THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE ANDERSON HOUSE IN STATESVILLE NC

THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE ANDERSON HOUSE IN STATESVILLE NC  

There are many opinions about the outcome of the Anderson House in Statesville NC.  The house is scheduled for demolition within the next few weeks, according to an article in the Statesville Record and Landmark seen below.  Please post your comments.   

By Jim McNally | The Statesville Record & Landmark

Published: February 17, 2009

The Anderson House is coming down.  No, really this time.  Demolition workers with Tucker's Hauling & Grading have been doing salvage work inside of the 115-year-old Walnut Street mansion since last Friday.  Company owner Marty Tucker brought in his wrecking crew less than 24 hours after the Statesville City Council essentially rejected a last-minute reprieve by the house's owner, William Tucker (no relation to Marty). William Tucker and contractor Roy Little told council members at their Thursday pre-agenda meeting that they had a verbal agreement by which Little would "stabilize" the exterior of the structure for $120,000. But Marty Tucker said he was under no obligation to wait at all. He said he could have been at work on the house's demolition since the city council approved his bid for the project at its Feb. 2 meeting. Marty Tucker admitted his bid was a little on the low side, but knew he could augment his profit margin by cannibalizing the Queen Anne house's rich interior and selling the booty.  "The woodwork in there is amazing," he said.  And so he and his crew have been dismantling it.  Literally.  "There are nine fireplaces in there," he said. "And all the mantles are still in good shape."  He also pointed to the hinges, which are all inlaid with ornate designs.

And they are all attached to doors of solid wood.  "We took down a door upstairs that must have weighed 200 pounds," Marty Tucker said.   "And all the doors are totally different from each other. It's incredible."  Along with the woodwork - which, Marty Tucker said, comprises five different types of hardwood - the crew has discovered other treasures, including a letter that was written in 1886, about a half-dozen years before the house was built.  Tucker said the deal he has with the city allows him to get what he can for the loot he salvages from the house.  Estimates on the value of the house's adornments were about $17,500, according to Statesville Planning Director David Currier.  "But, like the grand staircase we are working on right now," he said, ""there's no telling what that's worth."  Whatever Marty Tucker gets, he and his workers want to sell it to someone local.  "They can still own a piece of the house and put it in their own homes," said John Dillon, one of the salvage workers.  Dillon was in awe of the woodwork in the house, but said its state of disrepair was very advanced. He said the costs he'd heard about fixing the house were greatly under estimated.  "You could put a half-million dollars into this house," Dillon said. "And it would still be a rathole."

Currier said the demolition of the Anderson House is the end of long and, ultimately, sad story.  "No one ever wanted to see the house torn down," Currier said. "But there is a 23-year history of this cat-and-mouse game that Dr. (William) Tucker has been playing."  Currier also feels that much of the antipathy that exists by those who wanted to see the house saved has been misplaced.  "People have blamed the city and city council for this, but Dr. Tucker could have taken his 11th-hour action any time in the past 23 years," Currier said. "And he didn't."

According to the Appraisal Card issued by Iredell County, the Anderson House has 4,346 square feet of heated space.  The property value of 528 Walnut St. was appraised last year at $44,170. But the house's replacement cost is listed as $428,529.  Marty Tucker said if things move as planned, the property where the Anderson House now stands will be leveled by the end of next week.