A shame the shape it's in.

I really liked the first handful of pictures but things went a little sideways with the last few interior shots. Seems like maybe there's been some water issues inside, which is a shame. I hope someone can restore it.

Would love to have seen that in the ’70s.

This easily could have happened to the house I live in. Actually it started to happen in the house I live in, one winter the front bedroom had a dozen buckets catching rainwater and I slept with plastic covering the end of the bed. And that roof went from not leaking to leaking everywhere in short order. So I can see how the process starts.

The floors look like some massive pet damage took place. What a shame it's in that condition.

Yes, the owner apparently died unexpectedly and there was a lot of scrambling to get a number of animals housed.

Unfortunately I think the floors are unsalvageable.

There is also evidence of a number of odd half renovations. New kitchen cabinets that are now old but with the palimpsest of the old cabinets still there. A new range hood installed under the duct for the old one but not connected up. Backsplash tiled around the range, surface outlets over the backsplash. It's all very weird.

I agree. the floors are a total loss. That's a lot to deal with. It looks like it "was" a gorgeous property....at one time. Your right tho...water damage can happen quickly. Once it spreads....it's such a mess. Do you think they'll lower the price further...or at this price will it sell.

I wonder what was here before this was built? Maybe some charming old brick colonial. Its such a pretty block. What a shame that it has gone to rack and ruin.

Wish I had a $1m for you, Pal.

I doubt there was anything charming there for some time when these were built. They really saved as much as they could and those blocks are a mix including a bunch of Victorian stuff...not intact blocks at all.

I live some blocks from there and while there's couple rows of 1810 right behind me, my lot was labeled "junk yard" 100+ years ago. They really removed very little first period stuff.

I know somebody with a house in that state. Unfinished renovations in every room, and half assed DIY projects that are falling apart. Cluttered and dirty all the time. Part of the problem is that she loves to DIY but is never patient enough to finish anything. But the bigger problem is that she has a husband and adult kids that are all slobs. She's relatively tidy on her own but long ago gave up on making the other people clean up after themselves. (She tried desperately but decades of non-compliance wore her down.)

I think the only reason she can tolerate it at all is that they're a happy family, so it's not like she's going to walk out on all of them just for being messy. She tidies it up when people come over, and I try to help out when I'm there, but it all falls apart in about a day. I don't know how she doesn't lose her mind.

So yeah, I can totally see how relatively young adults with perfectly good jobs can live this way.

Wonder what was there in 1776. Could have walked to Independence Hall.

Pal - I hope you buy a lottery ticket every now and then because I would love to watch you renovate some of these poor old homes. Even if I had the money I don't have the knowledge or vision for such an undertaking.

I really hope someone saves this home.

This loft area would make a great art room .

What a fantastic house this could be.

These outdoor spaces could be amazing.

It's very close to Independence Hall, but another block to the south was one of the poorest neighborhoods in the US at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th c.

Wow, pal, that is fascinating. Thanks for digging those up and sharing. That first picture is a horror. I am old enough to remember when Society Hill was not such a great neighborhood.

Those photos are great. I've tried to find photos of DD's little complex on N. 4th St but without any luck. If I remember correctly it was built before the 1900s and various parts had been a warehouse - tanning factory and at one point housed imported coir fibers. There were also small row homes in front for the factory workers.

I just find it so disappointing whenever I visit DD and see all the new construction that's being thrown up all over the city. In-fill is one thing, but it seems the developers are cutting corners in an effort to make the most $ in the quickest time. DS was the first tenant in a brand new complex at 5th and Popular. I don't think a month went by that they didn't have to have something repaired. When Comcast arrived to set up their cable/internet the tech received an electric shock that knocked him backwards when he tried to run connections. They had to shut down a block of 5th street to rerun wires.

He considered purchasing the place initially but was relieved that they hadn't. Especially when they discovered the ceiling in the second floor bedroom had fallen due to a leak in the third floor master bath. The contractors had to remove the drywall from the 3rd floor down to the kitchen to eliminate the black mold and make repairs. Half of his kitchen cabinets had to be taken down and they were stacked in the dining area.

They had been renting in the city for 6 years and at that point just gave up and moved to the NJ suburbs.

And on a different note about city architecture - Inga Saffon is one of my favorite journalists.

New construction is often not very good. I have mentioned the houses down my block before ($2M). All six had every bit of the exterior removed, new weatherproofing applied, new roof, dimensional brick, metal cladding. Some got all new windows. One had the interior gutted. It was uninhabitable owing to chronic water infiltration and black mold formation which apparently caused neurological problems in one occupant. That house had wood structural members removed that were black and rotten.

This happened in the first few years the houses were built and the remediation was just recently finished. I don't think they are ten years old yet. They are trying to sell the completely gutted/redone one for $3M now, probably to recoup some of the losses. I wouldnt take one for free I don't think.

@User I have some friends like that as well. They keep starting projects (removing wall texture, ripped out a bathroom / laundry room, tore up some of the kitchen cabinets, started prepping a room for paint, etc). Nothing is 100% done. They have the capability but lose interest part way through a project and never finish. Having done several DIY complete bathroom remodels, I know how time consuming it can be and that it takes perserverance to finish. I imagine if they had to suddenly sell, the house might look a bit like this one too (without the water damage).

Already under contract.

Hi all, I'm new here. Just wanted to comment that I think this place has so much potential. I love the courtyard and the roof access among other things. I hope the buyers are able to restore / rehab into a beautiful place to live.

I get it about running out of steam on projects. We are in the middle of restoring an old farmhouse and sometimes it's really hard to cross the finish line. We try to keep our eyes on the prize and we also have two rules: 1. Only one project at a time. 2. Each project has to be completely finished down to the last detail before starting the next. None of this "we'll come back to that later" business. :)