Beautiful Modernist House Facing Demolition
Despite the Triangle’s high number of midcentury modern houses, there aren’t that many located inside inside of 440. The Voorhees House (above) is one example, located at 2727 Mayview Road. Triangle Modernist Houses has raised awareness of its looming demolition. It is listed on MLS as a lot only, with a sketch of what a neoclassical house in its place may look like.
Former Raleigh city planner John Voorhees built his modernist, one-story house in 1961. The exterior features vertical wood and brick, a low-slung roofline, and an abundance of glass. The owner has listed the property – not the house – for sale, which means demolition isn’t far behind. According to listing agent John O’Neal, the house needs a lot of work but it can be renovated. The property is listed at $269,900.
The sad and ironic part is that it is located very near the cute modernist house at 2707 Mayview Road. That house has a sign in the front yard with the message: “Home of the Month.”
Wouldn’t you like to rescue this semi-urban modern gem and make it worthy of a “Home of the Month” sign?
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04/07/2011
That’s pretty ridiculous, not even putting up a photo of the existing structure in the real estate listing. Stay classy, realtors.
04/08/2011
Agree with Toad. The fact that the realtor won’t even put a picture of the house on the listing–which could attract some openminded buyers—is quite lame and pathetic.
I used to live near there. There are tons of houses that are way older—and in much more need of renovation—than this house. Yet I’ve not seen hardly any of them listed for sale as a lot.
Crazy!
04/11/2011
Disney World was the vision of a utopian childhood experience that never existed, from a Midwesterners perspective.
Neo-Classical Revivalism is the vision of a southern experience, from a Midwesterners perspective, wrapped in the comfortable pill box of modern living.
It is the worst blight ever subjected upon the Raleigh populace. It is without authenticity, soul, or experience. It let’s bored transplants imagine a rich cultural heritage they only wish they had.
Welcome Replicants…
04/29/2011
Wow–losing that, regardless of what it was replaced with, would be a tragedy, just another chip away from the shrinking number of modernist structures left in Raleigh. To replace it with an anonymous, undoubtedly bigger, neoclassical home (dare I say McMansion?) would be an additional slap in the face.
If only I had money. $270K sounds like a fair price for that location…
08/07/2011
As a young architect/urban design student in Raleigh in the early 70’s, I worked for John in the City Planning Department as a summer job. Randy Hester (one of my professors) and I went over to John’s house for dinner one night. Experiencing John’s house was a memorable experience and one that has impacted my design approach for the last 40 years. The connection between indoor/outdoor space was outstanding and illustrated how a house with a modest amount of heated square footage could live so large. Hopefully someone will recognize the merit of this house and buy it to live in.
08/10/2011
I drove by this house last spring after the post first appeared, but David Mayfield’s comment above impressed me so much that I went by again yesterday afternoon.
Maybe I’m out of touch, but it’s surprising to me that an ITB house of 1500 heated square feet would still be available at this price after 144 days. By comparison, there are homes of similar size in the post-war sections of Five Points for more. (Granted, there are also less expensive ones ITB, too.)
Here’s a daytime photo from the Wake County records from 1995: http://tinyurl.com/2727NMayview