Comments on Then and Now: Homes near AFRH - Greater Greater Washington

Comment by IMGoph

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:28:00 EDT

and now, you're not allowed on the grounds, and that part of the city has nearly no parkland to speak of.

tear down the walls, open up the grounds!

Comment by Matthias

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 20:13:32 EDT

I love old advertisements--they're so matter-of-fact. These houses certainly lasted beyond 3-5 years. Was there a problem at the time with shoddy houses only lasting a few years? Also, who owned the Solders' Home, that it wasn't paid for by taxes?

Comment by m

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 11:43:28 EDT

It's nice to see the railing on the porch roof in the old photo. Most were removed to avoid maintenance issues such as painting and replacing rotted wood since they were completely exposed to the elements. In many cases the original wood columns were replaced by brick and metal for the same reason.

Comment by crin

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 08:08:01 EDT

Porch roof railing is between 1 and 2 feet tall; not really sufficient for a true measure of protection. Second floor openings were windows; not doors. Porch roofs not meant to be habitable. Porch roof railing just ornamental, like the cresting on the main roof. Architect was thinking beauty, not utility.

Comment by Turnip

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 06:49:21 EDT

What a cool address the builder has!

Percy H Russell
**Russell Building**
927 G St NW...

By the way, in the original picture, do we see a railing of sorts making the porch roof hospitable?

Comment by Lance

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:31:51 EDT

Incidentally, Zillow.com puts it in the ballpark of 3 of the 6 possibilities listed above.

592 Park Rd NWWashington, DC 20010
ZestimateÂ®: $407,000Value Range: $346K Â– $456K

Comment by Lance

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:28:30 EDT

And how did you get $95,000? Did you use a general inflation factor (for all goods and services)?

Unfortunately, when you're talking about such long periods of time, it's really impossible to 'inflate' a cost because there are soooo many variables involved ... But if you're going to try, here're a few ways:

$102,000.00 using the Consumer Price Index
$76,200.00 using the GDP deflator
$444,000.00 using the unskilled wage
$682,000.00 using the Production Worker Compensation
$580,000.00 using the nominal GDP per capita
$2,010,000.00 using the relative share of GDP

www.measuringworth.com/uscompare

Comment by shy

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:10:00 EDT

And paid for in 3 to 5 years.

Comment by Eric F.

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 17:18:21 EDT

About $95,000 in today's dollars.