LPA-Sponsored Properties Added to Lawrence Register of Historic Places

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1645 Louisiana St.

1645 Louisiana St.

645 Mississippi St.

645 Mississippi St.

1509 Massachusetts St.

1509 Massachusetts St.

200 Nebraska St.

200 Nebraska St.

The Lawrence City Commission voted unanimously Dec. 5 to list five properties on the Lawrence Register of Historic Places. One, at 2110 Harper, was nominated by the Douglas County Commission. The other four were nominated by LPA in partnership with the property owners.

These four properties are part of a larger LPA initiative to document and list significant local properties that were not listed on either the local, state or national registers. In May 2016, the LPA Board allocated $5,000 to fund the project. One property, at 819 Avalon, was listed on the Lawrence Register later that fall, and has since been listed on both the Register of Historic Kansas Places and the National Register of Historic Places. Four other project properties were recommended by the Historic Resources Commission (HRC), to be listed on the local register in November, and await a final determination by the City Commission in early 2018.

1645 Louisiana, an Italianate home built in the early 1870’s on 96 acres owned by Benjamin Akers, was part of a first-class horse breeding and training facility that included a racetrack near what is now 19th Street. That acreage is now the University Place Neighborhood.

645 Mississippi, built for Jacob House’s son Robert in 1918, is a prominent example of the Prairie Style, which is quite rare in Lawrence.

1509 Massachusetts is an excellent example of the Mission Revival Style, also rare in Lawrence. It was built in 1913 for H.B. Ober, who owned a prominent downtown clothing store.

200 Nebraska is a Mid-Century Modern built in 1955 for the Harold Zimmerman family. Members of the Zimmerman family owned and operated Zimmerman & Sons Hardware (now Cottins), and Zimmerman Steel Co. Selected by the local group Lawrence Modern as one of its Baker’s Dozen, this structure was designed by Warren Heylman, who went on to a highly decorated architectural practice in the Pacific Northwest.