More than three dozen people attended LPA’s annual meeting and toured the restored Santa Fe/Amtrak station on Sunday, Sept. 15. The informative tour was led by architect Stan Hernly, Tom Harper and other members of the Depot Redux team that spearheaded the station’s rehabilitation.
THE RENOVATED SANTA FE DEPOT. PHOTO BY LEILANI PHOTOGRAPHS
Please make plans to join us for LPA’s annual membership meeting on Sunday, Sept. 15, at 1:30 p.m., at the historic and newly restored Santa Fe station at 413 E. 7th Street, and join us in a special tour of the depot. Rededicated earlier this year, the Santa Fe station project received a Merit Award from our friends at Kansas Preservation Alliance (KPA) in May.
At 2 p.m., following a brief business meeting, project architect Stan Hernly, along with Carey Maynard-Moody, Dennis Domer and Tom Harper of the community group Depot Redux, will show us around and share insights on their favorite design elements. Don’t miss this chance to get reacquainted with this classic community building.
We’ll be posting more details soon!
LPA’s Preservation in Progress Awards recognize local residents or groups that have performed preservation work that improves a structure, promotes preservation concepts or sets the stage for future preservation efforts. In the Summer 2019 installment of the PIP Awards, LPA recognizes a whole-house rescue, a sidewalk repair project and an artistic reconstruction at one of the most cherished buildings on the University of Kansas campus.
More than 50 people gathered in downtown Lawrence on Saturday, July 6, for the dedication of a historical plaque, sponsored by LPA, on the site of the former Ernst & Son Hardware store at 826 Massachusetts St. Former Lawrence Mayor Mike Amyx, historian Brenna Buchanan Young and Linda Allen, the daughter of the late Rod Ernst, longtime owner of the store, spoke at the ceremony honoring the legacy of this important Lawrence structure, which was built in 1880.
Philip Ernst Sr. and Thomas H. Kennedy established Kennedy & Ernst Hardware at the location in 1905, and it became Ernst & Son Hardware in 1925. The Ernst family operated the hardware store for almost another century until it closed in 2018 after the death of Rod Ernst.
Generations of Lawrencians knew the hardware store as a treasure trove of household goods, tools, hardware supplies, doodads and knick-knacks, stacked almost to the ceiling—and in its legendary basement. Ernst family members were always on hand to lead customers to the most obscure items and to provide project advice to do-it-yourselfers.
Here’s a gallery of photos from the event. From top: LPA President Dennis Brown and former Lawrence Mayor Mike Amyx; local historian Brenna Buchanan Young; Lynda Allen, daughter of late store owner Rod Ernst; attendees tour the building, which will is being rehabilitated and will open later this year as a Jock’s Nitch store; ornate woodwork in the former apartment over the store, which is being renovated as office space:
ue Dedi
Please join Lawrence Preservation Alliance for the dedication of a historical plaque on the landmark former Ernst & Son hardware store at 826 Massachusetts St. Local dignitaries and historians will be on hand to talk about the legacy of this important Lawrence structure, which was built in 1880.
Philip Ernst Sr. and Thomas H. Kennedy established Kennedy & Ernst Hardware at the location in 1905, and it became Ernst & Son Hardware in 1925. The Ernst family operated the hardware store for almost another century until it closed in 2018 after the death of Rod Ernst.
Generations of Lawrencians knew the hardware store as a treasure trove of household goods, tools, hardware supplies, doodads and knick-knacks, stacked almost to the ceiling—and in its legendary basement. Ernst family members were always on hand to lead customers to the most obscure items and to provide project advice to do-it-yourselfers.
In recognition of this legacy, Lawrence Preservation Alliance has commissioned a bronze plaque for the exterior of the building, so it can be remembered by passers-by long after it has moved on to new uses. We hope you can join us for the dedication ceremony on Saturday, July 6, at 9 a.m.
Now is your chance to tell the City Commission and Planning Staff what you want for the future of downtown — as well as what you don’t. The city has been working with an outside consulting firm to develop a master plan for downtown. It’s a long process, and there is a public comment period over the next few weeks.
The easiest way to participate is to take the online survey. You can choose one of three: resident, business or youth. Please take the time to participate.
You also are invited to participate in one of the two community workshops at the Carnegie Building this week. One session is for the general public; the other is aimed at people who own businesses or property downtown. A moderator for the consulting firm will work with participants to identify key priorities the group wishes to focus on. Our position is simple: preserving historic resources should be a principal goal of our downtown development plan. Your support of that position at these meetings will help keep it foremost in the process.
LPA will continue to monitor this plan as it progresses through the planning process. Now it’s your turn to speak up. Thank you in advance for making your voice heard on this important subject.
Details on the two community workshop sessions:
General Public Workshop
Wednesday, June 5
Carnegie Building 200 W. 9th Street (map)
6:30 to 8pm
Downtown Business Owner and Property Owner Workshop
Thursday, June 6
Carnegie Building
7:30 to 9am
The Lawrence Preservation Alliance honored Pat Kehde, Kelly Kindscher and Keith Middlemass with its 2019 Preservation Achievement Awards in an event at Cider Gallery on Thursday,, May 23.
The Preservation achievement Award, created by LPA in 2009, honors individuals or groups who have contributed in extraordinary ways to help preserve buildings or natural sites significant to the history of Lawrence and Douglas County.
See a gallery of photos from the awards:
About this year’s honorees:
Pat Kehde, Right, with her Raven partner Mary Lou Wright
Pat Kehde, co-founder of The Raven Bookstore, has been an active advocate of downtown Lawrence for more than four decades. A writer, researcher and organizer, she has been involved in community decisions involving downtown going back to proposals for a downtown mall (it didn’t happen) and the arrival in downtown of Borders Books (that did happen, but Borders is gone now and the Raven is still here). Along the way, Pat’s fearless nature in speaking up in reasonable, thoughtful ways — and usually being right — led her to serve terms as president of the Downtown Improvement Association and as president of the Lawrence Preservation Alliance. She was presented by Dennis Brown.
Kelly Kindscher is a senior scientist at the Kansas Biological Survey and a Professor in Environmental Studies at the University of Kansas. Kelly’s labs and classrooms, however, are in the remnants of high-grade prairies and forests of Douglas County as much as they are in campus buildings. A cofounder of the Kansas Land Trust, Kelly served as the point person and lobbyist to the Kansas Legislature for legislation enabling the establishment of conservation easements, and then helped place easements on three Douglas County prairies. For years, Kelly has enjoyed leading educational walks and pointing out native plants once used for food and medicines. As both an author and speaker, Kelly advocates for plant community ecology, conservation biology and restoration ecology. Kelly was presented by Nancy Thellman.
Keith Middlemas journeyed from New Mexico back to his home state of Kansas in 1976 and began an amazing career working with native stone. A master stonemason, teacher and artist, Keith has worked to combine abstract thought, dreams and creative ideas with stone and sometimes other natural elements such as wrought iron, glass, pieces of wood from a forest or falling water. Keith is heavily involved in the design aspect of most of his pieces, working with clients to determine site, placement, materials and concept. This continues even as the project moves into the fabrication stage in his rural shop. Combined with his positive nature, sense of humor and unique perspective on life (and his ever-present wide-brim hat!), Keith is as one-of-a kind himself as the pieces he creates. Keith was presented by Dennis Domer.
The Lawrence City Commission voted unanimously, 5-0, early Wednesday morning to uphold the Historic Resources Commission’s recommendation against the HUB, a six-story luxury student apartment complex proposed for downtown.
Several hundred people showed up to overflow the meeting room and dozens spoke to the commission about their opinions of the project, most of them negative. The discussion of the project lasted more than four hours, and the commission’s decision came at about 1 a.m.
By affirming the HRC recommendation, the Commission agreed that the project, proposed by Chicago-based developer Core Spaces for the corner of Massachusetts and 11th Streets, encroached on the historic value of the nearby Douglas County Courthouse, Watkins Museum and Old English Church. The commission also agreed that the project did not meet the Downtown Design Guidelines
The Commission’s vote on one of the most controversial proposals to come before it in years followed mostly negative comments from speakers concerned about the building’s size and mass, its impact on parking, Core’s poor reputation for similar projects around the country and the needs for additional student housing, especially downtown. Proponents of the project argued in favor of its potential impact on the downtown economy and the need to replace the long-vacant Allen Press buildings and parking lot at the site.
Here’s the Lawrence Journal-World’s coverage of the meeting and the decision.
To our LPA members and followers:
ARCHITECT’S RENDERING OF THE PROPOSED HUB PROJECT. THE WATKINS MUSEUM IS ON THE LEFT.
We need your help. City commissioners need to hear from you over the next few days about your feelings about the massive HUB student housing project that has been proposed for 11th and Massachusetts streets downtown. The City Commission is scheduled to hear arguments on May 7 on an appeal being brought by the developer, Core Spaces, to overturn the unanimous recommendation against the project by the Historic Resources Commission.
We believe the scale and design of this project could overwhelm the historic Douglas County Courthouse and Watkins Museum buildings on the adjacent corners. Our belief is that this may be the biggest threat to the historic character of downtown since the downtown mall proposals in the mid-1980s. This is a time to be informed, aware and vigilant as a citizen.
This photo illustration was prepared by LPA to show the approximate size and mass of the proposed HUB project and its relationship to Massachusetts St., the surrounding buildings, and nearby historic properties like the Watkins Museum (lower left), the Douglas County Courthouse (lower center) and the Old English Lutheran Church (upper right, adjacent to the proposed HUB parking garage on New Hampshire St.).
Some background: One of the services LPA provides is that we follow development proposals that could affect listed properties through the planning approval process. We are present at every meeting of the Historic Resources Commission (HRC), frequently providing informed comment on agenda items. We also work to maintain good communications with planning staff and city commissioners. Certainly, final votes taken don’t always go the way we would like, but 99 times out of 100, we can say the effort we put forth to represent LPA interest was enough. The appeal Core Spaces is bringing to City Commission May 7 for its massive student housing project downtown could be the rare exception.
To date, LPA has had one initial meeting with a Lawrence representative of the developer, formulated our position over a number of meetings of the executive board and the full board, shared information with other concerned public groups, testified at HRC, and submitted two letters to the City Commission. We are now working to meet personally with each commissioner.
LPA would appreciate if you would communicate your concerns about this project to the commission by letter or email no later than May 5. Attending the City Commission meeting May 7 also is important, but please be advised that the staff and applicant presentation will be long, and many speakers will want to provide public comment. Up to three minutes per speaker is allowed..
Commissioners appreciate letters and messages written respectfully and in your own words. It doesn’t have to be long. But you need to make sure your voice is heard and counted. You can send snail mail or email. Address your message to Lawrence City Commission. By mail, send it to PO Box 708, 6 E. 6th Street, Lawrence, Ks, 66044. Send email to Bobbie Walthall, bjwalthall@lawrenceks.org. Bobbie is an administrator in the City Manager’s Office. She will make sure your email is distributed to all five city commissioners.
LPA has written two letters to the commission that you should read and that might be helpful for you in formulating your own messages to the commission. The first one, here, raises overall objections to the design. The second one, here, focuses on the unusual plan to build over the alley between New Hampshire and Massachusetts streets. We also have a news story about the HRC decision. If you read these, you will gain a good understanding of what is being proposed and what concerns preservationists have.
Thank you,
Dennis Brown
LPA President
Architect’s rendering of the proposed HUB project. The Watkins museum is on the left.
The Lawrence Historic Resources Commission (HRC) voted unanimously on March 21 that a multi-story HUB apartment building proposed for the southern half of the 1000 block of Massachusetts and New Hampshire Streets would significantly encroach upon, damage or destroy the environs of three downtown historic properties.
The massive development, which is proposed to be as many as six stories tall, is surrounded by the Douglas County Courthouse (south) the Watkins Bank Building (west) and the Old English Lutheran Church (east). All are listed as landmarks on the Lawrence Register of Historic Places.
The HRC also voted unanimously that the project did not meet key elements of the Downtown Design Guidelines. All seven commissioners were present and provided comments about the decision they made. They also heard objections to the project from a number of citizens who came to the podium to speak. LPA provided comment based on board discussions that have been ongoing since late 2018.
While LPA recognizes that our community needs to find a design for the site that will bring people, retail sales and additional tax dollars to our city, a plan calling for a 550-plus bedroom apartment building covering virtually the entire footprint at five or six stories would certainly encroach upon the three listed properties. LPA’s concerns include:
Scale: The project is grossly out of scale with the predominant two- or three-story structures on Massachusetts Street downtown.
Height: While a height of three or four stories could be acceptable at the corner of 11thand Massachusetts Streets, the developer’s current plan would surpass that level and keep that inappropriate height throughout all elevations of the project.
Mass: The primary structure in the development (there is another mixed-use/parking garage structure proposed for the east side of the 1000 block of New Hampshire), would cover nine original townsite lots. It would be the single most massive building in the downtown area.
The HUB project tries to hide a fifth story on Massachusetts Street by setting it back 20 feet from the façade of the lower levels. It still would be easily seen by pedestrians on the west side of Massachusetts Street, as well as from the upper floors of the Watkins Building and the Courthouse
The developer also proposes to build out over the existing alley at the third-floor level. This is very objectionable to LPA because it essentially would create a tunnel that would disrupt the typical street/alley development pattern of downtown. If it is allowed here, it could certainly be repeated in other downtown blocks, significantly altering how downtown looks and functions.
The Courthouse and the Watkins Building have always been the most dominant structures on the southern end of downtown. The Old English Lutheran Church (designed by John Haskell, who also designed the Courthouse) has always served as a transitional structure from the downtown into the residential area.
LPA wonders if two or more buildings, rather than one monolithic one, might produce a desirable result at this site. We are convinced, however, that any project that is to be built at this location will be better at enhancing our downtown’s commercial vitality and its livability more if it respects the three adjacent historic properties.
Read the Lawrence Journal World’s story about the HRC decision here.
UPDATE, March 28: The Lawrence Planning Commission met last night and was asked to approve a small portion of the project. The plan includes some first-floor residential units, which require a special-use permit to be allowed in the downtown area. Prior to the developer’s work with Architectural Review Committee, some of those units fronted the street. Now all of them are internal. HRC had determined that this particular component did not harm the environs of the three listed properties. The Planning Commission voted 8-1 to recommend approval of the special-use permit to the City Commission.
LPA will continue to track developments in this project and post reports here.