On This Day In Rock: Fans Protest Plans To Demolish The Carpenters' House!

On this day in 2008, fans of the legendary pop duo The Carpenters protest the planned demolition of "the Carpenters' home", the house where Karen and Richard resided with their parents and continued to live during the duo's meteoric rise to stardom.

Of course, what truly propelled the home to "iconic" status was its appearance in the tri-fold sleeve of the group's 1973 album, Now And Then.

A front page article in the L.A. Times raised national interest in the story, leading the current owners to reconsider their plans.  The family that owned the home, being of Cuban heritage, were completely unaware of the home's history, nor did they much care for the duo's music when they did become aware of it.  Sadly, they tore down the guest house, where Richard and Karen actually rehearsed.

Current view of the house, courtesy Google Street View. 

The constant influx of fans had disrupted their lives to such an extent that the family felt they had no other option than to demolish the home and rebuild (!).  Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and they would later sell the house, which, according to the above Google map image, remains in its original state.