Eyesore of the week

Property:  1434 Pontiac St.

Owner:  Sam Usman Jr.

Taxpayer: Lewis Robert

Assessed:  $26,500

Owner says: Unable to be reached for comment

Architecture critic Amanda Harrell-Seyburn says: Sure 1434 Pontiac may look humble next to its two-story statuesque neighbors, but this bungalow can rival even the grandest American house with its efficient use of space. Bungalows, like this one, are simply 20th century small houses that maximize their footprint with rooms connecting without hallways, built-ins everywhere and large dormers to increase living space in the half-story. The greatest improvement to this house would be to replace the unfinished heavy stockade style porch surrounded with elegant finished columns and porch posts.

If the dilapidated, overgrown exterior isn’t enough to keep you away, then the orange warning signs stating that the building is unsafe to live in might do the trick. The lawn has long retaken any remnant of a path to the front door and the driveway is quickly disappearing under a sea of green. The windows and doors are boarded up and through the top part of the one front window that is not blocked; the passerby can see what looks like attic stairs that have crashed through the ceiling into the floor below. This house may be a hidden gem, but it is sorely lacking on the T.L.C.