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In a neighborhood of uniform front lawns and houses, the extravagant display of spring tulips at the corner of 52nd Avenue and 96th Street in Oak Lawn reminds passersby the change in seasons is coming.
Everyone calls it the "tulip house."
Debbie Burns lives next door.
"When I tell people where I live, sometimes they say, 'Oh, you live near the tulip house,' " Burns said. "It's a way to landmark our house."Each spring, thousands of red, white and yellow tulips wrap the modest Oak Lawn home in color, forming a thick band of tightly arranged flowers that line the length of the yard.
This year, vandals robbed the neighborhood of its beauty.
The flowers, which homeowner Dan Hughes has planted each of the past five years, were beheaded one by one. Just a few survivors were left standing among the dead.
The tulip attackers filled a steel trash can with the flower tops. They mockingly placed the can next to Hughes' house.
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