LPA members are invited to visit Spencer Research Library and get a firsthand look at some of the collections and resources available there for historic property research. We'll see early property tax records, neighborhood government collections, and other materials, and learn how these resources can support the process of researching a historic property.
Read MoreDo you want to demonstrate your passion and make a difference in historic preservation in our community? Want to play an active role in advising city and county leaders regarding preservation issues and challenges that our historic neighborhoods face? Want to help increase the understanding of our friends and neighbors on the benefits of an active preservation program? If you are an LPA member, consider applying to become a member of the Lawrence Preservation Alliance Board of Directors.
LPA is seeking new board members to fill four of fifteen seats coming open this fall. LPA is a not-for-profit board whose success depends on each of its members working both individually and with others. The board meets monthly. In addition, participation in committee assignments and work on special projects is expected.
An interest in local history and architecture is essential. Beyond that, LPA seeks expertise in one or more of the following areas: structural condition assessment, public advocacy, event programming, content creation, marketing, data management, not-for-profit bookkeeping, website management and social media.
You can learn more about what LPA does at lawrencepreservation.org. Interested individuals should send a short email or letter including your related experience to lawrencepreservation@gmail.com, or by mail to LPA, PO Box 1073, Lawrence, KS 66044.
We are excited to be launching a new project to save a historic Lawrence building! And we need your help to do it! A 2025 sale of the old mobile home park property north of Lawrence Memorial Hospital, on the western edge of the Pinkney neighborhood, has given LPA the opportunity to negotiate a creative plan to rescue an urban stable steeped in Lawrence history.
Read MoreLPA Spring Preservation in Progress awards are here! LPA is happy to shine a light on two exciting revitalizations of long-vacant downtown properties.
Read MoreAfter a very successful Pinkney neighborhood tour last fall, our Lawrence Preservation Alliance and Lawrence Branch NAACP tour group returns to East Lawrence to re-stage our first tour (fall 2023) in this series!
Read MoreAn LPA project to document properties lived in by the original members of the Lawrence Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1921 is expanding its scope. The original phase of work, led by LPA Board member and KU Associate Professor in Architecture Amy Van de Riet, is complete, including research, survey work and photography for the 35 properties identified within the Lawrence city limits. The study shows that 20 of those structures no longer exist, and of the 15 that do, seven are likely to be eligible for some level of historic listing.
Read MoreLawrence Preservation Alliance has donated $2,500 to the Municipal Stadium at Hobbs Park Legacy Project. This fund was created to support the writing of a nomination of the old 1947 baseball park at 11th and Delaware Street to both the Register of Historic Kansas Places and the National Register of Historic Places. LPA joins other groups such as the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association, the Watkins Museum of History, the Shelley Miller Trust, Kaw Valley Kickball League, Hernly Associates, Lawrence Parks, Recreation and Culture Department and supporters to preserve the historic ballpark.
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Sunday, Oct.12 and Sunday, Nov.2
1:30-3:00 PM
Lawrence Preservation Alliance and the Lawrence NAACP Branch are excited to present a ten-block guided walking tour through Pinkney Neighborhood. This is a great opportunity to learn more about Black history in our Lawrence community. The tour will begin in front of Pinckney School at 810 W. 6th Street; end at 5th and Mississippi Streets, and feature select homes and stories on the 500 block of Louisiana and 400 blocks of Indiana and Illinois streets. Special guests will speak in front of Pinckney School, 520 Louisiana (the Jessie and Frances B. Dillard House), and 401 Indiana (the Frank and Alice Meyers House, which nationally known entertainer and producer George Walker had built for his mother Alice). Limited seating will be available for each ten-minute presentation. Guests will receive a special written handout with historic information to take home and save.
Along the route, historian Jeanne Klein, NAACP president Ursula Minor, architecture professor Amy Van de Riet and LPA tour producer Dennis Brown will share contextual insights within the tour area with our guests.
In the fall of 2023, LPA/Lawrence NAACP Black History Walking Tour # 1 successfully covered an area of East Lawrence from 12th and 14th Streets to Connecticut and Pennsylvania Streets. Our group is excited to be back with this new production in a second neighborhood! Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to experience and learn this important Lawrence community history!
Tour Dates:
Sunday, October 12
Sunday, November 2
Time: 1:30 to 3 PM
Tickets: $10 per person
Get Your October 12th Tickets
Get Your November 2nd Tickets
Tickets must be purchased in advance. We can accommodate 25 guests per tour.
Meet in front of Pinckney School, 810 W. 6th Street
Park on the west side of Mississippi in the 500 block (stay clear of the fire hydrant!) or in the adjacent small parking lot on school grounds.
LPA Announces their 2025 Annual Meeting to be held on Sunday, October 26th at 1:30pm at the Union Pacific Depot in North Lawrence.
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University Place Survey
Public Meeting #2
Wednesday, September 24, 6:30 pm
Lawrence High School, Commons 311
(Enter through the main entrance at 19th & Louisiana Streets)
Lawrence Preservation Alliance is working with the city to conduct a historic resources survey in the University Place Neighborhood, under a state Historic Preservation Fund grant, and holding a series of community meetings to discuss the process.
The second public engagement meeting for the University Place Neighborhood historic survey will take place on Wednesday, September 24, at Lawrence High School, Commons 311.
While this survey work involves only the University Place Neighborhood, LPA invites anyone interested in the topics of historic surveys and nominations of eligible properties for historic listing to attend.
Hernly Associates has been engaged by the city to conduct the survey. Initial field work has been completed and in-depth property research is underway.
The first meeting was held in the Hernly offices on July 18 and covered a general timeline of the project, work scope, methodology and goals for project deliverables. For the second meeting, a panel made up of LPA board members and Hernly staff will delve further into this discussion, discussing topics such as:
How historic preservation promotes livability and unmistakable identity.
What makes a property eligible for historic designation and how that is determined.
The process and cost for listing a potentially historic property.
What types of designations—Federal, State or Local—are best for a property.
What constitutes a Historic District, and what is considered a Contributing or Non-Contributing property.
Examples of individual and district listings in Lawrence.
A third program in this series, tentatively scheduled for November 6th, will cover the following topics in more detail:
What triggers historic review and what is the review process.
Preservation dos and don’ts as a general guide to follow when contemplating changes to your historic designated property.
How federal and/or state historic tax credits can help with your proposed project on a historic designated property.
LPA is excited about this current survey work in the University Place Neighborhood, but we also recognize that there are still large areas of town where properties older than 50 years predominate, yet remain unsurveyed. Our hope with these public meetings is to present accurate information and dispel anecdotal untruths so that residents can make the best decisions for themselves and their homes. Again, these meetings are open to all Lawrence community members interested in finding out more about historic preservation.
