THE OLD HOUSES
The old houses at Vegamótastígur, now to be rejuvenated as part of the new house, are good representatives of houses being built when Reykjavík was emerging as the capital of a country striving for independence and finding it´s feet in the world. On the west side of Vegamótastígur there were three stone cottages at the turn of the century, named Vegamóta Cottages, the one referred to here later named Herdísarbær after Herdís Símonardóttir who was last to occupy it until the sixties when it was demolished. The lane Vegamótastígur and the cottages take it´s name from the crossroads of the two main ways out of Reykjavík at the time.
In 1904 Páll Guðmundsson carpenter from Efri-Vegamót ehf. acquires permission to build a house on his lot to the north of the planned extension of Grettisgata street to the west, then ending at Klapparstigur. This is the house now standing at the corner of the two streets and to be part of the new house with complete refurbishment.
Vegamótastígur 7 is now an empty lot but the aformentioned stone cottage, built 1893, stood there until 1964 when it was demolished. It was one of many similar cottages on Skólavörðuholt but the two closest were Tobbukot by Skólavörðustígur and Hábær at Grettisgata which is now preserved at the Reykjavík City Museum, Árbæjarsafn.
