KANSAS CITY, KANSAS CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL SURVEY KERR'S PARK, ARICKAREE, AND WESTHEIGHT MANOR NO. 5 • ST. PETER'S PARISH •• KANSAS CITY UNIVERSITY CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM FY 1987 October 1, 1987 - August 31, 1988 GRANT NO. 20-87-20018-006 HISTORIC INVENTORY - PHASE 2 SURVEY KANSAS CITY, KANSAS Prepared by Cydney Miiistein Architectural and Art Hlstorlcal Research, Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas City Planning Division 1990 THE CITY OF KANSAS CITY, KANSAS' Joseph E. Steineger, Jr., Mayor Chester C. Owens, Jr., Councilman First District Carol Marinovich, Councilwoman Second District Richard A. Ruiz, Councilman Third District Ronald D. Mears, Councilman Fourth District Frank Corbett, Councilman Fifth District Wm. H. (Bill) Young, Councilman Sixth District KANSAS CITY, KANSAS LANDMARKS COMMISSION Charles Van Middlesworth, Chairman George Breidenthal Gene Buchanan Ray Byers Virginia Hubbard James R. McField Mary Murguia KANSAS CITY, KANSAS CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT PHASE 2 SURVEY INTRODUCTION The City of Kansas City, Kansas contracted for an historical and arch i tectura1 survey of three neighborhoods in Kansas City, Kansas, including Kerr's Park, Arickaree, and Westheight Manor No. 5; St. Peter's Parish; and a selected number of individual structures in the area known as the Kansas City University neighborhood. The survey, the subject of this final report and the second to be carried out in Kansas City under a Certified Lo ca 1 Government grant, commenced in October, 1987 and was comp 1eted by August 31, 1988. It has been financed in part with Federal funds from the National Park Service, a division of the United States Department of the Interior, and administered by the Kansas State Historical Society. The contents and opinions, however, do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of either the United States Department of the Interior or the Kansas State Historical Society. Matching funds were provided by the City of Kansas City, Kansas. The survey was conducted by Cydney Millstein of Architectural and Art Hi stori ca 1 Research, Kansas City, Missouri with assistance from Larry Hancks of the City Planning Division, Kansas City, Kansas. SURVEY BOUNDARIES Listed be 1ow are the targeted survey areas. The boundaries are described for each neighborhood. The survey boundaries were selected by representatives of the Kansas City, Kansas City Planning Division in consultation with officials from the Historic Preservation Department, Kansas State Historical Society. Kerr's Park, Arickaree, and Westheight Manor No. 5: Orville Avenue through 20th Street to the south; 18th Street to the east; State Avenue to the north; Washington Soul evard and its intersection with West view Ori ve to the west. There are approximate 1y 380 structures within this survey area. St. Peter's Parish (northern one-half): Orville Avenue to the south; Grandview Boulevard and 14th Street to the east; Minnesota Avenue to ·the north; 18th Street to the west. There are approximately 280 structures within this survey area. Kansas City University District: Only a select number of structures were surveyed along Parallel Parkway, Tennyson Avenue, North 32nd Street, and North 34th Street. Approximately 10 structures within this area were surveyed. SURVEY OBJECTIVES This survey was designed to provide a comprehensive inventory of historically and architecturally significant structures, characterizing the range of historic properties within the project areas. Secondly, this survey can be used as a tool in the identification and protection of historic resources and for making decisions pertaining to land use. 3 Finally, it also provides an outline of the cultural heritage and architectural patterns associated with the history of Kansas City, Kansas. METHODOLOGY MAPS: A mylar base map was prepared for each survey area. Maps were refined from City Planning Division maps, and corrections to the initially prepared maps were made as field work progressed. Individual structures are keyed by address to the survey forms to enable identification. PHOTOGRAPHY: At least one photograph of each structure was made using a 35 mm. camera with professional black and white film. Contact sheets are keY.ed by sheet number and exposure number and then i dent i fi ed · as such on the individual inventory forms. ARCHIVAL RESEARCH: Information and data were gathered from primary materials from the following sources: I. The Board of Public Utilities, Water Operations, 380 South 11th Street, Kansas City, Kansas. This is the repository for water permits. 2. Missouri Valley Room, Kansas City Public Library, 311 East 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri. This local history (both Missouri and Kansas) room of the main branch of the Kansas City, Missouri Public Library is the repository for City Directories, Western Contractor (a construction trade journal), maps, atlases, and numerous other collections including photographs and newspaper clippings. 3. Kansas City, Kansas Public Library, 625 Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas. The collections of the main branch of the Kansas City, Kansas Public Library include City Directories, and microfilm copies of early Kansas City, Kansas newspapers 4 including: The Wyandotte County Herald, The Wyandotte County Gazette, The Kansas City Glob.e, and The Kansas City Kansan. 4. Wyandotte County Museum, Bonner Springs, Kansas. This repository features valuable local history materials, including photograph collections, biographies, maps, and atlases. 5. Kansas Collection, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. This collection includes the 1887-1888, 1907-08, and 1931 Sanborn atlases of Kansas City, Kansas. 6. American Institute of Architects, Kansas City Chapter, 104 W. 9th Street, Kansas City, Missouri. This AIA office maintains files on local architects. 7. Western Historical Manuscripts Collection, Newcomb Hall, University of Missouri, Kansas City. This collection includes architectural blueprints and biographical information on prominent local architects. 8. Landmarks Commission, Kansas City, Missouri. Files on local architects. Unfortunately, building permits for the survey .areas are not available. SITE VISITS An on-site analysis of architecture within each survey area was conducted in order to fully assess present condition and physical status of individual structures (i.e. identification of obvious alterations and/or additions). COMPLETION AND ASSEMBLAGE OF INVENTORY FORMS An Historic Resources Inventory form was prepared for each structure, -including the street address; a description of prominent architectural features with emphasis on the facade; a documented or estimated date of original construction; identification of obvious 5 alterations; a designation of style or design; identification of architect and/or builder, if known; and an on-site verification and consideration of Nos. 16-18 and 23. In addition, sources of information (No. 32) are provided. Each inventory sheet is keyed by address to its location on the mylar map and each sheet is accompanied by at least one photograph which, in turn, is keyed to a negative file number. ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION A summary history and analysis of each survey area follows. The individual inventory sheets and their accumulated data were used to relate individual buildings to the overall development of each survey area. A brief history including plat dates and district development is provided, followed by an overview of housing stock and an individual listing of the more significant structures. Finally, a discussion of the correlation between the housing trends of each survey area and the broader architectural context of Kansas City, Kansas, and a section on recommendations wil 1 cone 1ude the report. Fo 11 owing the above is an appendix covering architects included in the survey. For further information on the history of the development of Kansas ~ity, Kansas, the following sources are recommended: The Afro­ American Community in Kansas City, Kansas; ROOTS: The Historic and Architectural Heritage of Kansas City, Kansas; and Strawberry Hill (see Bibliography). · KERR'S PARK, ARICKAREE, AND WESTHEIGHT MANOR NO. 5 Early History The area south of State Avenue and west of 18th Street originally had two owners under the a 11 otments fo 11 owing the Wyandot treaty of 1855. The area east of 22nd Street, as well as part of the future Westheight Manor to the north, belonged to a Wyandot named John Sarahess. The area west of 22nd Street be 1onged to John D. Brown, uncle of the well-known Nancy Brown Guthrie. Patents to the titles for the various Wyandot allotments were not issued until between January 19, 1860 and December 4, 1861, well after property sales to ·new settlers had begun. The 1870 Heisler and McGee map of Wyandotte County shows the north ha 1 f of the Sarahess property owned by W. Sarahass (sic), while th.e south half, the future Arickaree subdivision, nad become the property of T.W. Combs, called "Raspberry Farm." The Brown property west of 22nd is shown as now belonging to one John Campbell. In 1886, the incorporated cities of Wyandotte, Kansas City, Kansas, and Armourdale were consolidated together to form a single city called Kansas City, Kansas, with the new western city limits at the present 18th Street. In the fo 11 owing year an atlas of Wyandotte County was published which shows further shifts in ownership in the survey area. Sarah Ann Kerr, e 1de st daughter of Hanford N. and Sarah Kerr, had married T.W. Combs. The atlas shows the Combs property being owned by S.A. Combs and heirs, but this is puzzling since T.W. Combs lived to sign the Arickaree plat in 1910. The remaining Sarahess 7 property between the Kerr and Combs farms was purchased by the Kerrs that same year (1887), giving the extended family control over some 434 acres just west of the new city limits. The atlas also shows that the property west of 22nd had again changed hands. B. Hanrion had acquired a 12 acre tract south of Muncie Road (the present State Avenue), while two larger tracts were owned by Kansas City, Missouri investors, J.