Kildare Mansion, located just off Oakwood Avenue in Huntsville, Alabama was originally built by Michael O'Shaughnessy in the 1880s.  The house, which has been described as one of the finest Queen Anne style residences in Alabama, is currently undergoing a major restoration.

Unfortunately,  Kildare has become the target of thrill seekers, gawkers, & vandals that have hindered the restoration effort.  To curb the problems so that restoration could continue,  the current owner began construction of a privacy fence in October of 2013.  Before the final fence design was even revealed, the fence, which is proportional to the structure (the house is over 65' tall) came under fire from the city for being ugly,  too tall, too weak, AND too strong.

The current owners continue to endure car loads of juveniles (and sometimes adults) cruising around the house at all hours of the night on a regular basis.  The goal of these thrill seekers is to elicit a response from the owners by honking horns, flashing lights, yelling obscenities, etc.  Of course many of the teens upload their crimes to YouTube hoping to garner fame for their efforts. Note in the video below the girls go around six times in their attempts to get a response.  Listen carefully to their conversation with the young men on foot who speak of their previous visits that included rock throwing.

The video below is one captured by the owner back in January of 2011.  Yes, the problems have been going on that long.  The same vehicles had been there numerous times throughout the evening.  It all started around 8:00 PM.  The owner tried to ignore them, but finally went outside when they returned around 11:00 PM.  The video shows what happened.  Keep in mind this was a Thursday night and the boys you see are all under 18.  That was discovered when the police arrived. WARNING: the language in this video is extremely graphic.  The mother of the three young girls that lived across the street had a lot of explaining to do that night.

Not only has Kildare (and the neighborhood) had to endure activities such as these, but it has also had to endure trespassing & vandalism.

The city has been unable to address the problems at Kildare (well over 170 police reports have been filed) yet they also oppose a fence that the vast majority of neighborhood residents support.

This website provides not only the history of this great residence, but also some of the struggles that it continues to go through today.  Much more information will be added very soon.  Please check back for more of the story.