A large, projecting plywood fence has been taking up space in front of 2164 E York St. for quite awhile now, but it wasn’t until the other day that we realized the dramatic transformation that has taken place. Looking at Google Maps Street View and peering through the trees, we can see the old facade, with faux stone covering up the bricks.

Yuck

The new facade, done by Baltyk Construction, has a contemporary look and unfortunately ditches the cornice entirely. Based on listings from a few years back when the home was last on the market, the interior has a number of original details and classic touches. We’d be interested to know how much contemporary style has been injected into the interior, as well.

The other day. No pesky leaves on the trees.

While we’re not doing backflips about the aesthetic (just not our taste), anything is an improvement over the old look. And though many would question the merit of breaking up the continuity of the block, which has a number of classic looking Philly row homes, we look to the building next door to demonstrate that this block isn’t so homogeneous after all.

That building is wonderful

This triplex makes our hearts skip a beat. Though it looks like some of the original facade may have been disturbed somewhat, the cornice and the rounded bays together make the building stand out from the surrounding homes. The exterior of this property was restored earlier this year, also by Baltyk Construction. Here are a couple of closeups from the their website.

A shot from before the restoration

And after. The improvement is striking

So there we have it- the classic and the contemporary, sharing a property line. Maybe not quite as striking as this, but…

Arch St. Presbyterian vs. Comcast Building

Image credit: Popmasha