A dozen years ago, when Mike Taylor was considering moving to North Ann Street, his boss drove him up and down the street of rowhouses on Lancaster City's east side and tried to talk him out of it.

All the houses needed to be painted and the neighborhood was in decline. Taylor bought the house anyway.

His first night at 127 N. Ann St., there was a drive-by shooting outside.

"Welcome to the city," Taylor said.

But then Taylor and roommate Junior Buzzard went to work. They renovated the house and, with the help of neighbors, the block.

The change has not gone unnoticed. The nine homes on the block are being recognized this month with an award from the Charlotte Street Association.

For 40 years, the association has been giving awards to property owners who have improved the quality of life in Lancaster City through investing and beautifying their properties.

This year, 10 individual homes, two businesses, a mural, two adaptive reuse projects and an institution are being recognized.

A photo exhibition of the winners will be on display Friday, in conjunction with First Friday events, from 5 to 8 p.m., at the White Good & Co. Advertising firm, 322 Arch St.

The change on North Ann Street is apparent, both physically and in the sense of community there.

Houses in the 100 block of North Ann are now painted in bright colors. Window boxes hold plants and flowers. Trees have been planted along the street.

Neighbors now come together for an annual block party. They have called each other and collectively come out of their homes to stare down drug dealers.

They have transformed a trash-strewn corner lot that holds a billboard into a tended garden. And they have worked together to paint the home of an elderly resident and to shovel snow from each other's sidewalks.

"On this block, it's like family. We all know each other and look out for each other," Buzzard said.

Taylor and Buzzard said their efforts over the years have paid off. They bought 127 N. Ann St. for $48,000 in 1997. They sold it in 2007 for $145,000. Then they moved next door.

They had bought 131 N. Ann St. for  $38,000. It had sat empty for four years. They are now renovating it. They plan to use a redone front room for their pet-grooming business, Pampered Pets.

Although they have seen an increase in their property value, they won't be cashing out anytime soon.

Taylor and Buzzard said that they hope the young families that have moved onto the block in recent years will be helping them in years to come, as they have helped elderly neighbors since they moved there.

Other properties, and owners receiving association awards are:

• 838 Fremont St., Lydia Medina.

• 125 N. Ann St., William R. Troy.

• 127 N. Ann St., Jay & Julia Leed.

• 129 N. Ann St., Herbert & Blanche Moyer.

• 133 N. Ann St., Thomas Doan & Robert Wright.

• 126 N. Ann St., Elizabeth Townsend; Jen Townsend, tenant.

• 128 N. Ann St., Carly J. Kauffman.

• 130 N. Ann St., Kenneth Flosser; Joanna Myers, tenant

• 132 N. Ann St., Jason & Joanne Kuniholm.

• 25 N. Prince St., Carmen and David's Creamery Inc., David Hommel & Carmen Garcia-Hommel.

• 215 N. Franklin St., Rice & Roll restaurant, Dennis & Paz Valenzuela.

• 417 W. Frederick St., College Hill Center, Franklin & Marshall College, developed by Kevin Silverang and David Yeager.

• 308 E. King St., Eastern Market Mural, East King Improvement District.

• 42 N. Prince St., Pennsylvania Academy of Music.

Awards will be presented to the winners by Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray at the April 14 Lancaster City Council meeting, at Southern Market Center, 101 S. Queen St., beginning at 7:30 p.m.


Staff writer Bernard Harris can be reached at bharris@LNPnews.com or 481-6022.