Foreclosed Mansion Converted Into A Cultural Centre
September 29th, 2008
A foreclosed mansion in the crime-dominated part of Englewood was bought by realtor Samuel Smith and converted into a cultural centre. He was a visionary and saw something more in the building than a dilapidated vacant foreclosed house.
For Perry, visions became a reality when the Victorian style house on Perry Avenue, which he had saved from foreclosure, was officially declared as the Perry Mansion Cultural Center. As visitors lounged around during the opening day celebrations Perry said that everybody thought that he was crazy. Actually they could not see what he saw. He wanted to create something unique in this locality.
39-year-old Perry purchased this mansion with 19 rooms in 2003 for $165,000 before it fell into the foreclosure soup. The house dates back 117 years but its history is not clear. Jewish families had built it more than a century ago. Perry had invested $350,000 from his own pockets to change its façade into something jazzy having the hull of a slave ship. It is a non-profit centre that will give equal opportunities to artists of all shades to display their talents. Perry is living in a part of the mansion.
Photographer Jeremy Shine feels the centre will be a creative outlet for many. He has lost two of his loved ones in a violent manner and feels that when one is going through trauma artistic work acts as a therapy. For many like Jeremy the redone mansion meant hope. While Perry clocked many hours of hard work on the mansion he was rewarded by the interest and enthusiasm of neighbours and visitors. He chipped in, “I would be working at 1 or 2 in the morning and there would be 10 to 15 kids from the neighbourhood watching me.” One of two would comment, “Mister, you really love the house.”
Smith had once been in the carpentry trade and could pitch in with all kinds of renovation work that including the removing and then cleaning of blackened moulded wood. Concrete was also used when required. Fences were fixed up, the entire house had to be rewired and the garden spruced up.
Some of the local residents were surprised beyond words to hear that the old mansion had taken on a new life as a cultural centre. Many old timers remember the times when the whole thing was a mess. Today it is a bright spot.
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September 30th, 2008 at 8:05 am
[...] information and provides all the information for those interested in sale and purchase of foreclosed units. It is of invaluable help to realtors also. RealtyTrac made its debut in 1996. It is the most [...]
October 1st, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Thank you for following up on the Tribune story about me opening the Perry Mansion Cultural Center. Just wanted to make you aware that you refered to me several times in the story as Perry. Also I didn’t chip in on the work, I did all of the renovations myself. If you would like before and after pictures of the Mansion please contact me at the email address provided. Thank you Sam Smith
May 21st, 2009 at 8:46 am
[...] Gavish last summer walked into a foreclosed house in Las Vegas. The stench nearly made him pass out. The smell came from the decaying body of a [...]