Ringo Starr's old house to be taken down and stored as 11 streets are demolished

The Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | September 19, 2005 | Charles Clover

[Stoat]

Ringo Starr's old house to be taken down and stored as 11 streets are demolished

By Charles Clover, Environment Editor
(Filed: 19/09/2005)

The house where Ringo Starr was born will be taken down brick by brick and preserved, after an entire quarter of Toxteth is demolished around it, Liverpool City Council has announced.

The city's housing chiefs have been bitterly criticised by heritage groups and residents for plans to demolish the first home of the Beatles drummer in the Welsh Streets area.

	Saved: the former home of Ringo Starr in Madryn Street

The demolition is part of a £54 million regeneration plan to be funded under John Prescott's housing market renewal initiative.

The decision finally brought to an end months of uncertainty over the future of the 11 roads in Toxteth.

Flo Clucas, executive member for housing, said: "There has been a lot of speculation about Ringo Starr's former home in Madryn Street. I have asked officers to ensure that the property is taken down and stored."

Most of the 60 residents who packed the town hall to hear the decision held bright orange "demolish" posters and cheered at the decision.

Heritage groups reacted with disbelief to the decision to demolish the Welsh Streets - including a house ITV's Tonight with Trevor McDonald programme refurbished for £24,000 earlier this year.

Dr Peter Brown, chairman of Merseyside Civic Society, said of the council's decision: "For sheer surrealism this beats Yellow Submarine hands down - a ribald letter to the Telegraph months ago suggested as a joke the council take down Ringo's birthplace and re-erect it in their new 'Museum of Liverpool Life'; Cllr Clucas seems to have missed the irony. People like the city's authentic character, not packaged replicas."

[Freepertwo]

No flames, please, this is MHO...I respect the oppposite POV, but for me, I'm happy to hear this. The Beatles revolutionized music and their music is still superior to anything out there now. Very happy their place in history is being recognized. I suspect the other fellas' homes will also be preserved. This is good.

[Erasmus]

It's so they won't crash into things when they buzz down to the 7-11 for a couple of brewskis.

[Luddite Patent Counsel]

Greenfield Village is essentially a small town of buildings associated with famous people, such as Foster, THomas Edison, McGuffey (of schoolbook fame), the Wright Brothers, etc. Some of the buildings are wood frame, some are brick, but in themselves they have little architectural significance. IIRC, they even moved the trash dump from one of Edison's labs!

[Stoat]

No flames, please, this is MHO...I respect the oppposite POV, but for me, I'm happy to hear this. The Beatles revolutionized music and their music is still superior to anything out there now. Very happy their place in history is being recognized. I suspect the other fellas' homes will also be preserved. This is good.

Should I understand, then, that you also approve of the specific method of 'preservation' that is being implemented in this case?  The article states that the structure will be disassembled, stored, and then reassembled at a new location.

In order to accomplish this, one is left with the impression that they will be very carefully taking the building apart, brick by brick; then carefully loading it into one or more big trucks so as not to chip, break, or damage any of the bricks in any way.  Then it would be necessary to very carefully unload and stack the individual bricks once again at the storage location.  Once a new location is found for the house, they would need to reverse the entire process.

In order to do this faithfully to the original construction and design, it would most likely be necessary to number each brick and enter it's original location into a 3-D CAD architectural design database, perhaps something similar to AutoCad.  This would allow every brick to be reassembled back to it's original location.

I'm hoping that this simple question to you, which is entirely relevant to the story, is not regarded as "flaming' by yourself.  I actually don't think that I've ever 'flamed' anyone in my life.

[Stoat]

Greenfield Village is essentially a small town of buildings associated with famous people, such as Foster, THomas Edison, McGuffey (of schoolbook fame), the Wright Brothers, etc. Some of the buildings are wood frame, some are brick, but in themselves they have little architectural significance. IIRC, they even moved the trash dump from one of Edison's labs!

That looks like an interesting place to visit!  Thank you for making me aware of it....I hadn't heard of it before.

The Henry Ford America's Greatest History Attraction

 

[Stoat]

It's so they won't crash into things when they buzz down to the 7-11 for a couple of brewskis.

That makes perfect sense then.  I am, however, troubled by the fact that I'm not seeing curb feelers being offered as an optional accessory item at the John Deere website.  Under-chassis neon strobe lighting would be an additional fashion and safety accessory that might be worth considering   :-)

It's so they won't crash into things when they buzz down to the 7-11 for a couple of brewskis.

[Stoat]

Yes! What a lovely home. Thanks for the picture.

You're quite welcome.  A beautiful home like this would be worth preserving regardless of the fame or stature of it's owner.  The fact that it was Lincoln's home makes it a National treasure.

[Stoat]

Another view of the Starr house on Madryn street

9 Madryn Street

[bethtopaz]

you are very witty - do you have your own website? you should. my daughter, Bethany (21), wants to move to Seattle.

where's the camera?

[Stoat]

you are very witty -

(((((BLUSHING PROFUSELY))))))

Awwww....why thank you!  That's very kind of you to say.  Some people (who work in hospitals and typically wear long white coats)  refer to it as a series of closely-linked psychotic episodes, but I really prefer the term 'witty' thank you.

do you have your own website?

No I'm sorry I don't.  I haven't gotten the impression that I had something so very important to say that it deserved a website to convey it's substance.

 you should.

Awww....thank you again   :-)

 my daughter, Bethany (21), wants to move to Seattle.

I have known about five families who moved here from sunny places and then moved right back to Phoenix or New Mexico or wherever they had come from after about four years of trying to acclimate themselves to Seattle.  The grey skies and near-constant drizzle over the course of nine months out of the year are definitely an acquired taste.  It can be very depressing for people.....we have a very high suicide rate here.  If a person is Conservative, it will be even more cold, lonely, and depressing.  It is very expensive to live here, far more so than many other similarly-sized cities.

The scenery is pretty though.....lots of rain to keep everything green.

where's the camera?

Well, it's a Magic 3-D StoatCam so I can keep it hidden in my fur when I need to be stealthy   :-)

[bethtopaz]

Thanks for your great reply. I still think you should start a blog!

you could call it: sloatsgloats.blogspot.com

I'll give my daughter the info about Seattle! Thanks!

[Stoat]

Thanks for your great reply. I still think you should start a blog!

You're quite welcome, and thank you again for your kind words.

you could call it: sloatsgloats.blogspot.com

A wonderful name, and if I ever get the impression that my words and thoughts are truly worthy of a mass audience, I will give serious consideration to your excellent suggestion.

I'll give my daughter the info about Seattle! Thanks!

You're quite welcome, and if either of you have any additional or specific questions about Seattle or Washington State, please feel free to FReepmail me anytime,

[bethtopaz]

o.k. i'm going to miss her. she's going to live at her dad's for awhile.

[bethtopaz]

Whoops! got the name wrong! Stoatsgloat.com

Hey Stoat, I have been asking this question and haven't gotten a satifactory answer. What has Pres. Bush done that's SO bad re: Katrina? It seems like he did everything he could do under the circumstances. I just don't get the criticism -- and the total pass for the governor and nimwit mayor.

Beth

[Revolting cat!]

Hist'ry ain't what it useda be! What about the house of the rhythm gittar player with Freddie and the Dreamers?

[Stoat]

o.k. i'm going to miss her. she's going to live at her dad's for awhile.

I'm sorry to hear that this is a difficult time for you.  I hope that everything will turn out well for all concerned.

Whoops! got the name wrong! Stoatsgloat.com

That's okay...either one would be great choices.

Hey Stoat, I have been asking this question and haven't gotten a satifactory answer. What has Pres. Bush done that's SO bad re: Katrina? It seems like he did everything he could do under the circumstances. I just don't get the criticism -- and the total pass for the governor and nimwit mayor.

He hasn't done anything bad or wrong.  It's merely a matter of the media and the Dems having waited for an opportunity that they could twist into being "Bush's Fault" and they have decided that this is it.  By law, the first agencies that are required to respond to an emergency are city and State authorities.  The Federal Government is prevented, by law, from injecting itself into such a situation until it's assistance is specifically requested by a State's Governor. 

The media and the Dems are making the assumption that the public is too stupid to understand this, but recent polls asking "whose fault is it?"  have shown that the public is not nearly as dumb as the media and the Dems think.
 

[Stoat]

Hist'ry ain't what it useda be! What about the house of the rhythm gittar player with Freddie and the Dreamers?

The last time I checked, record sales for Freddie and the Dreamers were not quite at the same level as the Beatles', and they also, to the best of my knowledge, have not produced a level of hysteria on the part of their fans that is anything close to what has been witnessed as far as the Beatles are concerned.  If Freddie and the Dreamers had a legion of breathless, wide-eyed, and awestruck fans who would happily throw themselves in front of a speeding freight train if they thought that by doing so it might gain a half-second of  Freddie's attention , as so very many Beatles fans would proudly do for Paul McCartney, then we would very likely be witnessing a similarly insane  spectacle as what we are experiencing via this article. 

[bethtopaz]

Thanks, Stoat! Even this morning when I went into www.realclearpolitics.com I see articles continually about how this failure on Bush's part is going to be a great advantage to the Dem's in '06 and '08. Also, there was an article on how Edwards' emphasis on poverty is going to help him in '08, presumably because of the poverty in New Orleans. It's almost as if they believe if they say it and write it enough, it becomes the truth. Fortunately, I don't think the majority of the population spends the kind of time you or I do reading or participating in political thinking. Whaddya think? It's making me crazy!! Also, if Bush "failed" so much in New Orleans, why didn't he also "fail" in Mississippi and Arkansas and Florida? I am really beginning to despise the Left.