Mansions For Sale

I was walking back from the Tropic cinema mulling over The Visitor and its heavy dose of emigration and deportation issues and as I got back to the car on Elizabeth Street it occurred to me I had passed a number of large homes for sale on Eaton and Elizabeth.It wasn't just that there were a number of them, they also were large in size, by Key West standards and appeared empty. As I chatted with my wife on the cell phone, something I rarely do as I dislike phones in public, among other modern annoyances, I strolled back a second time and on my third pass snatched a few pictures. I should point out that these pictures are pretty much shot at random, I have no idea why the houses are for sale and my feelings of disquiet are prompted by the general housing market across the country. Let me say that typically during the housing bubble homes in Key West were sold as is, occupied and buyers paid without question. It comes as a surprise to my roving eye to see homes, recently refurbished, for sale with unkempt porches and none of the tarting up beloved of Realtors. It smacks of foreclosure, desperation, economic downturn. Whether or not it actually is, I couldn't say. I just noted the homes during an idle stroll. This one, shown above I noticed for its massive flank, exposed to the evening sunlight, some shutters open and some closed. The design of the shutters reminded me of those of my childhood which cast bars of light and shadow across the room:

And then, further along I noticed the For Sale sign and the leafy abandoned parking area shown above. Across the street there was a super ornate front porch, magnificent by any standards and would not look out of place in Savannah or New Orleans:And it's For Sale.

I have been infected to greater degree by the feeling of general unease caused by the combination of the end of the housing bubble which I had been expecting for some time, and the skyrocketing cost of petroleum and the ongoing bloodletting in the Middle East. I worry while at the same time I feel helpless which creates the worst kind of worry. And then I notice all these shuttered abandoned mansions. The city used to be flooded with money, people bought homes and made them look good and the lucky ones sold up and cashed out. Others must have been left to hold the paper- and only the truly wealthy ones could afford these extravagances.We should feel fortunate that inspired people came in and spent good money t make these old palaces look good. With any luck their face lifts will carry them through to better times ahead.I am simply speculating out loud about why and how these places are being sold. What struck me was how empty they seemed, as though abandoned hurriedly. It used to be that people stayed home and showed off their masterpieces and primped them for showing. These places don't look at all like that:And the park like garden is just...a garden, not a tropical fantasy. Its still looks good to my untutored eyes, just not breath taking:I like the way these houses look but I have no desire to live in them. Practical aspects overwhelm any sense of the aesthetic beauty I might perceive, because I know they must have high ceilings so they must be hell to air condition:And i like the old touches like these massive Bahama shutters though i don't want to live with the limitations of Historic Architecture Reviews:I like to know these places are being taken care of and kept up. On the other hand an example of the genre that isn't being kept up, that appears to be in the hands of original owners has its own corroded dignity in the midst of the primped parvenus:The roof may be rusting and the paint may be peeling but I'd like to think there are no second or third mortgages on this house, no adjustable rates, no burden of debt so heavy that it might sink beneath the weight. Just a house, being lived in, as God and the builder originally intended.