lived as a similar example. I understand that their family house has been torn down also, and all that exists now is a marker on the site. I'm not from the area and don't proclaim myself as an expert, so correct me if I'm in error on these statements about the LA area.

This would be true even if Carpenter had retained ownership of the house.

From a purely economic point of view, it would have been better if the family had relocated to one of the more affluent areas of LA when the children began to achieve their stardom. Either into one of the newer areas, or one of the areas of established affluence.
 
Murray said:
I'd find it hard to believe that someone who could afford to split the house in two, then demolish the whole thing and build two brand new houses, couldn't have afforded to maintain the house in the first place. :confused:

Good point--if they are that hard up that they can't maintain the current property, how could they afford to tear down and rebuild? Either that, or perhaps there was too much water/mildew damage that make it impossible to repair properly or safely.

We have a similar "filtering" happening in our metro area as well. The neighborhood I grew up in is still decent, but the southern half of the city is "turning". Other nearby cities are seeing the same thing happen as well. Fortunately I'm not living anywhere near the city limits of Detroit (I'm as far away in the 'burbs as you can get), so it would probably take decades to reach here, if ever.
 
Mold and mildew can produce some serious problems.

In this area where I live, a local school district is permanently closing one of the elementary buildings due to that kind of problem.
 
OH, my, I wish with all my heart that Richard has not looked at this website and seen Rod's photos. It's always a disappointment for a child to look at his old homestead and see that it's that run down. Thanks Rod, for putting up all the info and photos. It must have been quite an experience for you to have been there.

I had a similar experience seeing my parents' old home (and mine!) recently and it's so very changed, and not for the better. We had to sell the house when we realized that my mom (who recently passed away) was no longer in a condition to return to it and to live there by herself. My dad had done so much to take this little tract house and remodel it. He had done the kitchen over and turned the breezeway into a dining room. He finished off the attic and my bedroom was on one side of it. It just breaks my heart to see all of his hard work turned into a monstrosity. It certainly didn't do me any good to see that house and I can honestly say I'll never go there again.

A very sad, Marilyn
 
I forgot to mention that it looks like the roof was in bad shape right over the main entrance. I guess that's the source of all the water damage.

Marilyn
 
Captaindave said:
Mold and mildew can produce some serious problems.

In this area where I live, a local school district is permanently closing one of the elementary buildings due to that kind of problem.

It can cause serious health issues. :agree: I know I'm allergic to mildew, and it certainly doesn't help my asthma one bit either! If there is enough of it, there is no way to get it out of everything.

My ex was looking at houses a couple of years ago, and came across one vacant house for sale where the cinder block walls in the basement were all stained from mildew, and it would have cost literally thousands of dollars to make the house livable again.
 
Thanks for the pics and commentary. I guess it's true "you never can really go back."
I too have seen my grandparents beautiful home, that took them blood, sweat and several tears, to make it completely theirs, turned into something less than appealing.
It's not a home anymore, it's just a house.
 
Guess I can rest assured that I'm moving into a well-kept, well-maintained Apartment, 'least just for "starters"...; Just not ready to deal with Suprises, such as Mold & Mildew in my own house, which unfortunately this very house I live in, which I grew up in has certainly had its fair share of that problem, rectified, of course, by replacing our basement walls, celings and floors...

The kitchen and bathroom tiles are certainly destined to be next...

And don't keep food in the cabinets under the kitchen counter adjacent to the sink in front of an outside wall, as I recall a Mouse/Rat problem a neighbor of ours had, years and years ago... :neutral:inkshield:

--Yuck! :freak:



Dave
 
I'm reposting this article from www.leadsister.com

Here is the article for the Downey Patriot.

Is Carpenter House headed for demolition?
By Eric Pierce
DOWNEY--Here we go again?

Internet message boards were buzzing this week with rumors that the famous and beloved house once occupied by Richard and Karen Carpenter was headed for demolition.

The rumors began after an online ad for an estate sale at the residence appeared on the Internet last Saturday.

The Carpenter House, at 9828 Newville Ave., was the longtime home of the Carpenter family, and where Karen Carpenter collapsed Feb. 4, 1983. She was rushed to Downey Community Hospital where she died of cardiac arrest.

Rod Reynolds, a Carpenters fan who attended the sale, said he was told by the house’s current owner that the home next door (9821 Newville) was on track to be torn down, and the actual Carpenter House would soon follow.

City Hall records reveal an application to demolish the house at 9821 Newville, but none for 9828.

Records list Manuel Parra as the property owner of 9821 Newville. When contacted, language barriers made it difficult to ask him about the demolition.

Fans, meanwhile, descended on the house Saturday for the sale.

“A few of us Carpenters fans went to the sale and were horrified at the condition of the house and the grounds,” Reynolds said. “When Richard and Karen lived there, they had a magnificent Japanese garden in the backyard. This garden has crumbled into disrepair and most of the foliage is dead. The fountains and river-let are completely dried up.”

Craigslist.org, a popular website featuring free classified advertisements, had a listing for an estate sale at the Carpenter House. Part of the ad reads: “Are you a Carpenter fan?? No, not the carpenter who built your house, The Carpenters (the band) as in Richard and Karen Carpenter. Have you ever dreamed of owning something that belonged to them? Well this is your chance!”

The ad goes on to list the items for sale, including records, furniture, a pool table, and “Karen Carpenter’s original bed and mattress.”

City officials, meanwhile, said the property owner is within their rights to remodel the house, as long as all code requirements are met. Unless a property is officially designated historic, which the Carpenter House isn’t, the property owner is free to demolish the home.

Coincidentally or not, fans this week started an online petition to induct The Carpenters into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. More information is available at www.gocarpenters.com.

[Moderator note: Personal email addresses removed.]
 
It's a dirty old shame that a Carpenters fan wasn't in the position to buy the house from Richard in the '90's. Then, put the house on some sort of historical site list so there would be protection for the house and possibly grants to stay with any upkeep.

Time has passed us by on that front, though. : (

It's like time is washing away all traces of Karen. No more A&M, no more Carpenters house. This will make any future trip to California that much sadder.

Thank you for the pictures and reports. It makes me cherish the older pictures even more. I wish there was a Yesterday Once More sometimes.
 
I guess this news has been on my mind more than I realized...

Last night, I had this bizarre (but vivid) dream in which a bunch of (us) Carpenters fans bought the house, restored it to its former glory, and decided to time-share it for the purposes of both vacationing in L.A. and preserving the Carpenters' legacy.

***

I was in L.A. for the first (and, so far, only) time in June 2006, on business. I wasn't there long enough to do much other than attend my conference, so I regret not having had a chance to see Downey (or even drive past the old A&M lot or see the Carpenters' star on the Walk of Fame).
 
The part of Downey where the Carpenters house resides is not a casualty of filtering. The neighborhood there as well as all the neighborhoods between the house and the home where Richard moved to a couple miles away are gorgeous. Downey on the whole may be an undesirable city to live in, but those specific neighborhoods are lovely places, filled with well-maintained custom homes covered in beautiful landscaping. That all makes it even more sad at what has happened to the Carpenters house.

p.s. Didn't the house on the other end of Downey where the family lived in the 60's before becoming superstars (featured in the tv movie) recently get torn down too?
 
Didn't the house on the other end of Downey where the family lived in the 60's before becoming superstars (featured in the tv movie) recently get torn down too?

Yes, the house on Fidler Avenue no longer exists either. I think it was demolished to make way for a new freeway.

Stephen
 
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