Norris Street near Frankford Avenue has seen plenty of action in recent years. Norris Point, ten homes that replaced an overgrown lot, has been a huge success. A couple of single family homes have sprung up. And new homes will soon replace a former auto center at the corner of Blair Street (more on that next week). But today we look at 2162-64 E. Norris St., a building that looks like it dates back further than most others in the area.
Architecturally, this property feels more Queen Village than Fishtown. Or are we off base? The building was purchased by Norris Partners LLC a little less than a year ago, and they're in the process of restoring the building. As you can possibly make out in the first image, they've been repointing the brick on the facade. What really drew us to the property though, is the reconstruction of the roof in the rear.
Maybe that's what our flat roof looks like under all the rubber and tar, but we somehow doubt it. According to the permits, which we gotta say were a little tough to decipher, this building will either contain three apartments or four apartments when the construction is finished. And if we were to bet, we would wager that the owners will then seek to chop off the rear of the property and build two new construction homes. With a double-wide lot and 135' of depth, the parcel practically cries out for it.
In the meantime, does anyone have any insight into the history of this property? Considering its look and its width, we would guess it once held some important role in the community. Or maybe it was a brothel, what do we know?