How time changes things

Time flies.  We all know that expression.  And it does.  Time passes by very quickly and things change along with it.  Recently I was looking at some photos of some cousins at their home on Central Avenue from the 1940s and 1950s.  I knew the address and I am familiar with the area where it was located but could not picture this home in that area.  

At that time the exodus out of the city into the suburbs had just begun.  Central Avenue in the Roselleville area up to Fuller Road was still somewhat rural.  There was very little commercial expansion; simply a few small farms, single family homes, and a few two family flats.  Below is a photo of my cousin's home from the 40s-50s.

It looked like a very nice well kept home with brown cedar shakes.  I just could not picture this house; being somewhat perplexed I decided to head over and check it out.  What I found was a little surprise.  Over the past 70 years, I am sure the property has changed hands numerous times with each owner doing their own revisions to their own tastes.  Below is a photo of the home today.

Over the years I am sure that this building was converted into a commercial property with a business on the first floor and a small apartment on the second floor.  I think that there are two apartments in the home today.  We all have own tastes and likes.  I like the way my cousin's home looked in the past with landscaping, grass, and walkways not the commercial look of today.