Reconstructing history

I have mentioned my encounters with time capsules in This Odd House as features and walls have been exposed and/or removed.  I have an email connection to the immediately prior owner, to whom I have posed various questions about the state of the house I acquired from him.  I have also met neighbors whose memories include times when this house metamorphosed in stages toward its current form.

Among them was a member of the neighborhood forum who responded to my self-introduction on first moving in.  She had actually lived in one of the upstairs bedrooms when it was a duplex; roommates with the then-owner and his partner.  She recounted some of the design, construction, and party activities that occurred at that time, but the conversion to a single family home happened after she moved on (although she has now returned to the neighborhood).

I also was able to gather clues from government documents that record the various permits (building and others) that have been issued over the years.  The oldest in the online history is from 1982:

NOV 1982 RMDL BLDG FOR DX PER SPC 58838 * HO 

This would seem to be the date at which the building was converted from a store with upper living area into a duplex rental unit.

There do not appear to be subsequent building permits, but there was a “street use” permit issued a decade later, in 1993.  This may be to hold demolition debris for a subsequent remodeling, but at the very least, the flat roof was replaced at that time:

JAN 1993 DUMPSTER VALID FROM 1/29/93 THOUGH 2/5/93 

JAN 1993 REROOF W/TEAROFF FLAT ROOF 2-UNIT DWLG 

1993 appears to be the last year that the building was operated as a duplex.  All landlords pay a fee to the city for the privilege of owning  (and to cover the city costs associated with) rental properties.  There was a rental license fee recorded in the years prior, but the last one paid was in September 1993.

SEP 1993 RLIC – RENTAL LICENSING

The only other permits are for exemptions from paying the rental license fees from landlords.  Yes, if you own rental property but do not rent it out, you must pay a fee for not paying the full rental license.  An exemption fee was paid in 1998, and then later renewed by the next owner:

JUL 1998 RE-FEE       RENTAL EXEMPTION FEE

JUN 2005 REXM         RENTAL EXEMPTION FEE

The final permit issued before I acquired the property was to run some power to the garage seven years prior:

2005 INSTALL 1- OUTLET FOR GARAGE DOOR OPENER.

This is not quite enough to reconstruct the full history of This Odd House, but it provides a strong outline.  The details are still frustratingly out of reach, but with the time capsule contents and other clues I can imagine the timeline:

1910 – 1983    Corner store with residence above
1983                 Mansard roof feature added, store converted to duplex
1983-1993       Building operated as a duplex
1993                 Duplex converted to single-family home.
2005                Prior owner (my seller) acquires property, maintains it as-is