The term "McMansion"

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-21-2005
The term "McMansion"
31
Thu, 05-10-2007 - 11:51am

We were talking about "McMansions" in my Urban Sprawl post and some of you guys were wondering where that expression came from.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-15-2005
Thu, 05-10-2007 - 4:14pm

I know - there's not much respect out there for historic homes.

There was an old inn here - it was a gorgeous mountainstone 2 story with the original part of built of log. It was built around 1722 and was an outpost. They tore it down a few years ago to put in a gas station. Made me sick.


iVillage Member
Registered: 11-21-2005
Thu, 05-10-2007 - 8:28pm

Speaking of historic buildings being demolished to make way for new structures, I have a story about one in my hometown.

I don't know if any of you here have ever seen a somewhat obscure horror "B-movie" called Session 9...but it takes place at the site of the old Danvers State Hospital in Danvers, MA, which is the town I grew up in. The film was actually shot on location.

The hospital was a mental institution (for lack of a better description) where numerous forms of those sometimes barbaric treatment methods you see in old movies were utilized in the "old days." Well, the hospital closed during the late 80's/early 90's due to lack of funding from the state.

One building on the "campus", the Kirkbride, was GORGEOUS, almost scary-looking. I never did get the chance to see it up close (just from a distance - it's on top of a hill and you can see it from a couple miles away, perched on the hillside). It had a Gothic appearance to it.

After many years of it being abandoned it fell into disrepair. It was a popular "scare spot" for teenagers, who would sneak onto the property at night to drink and ghost hunt. But they weren't supposed to be there - the building had become unsafe. Eventually, they closed the road leading to it, and there were police officers on patrol constantly, so that cut down on the nighttime visits.

Anyway, there were years and years of legal battles over the property. Developers wanted to buy it, demolish all the historic buildings, and put in businesses and condos (not that the town hasn't ALREADY put in thousands of new apartments and condos in every available parcel of open land, contributing the the urban sprawl I hate so much - the town used to be a nice quiet little town, and it's turning into a city). Town historians and preservationists fought every developer and tried to force them to renovate, rather than demolish. But the developers would not renovate because the damage to the structures would be too costly to repair.

Finally, a compromise was reached: a developer agreed to keep as much of the original facade on the Kirkbride as possible, and demolish and rebuild the rest (there were a lot of different buildings on the property, some insignificant from a historical standpoint).

Well, a few weeks ago, a number of new buildings on the property were torched - there was a HUGE fire. Much of the new construction was burned down. Gee, THAT'S not suspicious at all! The town has yet to determine the cause.

If you're interested, check out this website about the property, if you like historic buildings. :)

http://www.noblenet.org/danvers/pildsh.html
















Avatar for cfk_3
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-1999
Thu, 05-10-2007 - 9:24pm
Oh my gosh, The Kirkbride Building is beautiful! Did the fire harm it? I can't believe they would tear it down. I guess with developers, it's all about the bottom line.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-16-2006
Thu, 05-10-2007 - 10:41pm

I was hanging out with my best friend today driving through a very affluent town situated mainly on former farmland. He was telling me about his GFs father, a firefighter. He was saying many of these McMansions have nothing in them. There's an actual echo in the house. Not only that these people are usually workaholics and never home and the cars that are parked in the driveway are 10-15 years old. Another friend's family owns a house like that and same thing, there's nothing in the house. It's definitely a status symbol. Oh and you notice how NONE of these houses have trees and all have a "homely" name for the neighborhood (ie cobblestone village, woodlake, pine acres).

For me I would want the same thing most other people want, half an acre of land with a three or four bedroom ranch house with lots of tree. And solar power panels on the roof to totally stick it to the electric and gas companies.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-15-2005
Fri, 05-11-2007 - 8:38am

That's so cool - I love that building! It's probably completely impractical as far as function goes, but it's gorgeous.

And yes, I LOVE old buildings.


iVillage Member
Registered: 02-15-2005
Fri, 05-11-2007 - 8:46am

The development that burns me is one here called Hunt Club.

The developer bought the farm where the kennels for the local hunt were. Tore everything down and put in hundreds of the most hideous McMansions. And had the nerve to call it Hunt Club. Not a fox or hound in sight.

The people that really kill me are the ones who buy these places because they want to live in the "country" - but have no clue what country living is. They want gravel roads paved because the stones kick up and ding their Lexus. They don't like the smells. They hate hunting of any form. They need to stay in the city. LOL


Avatar for cfk_3
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-1999
Fri, 05-11-2007 - 8:50am
I love to drive through new neighborhoods, well, old ones too ; ) I have noticed when driving through "these" subdivisions especially, at night, they seem dark and cold. Empty, just as you indicated. Not just one or two either, a lot of them. I assume they travel a lot, whether for fun or business.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-21-2005
Fri, 05-11-2007 - 12:20pm
Thank goodness, I don't think the fire was in the Kirkbride section. I'm not 100% certain, but I'm pretty sure just the new construction was what got torched (some of the burned buildings, people were already living in - no one was hurt though, except minor injuries to some firefighters).
















iVillage Member
Registered: 11-21-2005
Fri, 05-11-2007 - 12:37pm

There was a small cul-de-sac in my hometown that consisted of 4 or 5 McMansions. It turned out years later that the guy who owned the company that developed the property was a major drug dealer. He's in jail now.

They also built a cul-de-sac of McMansions at the top of my grandparents' dead-end street (the street is all old ranch, bungalow, and other traditional-style homes - my grandparents have lived there for probably close to 50 years). For years, it was just a wooded area. Well, now that the McMansions are in, my grandmother says that all the people who buy them can't afford them in the long run, so they end up having to move out. She said they've all changed hands several times already, and they've only been there about 10 years or so (if that).

That's funny that you've noticed old cars in the McMansions' driveways. Here in MA, all the McMansions have brand-newBMW, Lexus, and Infinity SUV's or those ginormous Hummers. There's this one lady who's a customer at my bank who drives a Hummer - she's a tiny little thing, and when she goes to the drive-through in it, she has to literally hang out the window at the waist to reach.

With the trouble I've gotten myself into with having more "car" than I can afford, right now, I'd be happy as a pig in to just have a 5-year-old used Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. If I had money to throw away, *maybe* I'd get a small SUV as a spare car in case I was going camping or on a road trip with a bunch of people. I just don't particularly like driving larger cars because I feel like the road is too small for them. LOL
















iVillage Member
Registered: 11-21-2005
Fri, 05-11-2007 - 12:39pm
I do, too. I live near two rivers, the Shawsheen River and the Merrimack River, and all around these rivers in several towns are old brick mill buildings. I LOVE the old buildings. They're just beautiful.