Truman Boyhood Home gets "Stoned"

One of the three Harry S Truman Boyhood Homes in Independence is at 902 North Liberty Street is getting a nip & tuck-pointed facelift.  And it is with stone.  And not just any stone.  It appears to be a faux stone panel veneer with an update in superfluous millwork.  To get an idea of what it used to look like, pull up the New York Times article from October 15, 2010 entitled “In Truman Homes, Reflections of a City” by A. G. Sulzberger and there is a feature photo of the house with owner, Tracy E. Haley.  The article certainly provides an objective perspective of how well we are doing as a community telling the story of Harry Truman, especially during his “Wonder Years” growing up in the old neighborhood.  The house featured in the article, with the photo by photographer Steve Hebert, was a typical Victorian wood-framed home with wood lapped siding, similar to the Truman Home National Historic Site a short nine blocks away, only at a bit smaller scale.  Tracy is quoted as saying that she had lived there several years before she discovered that young Harry Truman had briefly lived there.  With this level of investment, is it clear we do not need historic preservation standards in this corner of the Old Town?  Even the National Park Service left out this property and neighborhood block from the expanded National Historic Landmark District boundaries taking away opportunities for valuable tax credits to offset expensive restoration costs that comply with those standards.  Keep in mind, Liberty Street is also the predominate route for the three National Historic Trails that connect The Square with the river boat landing on the Missouri River and is federally designated.  So in the spirit of the new townhouse project also on Liberty Street between White Oak and Truman Road, which also represents neo-eclectic and enigmatic styles and materials, we offer a salute to those who have the audacity to not only invest in our historic community but also rewrite history at the same time.  To add a quote by legendary rock band, AC/DC, “For those about to ROCK, we salute you!”  Pun intended.