Raise a Toast to 40 Years of LPA at the Site that Started it All!

Join Lawrence Preservation Alliance on Friday, May 17th at 7PM for a celebratory toast and Old House Warming to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of LPA! This event will take place at 947 Louisiana Street, the home that started it all.

In 1984, a handful of neighborhood leaders, alarmed at the pace of old house demolitions and threatened public properties downtown and in historic core neighborhoods, came together to stop this house from facing the same fate. Incorporated as a non-profit under the laws of the State of Kansas on May 17, the newly formed LPA, combining 25 personal loans from supporters, had this property purchased within a few short weeks, and on the road to recovery. Now, after years of hard work and community-building by countless board members and annual members, we look up and see that LPA is forty years young!

This is a free but members-only event, open to paid members of Lawrence Preservation Alliance. To help with our planning, it's important for all who attend to register at givebutter.com/LPA40thToast.

Not a member currently? Go to the registration site, click "Donate & Tickets" and pay a $20 membership fee. We will see you there!

Friday, May 17, 7PM
947 Louisiana

Celebrating 40 Years of Lawrence Preservation Alliance!

May is upon us and there is much to celebrate in the world of historic preservation!

Not only does the month of May mark 40 years since the establishment of Lawrence Preservation Alliance, it is also National Preservation Month, as observed and celebrated by the National Park Service and National Trust for Historic Preservation.

To honor our anniversary, a custom commemorative logo has been created and will be used throughout the year in promotional materials and gift items. Each feature of this logo was carefully selected to represent this 40th anniversary milestone and our continued commitment to the preservation of Lawrence’s historic treasures.

Lawrence Preservation Alliance will be celebrating this milestone anniversary with an exclusive members only event at the very property that sparked our founding - 947 Louisiana Street. More details on that event and the history of the project and our founding will be shared later this week.

Join LPA for An Evening of Haskell's Treasures!

Experience the newly reopened museum with reformatted exhibits and delve into the secrets of Haskell's past. This ticketed event offers a unique opportunity to explore at your leisure, followed by an engaging Q&A session with Travis Campbell, the Center & Museum's director.

Travis Campbell will unveil some of the Center's hidden gems from the archives, rarely seen by the public. Learn about the untold stories and fascinating artifacts that shape Haskell's cultural heritage.

Date: Wednesday, March 6th Time: 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Location: Haskell Cultural Center & Museum - 2411 Barker Ave, Lawrence 66046

Limited Tickets Available
$15 for Lawrence Preservation Alliance Members 
$20 for non-members

All proceeds will be donated back to the Cultural Center & Museum, supporting its mission to preserve and celebrate the history of Haskell.

Don't miss out on this unforgettable evening of discovery and enlightenment. Reserve your tickets now and be part of uncovering Haskell's treasures!

NEW Date Added! Join LPA & Lawrence NAACP for a Historic Homes Walking Tour Sunday, 11/12!

Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to learn more about the history of Lawrence!

The Lawrence Preservation Alliance and the Lawrence NAACP Branch present a ten-block guided walking tour through the neighborhood bordered by 12th and 14th streets and Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The tour will feature three short history presentations in front of the following Lawrence NAACP (1921) Founder Homes: 1325 Pennsylvania, 1333 New York, and 1230 Connecticut. The tour will include contextual insights into this historic neighborhood that was largely populated by Black residents in the 1920s.

Featured Lawrence NAACP Founders: Doctor Frederick Harvey, John and Gertrude Clark, and the Hamilton family. The tour will begin at the SE corner of 12th and Connecticut and end at 1230 Connecticut.

Sunday, November 12
Time: 1:30 to 3pm.
Tickets: $10 per person.
Space is limited! We can accommodate 20 guests per tour.
Tickets: https://bit.ly/NAACPTourNov12

LPA Announces Fall 2023 Preservation in Progress Awards

For its Fall 2023 Preservation in Progress awards, LPA recognizes a comprehensive stone foundation restoration as the first step of a full-house rehabilitation, a structural front porch repair and restoration at the former Colonial Tea Room, and a show-stopping exterior paint job.

1238 Rhode Island Street

Photo courtesy of Toni and Walt Clogston

Photo courtesy of Toni and Walt Clogston

In the South Rhode Island and New Hampshire Street Historic District, Toni and Walt Clogston are spearheading an ambitious restoration of a circa-1870 vernacular gable-front-and-wing National Folk house. The project involves a complete overhaul of the property inside and out, with the goal of transforming what was once a triplex back into a single-family home. Records indicate that the house, which over time had accumulated several additions, may have served as a three-dwelling unit since at least 1887. 

courtesy of Stonehouse Construction

The Clogstons embarked on this journey after completing a previous rehab on New Hampshire Street and were drawn to this project due to its proximity to their primary residence and its location within a historic district, which provides an opportunity to use historic tax credits for projects like this.

They anticipated major foundation work but were taken aback by the extent of the damage. The wood sill plate needed replacement and other parts of the framing had also suffered from rot and termite damage. Fortunately, dedicated professionals Mike Myers of Hernly Associates, general contractor Kyle Weiland of Stonehouse Construction and mason Karl Ramberg and his team have designed the proper structural repairs and work is well underway.

Photo courtesy of Stonehouse Construction

Walt and Toni have spent time at the Spencer Research Library learning more about their property, designated in the National Register of Historic Places as the Campbell House, after one-time homeowners William and Helen Campbell. New questions were generated by work on the project, such as why the rafters in an upper-level ceiling are charred. No answers on that one yet, though they have checked old Fire Department records in their effort to find out.

The foundation work is looking great but still is a work in progress as structural and drainage issues are addressed inside and outside the house. Then it’s on to the next phase of the process. The Clogstons anticipate an 18-month timeline for completion.

Drawing from the couple’s prior experience with rehabilitation projects, Toni offers valuable advice. She emphasizes the importance of selecting trustworthy contractors who share your vision and recommends having a substantial contingency budget. Toni and Walt know that preservation work demands resilience in the face of unexpected challenges, sometimes making it a labor of love.

Thanks to their unwavering commitment and the expertise and skills of their chosen professionals, 1238 Rhode Island is being meticulously restored to its former glory. This will be a fun project to keep an eye on as it moves along.

936 Kentucky Street

Anyone driving south on Kentucky Street near downtown in the last month has likely noticed ongoing work at the home of longtime LPA member James Dunn. For a while, the huge, fluted column on the south corner was gone and the porch roof was braced to the ground. Now the column is back in place and the north column is removed and braced. A thorough and careful maintenance and rehabilitation program of the front porch and veranda is well underway.

The Wheeler-Stuart House (KHRI 045-466) is a two-story Colonial Revival built in 1903 that is a contributing property to the Oread Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. The original brick portion showcases a full-length covered front porch. When a south addition of stucco, two stories tapering to one, was added circa 1925 (a second addition, to the rear, was built later), the porch floor was extended as well.

Sometime in the early 1900s, the property was converted to a tearoom and boarding house, and the Colonial Tea Room, which lasted until around 1947, was born. By the time James and his wife Nancy bought the house in 1967, the apartments and rented rooms remained, and James has lived here, managing the rented rooms and his other apartment properties, since then.

James Dunn with the Colonial Tea Room sign.

Without protection from the elements, the exposed flooring in front of the stucco addition had deteriorated to the point that James worried about its safety. The handrail also needed to be rebuilt. Once Cecil Construction, (Ryan Cecil, principal), who James has worked with for several years—including at 916 Kentucky, a 2018 LPA PIP award winner—was on the job, they quickly realized that the framing underneath the floor needed replacement as well, due to rot and termite damage. The brick pier under the southwest corner of the porch also needed to be rebuilt.

Mason Steve Haines disassembled the brick pier, poured a new concrete one, and wrapped it with brick. Cecil Construction team members replaced the framing and installed a new floor. Their extra thought and care are evident in the design they chose for the handrail balusters and their attachment to the lower rail. The top face of the lower rail is cut at a pitch, so it sheds water easily. The bottom of each baluster is notched to fit the pitched angle of the lower rail, and all components are primed on all sides prior to installation. These are the types of design decisions one should make when working with modern wood, which has more vulnerabilities than the old-growth lumber that carpenters of yesteryear employed.

The work on the veranda side is now complete and the project scope is heading towards the north corner. Congratulations to James Dunn and the Cecil Construction team for a job well done.

1248 Connecticut Street

Photo courtesy of Stella Provias

A major exterior paint job is drawing attention to the Queen Anne house at 1248 Connecticut. Stella Provias, a local realtor, has lived there with her partner Shane Powers and their three children for more than 5 years. When she purchased the house, it needed painting inside and out. She lights up with passion when speaking about her home. “I’ve always been fascinated with older houses,” she says. “I’ve always felt most comfortable and at home in them.” 

Provias remembered this home from when she arrived in Lawrence in 1995 to attend KU. At that time, it was a rental where a friend resided. She was enamored with the home the moment she walked in. “Never in a million years did I think I would someday own it,” she says now. 

She reached out to the Watkins Museum several years ago to learn more about the house’s history. She was given the following clipping, dated January 1, 1901, from the Lawrence Daily Journal: 

“Prof Charles Vickrey’s house at the corner of Lee and Connecticut streets was another one of the more expensive homes built this year. The house is a two-story frame structure, with modern conveniences, and cost about $4,000. It is a very great improvement to the part of town in which it was erected.” 

Shortly after purchasing it, Provias had the interior plaster and lath repaired and painted. The exterior took more thought and effort. “I obsessed about the colors for over two years,” she remembers. “I was constantly researching online, driving around town and asking my friends about what the color combination should be.” 

Researching online, she stumbled upon the Bair-Stokes House, an 1888 Queen Anne Victorian in Arcata, California. Its enchanting dark purple siding, midnight blue trim and gold accents inspired her. 

After a couple of failed attempts with house painters, Provias met Gregory Collins of Absolute Painting. “The crew was awesome,” she says, “and we got to know those guys really well.” The work started last fall and was done by December. 

Photo courtesy of Stella Provias

The color scheme was a bold decision, and for the most part people have responded favorably to the dark, nontraditional colors. The spindles and fret work on the front porch along with the gable ornamentation are beautiful. The vibrant hues demand your attention. Most importantly, Provias loves it. “I wanted an eye-catching, dramatic but still refined color combination that passersby would notice,” she says. “It’s captivating, it excites me, and it feels right.”