What went down in Chapel Hill

This is the story about the teardown in Chapel Hill that inspired the debate over demolitions. Final hours for historic Dey House


The contractor expects to begin demolishing the historic Dey House, 401 E. Rosemary St., on Thursday, Dec. 21. [2006]
Staff photo by Mark Schultz The Chapel Hill News


Final hours for historic Dey House
1800s-era house to be demolished Thursday

CHAPEL HILL -- The Dey House, thought to be one of the 25 oldest homes in town, is coming down.

Workers removed asbestos from the white two-story house at 401 E. Rosemary St. Tuesday afternoon. Windows gaped open, black rectangles with particleboard removed or shards jutting out of the panes like broken teeth.

"We're going to move a backhoe in on Thursday," said Juan Carroll, a vice president with D.H. Griffin Wrecking Co. "It'll take us a couple of days to get it on the ground and a couple of days to haul it away."

The demolition disappoints historic preservationists.

They had hoped former owner ... would repair the building, a one-time log cabin covered over in clapboard in the early 1900s to look more modern....

You can't save them all, but this one does sound unique, to say the least.

The rest of the story can be found here.