Friday, January 25, 2013

A Sad Day for our Neighborhood

Tuesday morning we were wakened at 4:30 AM by the sound of sirens. They really didn't sound that close to our home, but they were. Through the dark, we could see smoke in the distance and some flashing lights less then a block away. "The Italian" thought it may be our lovely neighborhood restaurant.....and sadly enough it was. Some of you may have read this post. Not only we were sadden by the thought of this 105 year old restaurant burning. We were also sadden by the thought of all of the bee hives that were most likely lost.

We sat and talked about what we could do to help. "The Italian" decided to offer to donate his services to help our neighbor get through all the bureaucracy that lies ahead. After I left for work, he walked down and talked to the owner. "The Italian" is meeting with planning and zoning today to start the process of variances that will be needed to rebuild this historic restaurant in our neighborhood which is now zoned residential.


The fire early

You can still see the tops of the bee hives here

Our brave firefighters in the frigid cold

A later picture of the fire. The section on the right is where the bee hives used to be. Most of the building was torn down later in the day due to structural instability.

At our last Community Garden meeting, we had discussed getting some hives at the garden. I was planning to talk to the owner this winter about putting a couple of hives at the Community Garden. If the owner would like to start some new hives and the committee agrees, we can help each other and have his hives at the Community Garden.

Our Neighborhood will not be complete until this sign is hanging once again.
 

16 comments:

  1. That is sad but I'm guessing at least no-one was hurt.

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    1. Sue, luckily no one was hurt and the fire was contained to the restaurant.

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  2. Robin,

    Oh no, what a shame. I'm so sorry to hear a long time neighborhood restaurant was on fire. Thank God no one was hurt. Does the fired department know what caused the fire? Volunteering your services to help the restaurant owner is a wonderful thing.

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    1. Sandy, We haven't heard what caused the fire yet. But "The Italian" and another neighbor, who is an attorney are right on top of getting things moving forward.

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  3. So sad to lose such a place. I hope they rebuild it and make your neighborhood complete again.

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    1. Daphne, They are in the process of moving forward with the rebuild already.

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  4. How terrible! I do hope everyone pulls together and the building can be rebuilt quickly. It is such a loss to your community!

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    1. BLD, It will take some time to rebuild. But, things are moving forward already.

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  5. That is a sad thing. It's always tough to lose a building to fire, but especially so when it's an integral part of your neighborhood. I am hopeful it can be rebuilt soon. It's also sad about the bees. I remember when you posted about those hives.

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    1. Dave, "The Italian" talked to him today about starting new hives at the Community Garden. He was agreeable. Now, all I have to do is talk to the committee.

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    2. That should be a win-win for the beekeeper and the gardens! Thanks for the update.

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  6. Ooooo.....I'd for those poor bees. With these older places, electric wiring always seems to be the cause. I hope everything will get fixed up. I remember reading about your hives....very cool idea. It's hard to see things like this. Keep us posted. Chris

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    1. Chris, the first thing I thought about was the bees. It's so cold right now and I knew they were doomed. I will keep you all posted.

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  7. What a sad thing to read this. So great of the Italian and your community to pull together to help! Nancy

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  8. That is indeed sad news. It is so hard to fight fires when it is so cold! I feel bad for the bees... like varoa mites, pesticides and CCD aren't presenting enough problems. I hope you can arrange for hives in the community garden, that would be a win-win. Best wishes for your neighbor and your neighborhood, getting the restaurant re-opened.

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  9. Too bad about the historic building, loss of the restaurant, and loss of the poor bees. But good for you and your husband for jumping in to help.

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