945 Kentucky Street: A Virtual Tour

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One of Lawrence’s most sterling recent renovations projects is the A.K. Allen house at 945 Kentucky St., a two-story brick house built in 1862 that survived Quantrill’s Raid. Classical Developments LLC, with KU grad Mike Heitmann as managing member, oversaw the rehab of the property, which was recently completed—and we’ve got before and after photos, inside and outside the house, to share with you.

The house was in foreclosure and had sat vacant for many years. The gable-front National Folk nine-room house was designed by architect Ferdinand Fuller, one of the leaders of the New England Emigrant Aid Society, and built for Asaph King Allen, a free-state settler to Lawrence in the 1850s.

Preservation consultant Dale Nimz was hired to research the history of the house and to help the ownership group identify qualified craftspeople to work on the project. The wood windows in the original portion of the house were fully restored by Oklahoma-based Wood Window Rescue Inc., in its Kansas City shop. New wooden storm windows also were fabricated and installed.

The exterior brick was repointed using mortar mixed to historic specifications. An appropriately sized addition was framed in back, and additional work, including a reconstruction of the original front porch was undertaken by General Contractor Mark Engleman. The structure is now being rented as a duplex.

These two photo galleries show you the poor shape the house was in when restoration began, and how it was restored to its former glory—and beyond. The house was a winner of LPA’s Preservation in Progress award for Summer 2019.

945 Kentucky is a contributing property in the Oread Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places, and historic tax credits are being used to help finance the work. Saving a pre-Quantrill house near downtown is an extraordinary thing.

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Photo Gallery: Before

(click image to see other photos in gallery)

Photo Gallery: After

(click image to see other photos in gallery)

Fall 2019 Preservation in Progress Awards Announced

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For our fall 2019 Preservation in Progress Awards, LPA celebrates the major rehabilitation of a key 9th Street commercial corner property and the rehab of a historic, affordable house.

900 Mississippi Street

Brad Ziegler has made a Lawrence career buying, renovating and maintaining commercial and residential properties. He purchased Louise’s downtown in 1989 and owns the Tap Room and Six Mile Chop House, among others, but his recent focus has been on 9th Street just west of downtown.

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He owns the Basil Leaf building and just completed a good-looking renovation of the old gas station next door for Mama’s Tamales. But for perhaps the crown jewel of his recent efforts, cross to the south side of 9th and take a look at the longtime laundromat on the corner at Mississippi: a full rehab under the watchful eye of the Kansas State Preservation Office is nearing completion and a new life as a restaurant to be called Big Mill.

The Preservation Office is involved because Brad is using a 20% state historic tax credit and a 25% federal credit for commercial properties to help offset rehab costs. Stan Hernly wrote the nomination for the building, now listed on both the state and national historic registers as Klock’s Grocery and Independent Laundromat.

Image provided by the Douglas County Historical Society, Watkins Museum of History.

Image provided by the Douglas County Historical Society, Watkins Museum of History.

Built by Fred Klock in 1922, the building replaced one at the same location that housed his grocery. In both buildings, Klock advertised his business as Klock’s Windmill Grocery, a reference to the community landmark that long stood at the top of the 9th Street hill. When the current building first opened, the eastern half was occupied by Beal Brothers Meat Market. The building transitioned in 1959 into Independent Laundry and Dry-Cleaning, which made a name for itself by providing a self-serve, coin-operated dry-cleaning service.

Image provided by the Douglas County Historical Society, Watkins Museum of History.

Image provided by the Douglas County Historical Society, Watkins Museum of History.

Mike Myers of Hernly Associates has provided all the architectural work and Joni Hernly is overseeing compliance with the tax-credit process. Andy Fletcher is the work coordinator on site, and Brad also points to Harvey Brothers Construction as a big help to the project.

Two outstanding features of the project are the pressed-tin ceiling inside and the transom windows. Portions of the original ceiling were damaged or missing, so Brad hired W.F. Norman in Nevada, Mo., to reproduce the stamp and fabricate new matching material. The windows were cleaned up and masterfully restored by Dave Anderson of Globe Art Glass.

Thanks Brad for bringing this corner commercial property back to tip-top shape!

723 New York Street

City leaders looking to improve affordable housing options should be paying attention to what Marci Fransisco and Joe Bickford have been doing for some time now. Each year they rehabilitate an older property that has served its entire existence as an affordable house. Plenty of sweat equity, rehab knowledge and use of salvage materials help to ensure each house remains affordable as it is improved. When the work is done, they tackle the financing portion of our affordable housing problem. Many people cannot purchase a home because they lack funds for a downpayment or can’t qualify for a conventional mortgage. But Marci and Joe, once they find the person or family they wish to hand the house off to, work out a payment plan that allows them to buy the house on contract.

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For Joe in particular, this year’s project at 723 New York returns full circle to where this financing lesson was learned. This was the family home in which he grew up. Parents Gene and Dessi were renting when the owner decided to sell. When Gene and Dessi expressed interest but lacked the funds, the owner allowed them to purchase it on contract.

Joe’s many hours of work on the project this year brought back some childhood memories. His dad would walk to work at the box factory near the river. Joe enjoyed playing near the river and on the New York School playground. He would run errands for his mother to the grocery store on 416 E 9th Street, where Marty Olson’s shop is now. Working this summer in the living room, he could picture Dessi sitting in her recliner by the window where she would watch the trains roll by. He could still smell her cooking as he worked on the chimney in the kitchen.

Family ties to this project were made even stronger as longtime collaborator Ernie Fantini decided towards the end to move back to Delaware to care for his mother.  Ernie had begun working alongside Marci and Joe in 1991 on recommendation from master stonemason Keith Middlemas, and had participated on virtually every one of their projects since then.

With the Habitat for Humanity ReStore right across the alley, salvage opportunities were easy and included the sink, tub, tile, lighting fixtures and more.

723 New York offers Lawrence history as well as family history. Along with the house one door south, it was moved from another location by Park Hetzel in 1958. Behind both houses sits an old stone barn where the aunt of Langston Hughes kept her dairy cow.

In an era when traditional affordable starting homes in Lawrence core neighborhoods are being torn down and replaced with new homes that are unaffordable for many, Marci and Joe are preserving affordable options and maintaining the historic structures and character of  those neighborhoods. We’re sure LPA isn’t the only one who wants to say “thanks”!

New Edition of "Embattled Lawrence" Announced

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Longtime Lawrence historian Dennis Domer announced a new three-volume edition of his landmark book, “Embattled Lawrence” to a crowd of about 100 people at Cider Gallery Tuesday night. The three books are expected to be published over the next three years and cover many facets of Lawrence history, with contributions from other local historians. The work on the books can be supported through contributions of $100, $500 or $1,000 to the Douglas County Historical Society..

LPA Annual Meeting, Sunday, Sept. 15

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THE RENOVATED SANTA FE DEPOT. PHOTO BY LEILANI PHOTOGRAPHS

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 Announces Summer 2019 Preservation In Progress Awards

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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.

Historical Plaque Dedicated at Ernst & Son Hardware Building

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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:



Please Join Us Saturday, July 6, 9 a.m., to Dedicate a Plaque Honoring Ernst & Son's Long Heritage in Lawrence

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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.

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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.

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Make Your Voice Heard About The Future of Downtown

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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