When we signed on to do this project with the City and the non-profit Nuestra Comunidad, I had pretty high hopes for saving lots of the original historic fabric. But given the condition of the house, I definitely should have known better. This house was not only foreclosed upon, but it had also been vacant for quite some time. It is astounding to see how quickly a once well cared for building can deteriorate if not properly maintained. Exposure to extreme heat and cold, moisture, and in some cases to direct rainfall (in one area there was a wide open hole in the roof) has sadly left most of the period details beyond salvage.

Two survivors, however, are pictured here – the two matching newel posts (one on each side of our duplex) and one marble fireplace surround.

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To help celebrate its 30th anniversary season, This Old House TV is giving back to the community where the show got its start in 1979: Boston, Massachusetts.

Working alongside affordable housing nonprofit Nuestra Comunidad, Norm Abram, Tom Silva, and the rest of the TOH TV crew will hammer out the complete renovation of a foreclosed 1870s Second Empire in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood. Once the job is done, the house's two units will be sold to two deserving area families.

The show begins airing on PBS in January 2010, but you can check on the crew's progress in real time RIGHT NOW through the webcams, which will be focused on the house 24/7. Today, the crew tore down a three story addition in the rear of the house—with an excavator and everything!

Read more at thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv and check in here from time to time for updates from the worksite!