As Brewerytown hit incredibly hard times over the last few decades, many blocks in the neighborhood fell into serious disrepair, with several experiencing wholesale demolition of vacant properties in the interest of public safety and blight removal. The 1200 block of N. Etting St. is an excellent example of this phenomenon, though it's finally seeing some new development after years of vacancy. Some blocks, though, have remained amazingly intact, like the 2900 block of W. Flora Street.
This block is not only impressive for maintaining almost all of its original housing stock, but also because the homes on both sides of the street were seemingly designed by the same individual, as they all feature similar architectural details. One exception is the three story double-wide Humble Tabernacle of Love church in the middle of the block, which possesses some unique architectural features (sweet cornice!) and rises a story above all the other structures on the block. Incidentally, there's a new home under construction next door. That property, 2923 W. Flora St. was previously a two story home that matched its neighbors but had clearly been sitting vacant for many years.
We're generally not believers that there's any value or beauty in repetitive architecture, but there's something very compelling and almost hypnotizing about this block, thanks to the similarity of almost every home. With over half a dozen vacant and blighted buildings on the block though, we'd have to imagine that this quality won't last for much longer.
This is certainly a bummer, and if it's economically feasible we'd rather see these homes renovated than demolished and replaced. But if that's not in the cards, we wouldn't put the architectural character of the block over the benefits of its redevelopment. For the people living on this block, things will be less than ideal until every home is occupied, or at least has windows instead of plywood. It's indeed a shame that Doors & Windows violations aren't a thing anymore.