I’ve always been fascinated by old homes. More recently I’ve expanded this interest to how entire neighborhoods and cities evolve. Yesterday, I took a two hour walk through Salt Lake City, where I live.

I was walking on a sidewalk on an overpass when I saw an old home from the 1800s, now used as a construction company office. The bricks were Utah-brick orange and you could see the charm of the old farmhouse through the construction equipment on the front lawn. I wondered if they had neighbors where the freeway now was. I wondered who had lived there and what they would think of the city’s progress.

Continuing on, I entered some residential neighborhoods in South Salt Lake. A street with simple ramblers from the 1940’s – 1950’s had two contrasting houses I found fascinating. One house had decades-old green paint peeling off the wood siding. The house next door had a shiny SUV in the driveway and the sparkling polish of renovation just under the 50’s-style window awnings. Their bones were so similar, they were so close in proximity, yet so different. At the end of the road I saw newly-constructed three story townhouses.

I was almost at my destination. As I walked towards the older part of town, I went back in time again, this time to the first half of the 20th century. I cut through the parking lot of a Mission style school, now a library. It looked like it belonged in San Diego but here it is. Large Craftsman style mansions lined the road, some better cared for than others. As I walked, I tried my best to peel away the numerous 2nd story additions and layout changes to see what the house had been when it was built and what the street was like back then. It must have been a much quieter street than today. I passed another very old farmhouse by another freeway. Bed sheets covered the large bay window. It was beautiful.

I must have looked odd, leering at people’s houses. I didn’t care. There’s so many stories all around us and I think more people should take the time to read them in the walls and streets where they live. I’m not sure what my takeaway from this stroll through the neighborhoods of my city. At least I can say I have a new appreciation for the amount of diversity and change in relatively small geographic area.