We had protestors one time but they weren't who you would normally think of. Instead of historical preservationists they were animal rights activists. 10 minutes before the building was supposed to come down they demanded to be given permission to go up in the buildings and look for any stray cats. (Cats aren't stupid. They aren't going to stay around and listen to jackleg drillls and hoe rams all day). I told them "There aren't any cats up there, but I did see a pony on the 3rd floor

That's actually becoming a more common problem. I think one of the news mag shows did a piece on it about a few months ago.
The house I looked at was a small two bed one bath ranch with an open kitchen/dining area. The meth was cooked in the kitchen obviously and there were no surfaces that weren't disfigured by the fumes. No paint left, the Linoluem was peeled off the floor, every metal surface was stripped and tarnished, and the residual smell was still overpowering. I can't see how any one could rehab something in that condition. Demo is the only option.

Sorry, James, we got of topic. Maybe we shouldopen a thread dealing with this as it may be a more prevalent case for us.

Wolf I am currently in Birmingham Alabama. I did that old Victorian about ten years ago in a small town in North Carolina.

I believe the historical society put the stairs in storage but their long range plan was to incorporate them into the design of a local museum dedicated to the town heritage (civil war, revolutionary war, and tobacco farming memorabilia).

I don't do that much with houses these days. I have concentrated on industrial and commercial properties. I did look at a residential propoerty recently that had ben used as a meth lab. Scary what that crap does to a structure, much less the human body.

Ther actually is a strong preservation movement especially in the downtwon area. We have a booming loft revitalization business going on here that I would say rivals that in larger metro areas.

Ive not turned one down yet, but I have donated architectural items to local historical societies. I remember a small job demolishing a turn of the century Victorian house for a local bank to build a new branch, and the local society wanted to stop the demo. The bank convinced them that the house was too far gone for saving but that they could have any detail items if it was okay with me. I went along, and ended up dismantling the grand stair case from the foyer, numbering the parts and giving it to them. The bank was happy to cover the extra labor cost so as to keep ths peace with me and with their community. (I also salvaged some art deco light fixtures for myself).