old homes make way for strip malls in Lubbock TX (and everywhere)

Lubbock’s North Overton neighborhood – once sparsely populated with sprawling ranch-era Craftsman bungalows – is slowly being reseeded with strip malls, tract developments and other signs of the coming apocalypse. One such home is being picked up and moved to make way for that harbinger of class, culture and the real building block of a modern neighborhood, the strip mall.

"This
was called a craftsman-bungalow house, it was built in 1911. It’s one
of the oldest houses in Lubbock, it’s also one of the most historic
because of the people lived here the first 75 years," said former
resident, Frank Potts.

In 1924 A.B. Davis moved to Lubbock.
Soon after moving into the home. A.B. served as the manager of the
Chamber of Commerce and later as Lubbock’s City Manager. His family
called 1724 Main their home for 60 years.

Frank Potts is A.B.’s grandson, he
said, "lots of memories here, there really are. As a child it was a big
world out there, World War II was going on when I first moved here and
I just remember everything just seemed, the house seemed like a huge
mansion and I was just a little bitty guy and wondering what happens
next."

The original plans for the home show a 4,500 square
foot house with wide overhanging eaves, deep porches with large square
brick posts and beautiful wood paneling, all adding to the charm of
this old home. With the vision and financial help of Lubbock attorney
Ted Hogan, this old house will be able to stand for another hundred
years. He said, "a lot of heavy lifting (will go into moving the
house)! and quite frankly the fellas that the credit goes to are the
movers because they’re the guys that have the technical knowledge."

With
the development in the North Overton area, this old houses days were
numbered as a strip mall is slated to go here. But in 5 weeks, 1724
Main will get a new address on the corner of 16th and Avenue R after
it’s moved, piece by piece, down Avenue R.

Hogan said, "we
have about 5 weeks to get it done, we have a May 1st deadline. There’s
new development coming in here. If the weather permits and if it
doesn’t rain, we should be good to go at the end of April." Giving this
old Lubbock home a new lease on life.

It should be noted that Lubbock’s Overton Park project is currently the largest private residential development in the state. Questions regarding the number of homes destroyed or moved directed to the McDougal Company, the firm tasked with making rubble of old homes in the way and clearing it, were not answered