In February 2004, a gas explosion took out three houses in Irvington, a historic neighborhood in Indianapolis. Surprisingly, no one was killed, and the only person who was hurt was the guy in the house that blew up, and he landed in the yard of the house behind him.
(This empty space is where the exploded house once stood. The debris is for the house to the south.
In August 2007, the second of the three houses was rebuilt, and my family and I moved into it.
(The damaged house is where my house now stands. You can see my neighbors' house next door.)
Artist and fellow Irvingtonian Todd Bracik, who lives just a mile or so from the explosion took some photos of the Ritter Gas Explosion a couple days after it happened. He has some photos from the nursing home across the street, a blue house with Gambrel roof that was on the next block, with its windows blown out, neighbors two doors to the north that lost windows. It's a real mess.
To drive around the neighborhood now, you wouldn't even know something happened, except for the empty lot of the original explosion. And we have just learned the guy who owns the property -- a firefighter, of all things -- is going to build a new house there soon.
(Google Street View of my house, the empty lot, and my neighbor's house.)
(This empty space is where the exploded house once stood. The debris is for the house to the south.
In August 2007, the second of the three houses was rebuilt, and my family and I moved into it.
(The damaged house is where my house now stands. You can see my neighbors' house next door.)Artist and fellow Irvingtonian Todd Bracik, who lives just a mile or so from the explosion took some photos of the Ritter Gas Explosion a couple days after it happened. He has some photos from the nursing home across the street, a blue house with Gambrel roof that was on the next block, with its windows blown out, neighbors two doors to the north that lost windows. It's a real mess.
To drive around the neighborhood now, you wouldn't even know something happened, except for the empty lot of the original explosion. And we have just learned the guy who owns the property -- a firefighter, of all things -- is going to build a new house there soon.
(Google Street View of my house, the empty lot, and my neighbor's house.)