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Missing houses in Polk directory

Missing houses in Polk directory

Posted: 23 May 2014 10:41PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 25 May 2014 6:59PM GMT
Has anyone seen a residential address "play peek-a-boo" in the Polk street directories?

In five out of eight Polk street directories between 1927 and 1953 there is no entry for that address. Not a "vacant" listing (as you sometimes see). No listing at all, except for the mid-1930s when it was occupied by its second owner.

The only clue I have is that the house was still under construction when the first owner died, although his widow lived at there a few more years (and can be spotted in the 1930 census) until it was repossessed during the Depression. The second owner also left it unfinished. This was a large, grand house, with frescoes and other artistic elements.

In sum: No listing of residential address in Polk for eight years. It appears in Polk for 3-4 years, then disappears again for about fifteen years.

My working theory is that the house was completely boarded up when it was unoccupied. If so, would the Polk directory just skip it?

Re: Missing houses in Polk directory

Posted: 4 Jul 2014 6:39PM GMT
Classification: Query
Are you certain that street names or addresses did not change? In the town where I work, the 1930 census shows the old address; 1931 Polk shows the new address with old one in parentheses. Later directories show just the new number, so if you were unaware of any change, you might think the street suddenly appeared.

Re: Missing houses in Polk directory

Posted: 4 Jun 2015 2:29PM GMT
Classification: Query
While a city may have zoning and permit requirements as early as the 1900s, it is the U.S. Post Office that assigns a street address. Could be they had mail delivered to a Post Office Box or the business or office of the husband and did not request residence mail box till later. Remember the times.....the "little woman" usually did not have a job, did not have credit in her own name didn't have a need to receive mail except for letters. Back then they would be addressed to Mr. and Mrs Joseph Smith or Mrs. Joseph Smith.

If it was abandoned and no mail delivery then the PO would strike it from their active delivery address list which I believe all City and county directories purchased from the USPS. So it stands to reason it would not appear in a directory. Remember too, phones were not in every home at that time and there customers phone directories were too few to be used as an address source till the 1950s or 1960s.

Even today our rural street address isn't in any city/county directories as we have never had a USPS mail box on the rural road we build our house on. We have only used a P.O. Box for the last 30 years. The post office did assign us our address for our "house" but it is on a "parcel" of over 30 acres. Even when you search on Internet maps using our address the location pointer is located in the middle of our ranch, no where near the actual house.
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