When I was a little kid, I liked the Carpenters. Indeed, I even owned their Now and Then album (on vinyl!), which featured their home on the cover. The group is a bit of nostalgia for me.

But their home is NOT a significant historical structure -- no matter what some fans think.

Owners of The Carpenters' former home aren't feeling on top of the world about the legions of fans who keep stopping by to pay tribute.

The five-bedroom tract house, where siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter lived and penned some of their greatest hits, was featured on the cover of their 1973 hit album "Now & Then." It was also where an anorexic Karen Carpenter collapsed in 1983 before dying.

Owners Manuel and Blanca Melendez Parra have apparently grown weary of the parade of fans paying homage.

The couple have submitted plans to officials in Downey, a city about 15 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, to raze the 39-year-old main house, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday. The Parras have already torn down an adjoining house and have begun construction on a larger home.

The proposal to level the rest of the residence has angered fans.

"This house is our version of Graceland," said Carpenters aficionado Jon Konjoyan. "When they photographed the 'Now & Then' cover here in 1973, the house was instantly immortalized."

The 57-year-old musician and promoter is heading a campaign to save the original home from the wrecker's ball. Some fans have proposed that Downey officials declare the house a historic landmark.

Good grief! The Carpenters, while good, must be retrospectively viewed as nothing more than the purveyors of cloyingly sweet pop music. They certainly have not left a legacy significant enough to necessitate the preservation of this home -- and in the process strip the owners of their property rights without compensation.

Jon Konjoyan wants the home preserved -- either through government action, purchase of the home, or requiring it to be moved.

I want Jon Konjoyan to mind his own business and quit trying to interfere with the property rights of the Parra family, who bought the home when nobody considered it significant enough to purchase.

Posted by: Greg at 03:10 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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