I got to wondering what the back of this house might have looked like before the old whitewashed stucco crumbled away, and before the second floor chamber window got replaced by a door and landing, later removed. Here's a quick Photoshopped stab at it, but the door and windows could still use some new paint and putty, and that kitchen yard is a disgrace.

As most of us Shorpy viewers question, previous commentrs non withstanding,

Does this structure still stand?

I think more important than not, most Shorpy viewers look at this site to see the past, and almsot immediately we look to see if the structure still stands, and if any photography of current state exists.

Mr. Garrison, why do Poe people smell like sour milk?

Poe moved around a lot, so it's not surprising that there are Poe houses in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. (The last is only a facade on a NYU Law School building). Boston had an Edgar Allan Poe Square and a house, but both vanished sometime after 1930. Richmond has a Poe Museum which advertises being "only blocks away from Poe's first Richmond home." Perhaps that's what Johnston photographed. It's gone too, as is the house of his foster family the Allans.

"What a dump!"

this photo was his grandmother's home, NOT his,

[Erm, this is NOT his grandma's house. - Dave]

and he was born in 1809, so by 1930 this grandmother's home may have been neglected for 121 years before [???] his birth. Look around you, even just at your own grandmother's home today and see if the place hasn't fallen into disrepair and decay and see if creeping slums have enveloped the area as in the case of my grandmother's dwelling. Many once-elegant and genteel neighborhoods, even from the 1940's have turned into wastelands, especially those next to run-down urban areas as in Detroit, Philly, Hartford and New Haven, Ct. Not all real estate escalates in value. Also, this is a back alley, not a front entrance, which is usually more attractive. Poe himself may have never imagined such a dump for his grandma.

Comes as no surprise to me that Poe had Ravens at his chamber door. No mortals were tall enough.

Look at the base of the water pump right of center. Interesting!