Community Corner
House Hunt: Two Old Homes
The brick bungalow in Avondale was constructed in 1923, the house in Decatur in 1933.
Each week we showcase area homes for sale that are worth looking at -- or strolling through.
One of the oldest homes still standing in Avondale Estates is on the market. Built in 1923 -- before the city’s 1924 founding -- 33 S. Avondale Road combines brick bungalow construction with neo-Tudor flourishes. The latter details come near the intent of George Francis Willis, who wanted Avondale Estates to evoke the Tudor Revival buildings he’d seen in Shakespeare’s hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon.
This five-bedroom, three-bathroom home also combines such traditional features as maple cabinetry and granite counters with stainless steel appliances in its kitchen.
Find out what's happening in Decatur-Avondale Estateswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Another old-fashioned aspect of the home is its Arts and Crafts paneling, which is in the upstairs bedroom and elsewhere. Other new-fangled (and also green) amenities include a tankless water heater and dual-pane windows.
Also available is a Decatur home many people have surely driven past during their commutes: 103 Superior Ave.
Find out what's happening in Decatur-Avondale Estateswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Like some ancient watchtower, it perches on the point formed by the intersection of Superior and Michigan avenues and faces much-trafficked Clairemont Avenue. Oddly, when I visited the home to photograph it, I found the property to be remarkably calm despite its proximity to such a main-traveled road.
Erected in 1933, this five-bedroom, four-bathroom home (a separate, two-car garage/carriage house in back provides the fifth bedroom) features a turret on its façade.
This distinctive detail is actually a screened porch that brings the watchtower analogy into reality: No doubt, it makes an ideal place from which to enjoy the neighborhood in warm weather. The kitchen includes a plumbed island as well as a Sub-Zero refrigerator, where one might chill beverages for porch consumption.
