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Bridgeport housing started small and was usually added to over the years.
This particular home has seen a lot -- wooden days, street level changes,
added rooms, a variety of exterior finishes to name but a few. Even a
vacant lot next door has become part of this homestead. Bridgeport, in
some areas, is a living museum of remodeling history. Assigning a period
of historical significance to this building would be difficult, for one
has more than one period to choose from. For instance, this home was built
at the old grade. (The streets were raised starting in the 1870s when
sewers were laid). Would this mean that the street should be reverted to
the old grade and the house reduced in size to be authentically
representative of that period? If it were originally wood, should the
brick be stripped off? Such an approach would be an erasure of essential
history. When the neighborhood as a whole is considered, the problem is
compounded.
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