(Image: Kate Clark via Flickr)
Early June became demolition season on Capitol Hill this week as three old buildings came down, raising clouds of musty dust and nostalgia in mostly equal measure. For the two most Capitol Hill memory-filled structures, we had some warning as the wrecking crews came for the old Broadway post office and the longtime 11th Ave home of Hugo House. Fewer knew about the impending doom that awaited the Emerald City Manor apartments on Boylston. But we’re guessing there might be some nostalgia floating in the dust over there, too.
Post-office demolition reveals buried treasure: original sign for Cordes Auto Repair, a current subject of inquiry. pic.twitter.com/u7GKDYRXv2
— Tom (@Iam_TheUser) June 10, 2016
Lotta good post office memories. pic.twitter.com/aZMjhoG5Bt
— Ryan Packer (@typewriteralley) June 8, 2016
Bye bye post office….. pic.twitter.com/Zb6xCxlv1s
— maré #LinkInBio (@mareodomo) June 10, 2016
Each of the three demolitions will clear the way for new housing and new neighbors. A six-story development is destined for the corner of Broadway and Denny. Hugo House will return in two years to a new community center inside the new mixed-use project set to be built on the 11th Ave lot. 106 units of microhousing will soon rise on Boylston.
In the meantime, the work is also revealing the neighborhood’s past. On Broadway, the post office demolition has surfaced old signage on the adjacent building revealing the location as the former home of Cordes Auto Repair. With a few local historians now on the case, the future neighbors moving into these new developments will, at least, have a few interesting articles to read.
You win some, you lose some. That post office was fugly.
The old Polyclinic bldg at Madison & Broadway looks like it’s going to be coming down in the next week to make way for the coming Whole Foods Market. Equipment is parked in the street as of Friday.