Lignières: Then and Now

Here is another view of Rue des Hautes-Bornes 2, RACN 010-6456-00061, taken from about the same place as the previous image but centred on that building. The folks standing outside are presumably the family who lived there at the time.

I have no way to date the “then” image nor determine whether it was taken before or after the previous. Obviously, from the snow in the foreground, it was taken in the winter. It's interesting that the sign in the previous image is present, but appears blank instead of reading “BOULANGERIE” (Bakery). Perhaps the bakery was converted back into a residence, or this picture pre-dates the arrival of the bakery and the sign used to read something else. In any case, the rather large and flat tree visible in this picture is absent from the last, but whether it grew since then or was cut down before that picture was taken I know not. If I had to guess, it would be that this picture is the earlier of the two. Note that where the tree spreads out against the wall in this picture a window appears in the other. It seems to me more likely that the tree was cut down so as not to obstruct a newly-added window than that a window was seamlessly removed and a tree trained to cover the now-blank wall. Also, if you look carefully at this building left of centre in a photo showing it around 1901, you'll see that the tree was there at that time, and doesn't look to be as tall; this makes it highly probable this photo pre-dates the previous, which includes automobiles.

Compare the windows in the “then” and “now” images! The top floor of this structure appears to have been remodeled in the intervening years with windows moved and added to fit the new floor plan. If you use windows as reference points in finding the viewpoint from which a “then” picture was taken, be vigilant for such changes; they can be most puzzling if overlooked.