This home was built in 1902 for Edward A. Stevens a Kansas City Lawyer who dabbled in real estate. The entire cost was $25,000 including the land which was purchased from the Nathan Scarritt family. It was just announced that the owners, Jeff Zumsteg and Bob Robinson, are to receive the 2008 Restoration Award from the Historic Kansas City Foundation. The Award will be presented in a ceremony on May 26th at the Kansas City location of the National Archives as a part of National Preservation Month.
At a little under 8,000 square feet this three story, colonial revival contains seven bedrooms, three and a half baths, eight fireplaces and a ballroom on the third floor.
After living in the home for only six months Mr. Stevens passed away. His funeral was held in the house with the casket at the foot of the staircase. Stevens' widow, son and daughter continued living in the home after his death. His daughter Aileen married Herbert James, grandson of T.M. James, and after her mothers death continued to live in the house until 1925. The home has passed through many hands since that time but much of the interior was safely preserved.
The side entrance where carriages would pull up to allow passengers to disembark.
View from the east showing part of the porch that wraps around to cover the entire back of the house.
Looking east. The doors on the left wall open into the dining room.
The main entrance facing Gladstone Boulevard.
Looking back across Gladstone to Corinthian Hall currently under renovation of it's own. Scenes of that interior renovation coming soon in a post.
Walking in the front door one is greeted with a grand stairway and entry hall.
Looking west toward the formal living room.
The furniture dates from the mid 1800s.
Looking east into the music room and dining room.
The music room.
Jeff's Grandfather's picture in his World War I uniform overlooks a cactus plant that was a gift to him and his new wife on their wedding day in 1921. (I can't keep a plant alive more than a week!)
Looking back into the music room from the dining room. All pocket doors and hardware are original.
The dining room with doors leading to the wrap-around porch on the left.
The house was wired and piped for both gas and electric when it was built.
The kitchen remodeling was only recently completed and the design by Jeff and Bob mirrors details found throughout the house. The wood for the floor came from an old gymnasium and was found in the West Bottoms.
Breakfast nook.... the smaller window on the back wall was for ice delivery.
Hallway leading back to the main staircase.
The stained glass window is original. Mr. Stevens' daughter Aileen is represented in four panels of the window as a goddess showing she was well rounded in arts, literature, music and sports. There's a detail from the window below.
Looking down toward the main entrance and up to the second floor.
Ante room to the master bedroom with the door to the balcony.
Overlooking Gladstone Boulevard and featuring Loula the cat at the railing.
Ante room looking east into the master bedroom.
The master bedroom including Polar the cat. He was very cooperative and remained still through five exposures.
The master bath with the original bathtub.
Guest bedroom (Aileens' originally)
Mr. Steven's office now Bob Robinsons .
Originally Mr. Stevens' bedroom.
Renovation of the third floor is still underway. This is a view of the ballroom. Notice the raised floor in the background for the musicians.
Behind the home is a three-story carriage house. The basement housed the Stevens' Steamer Car with the main floor having two horse stalls, one remains below, and room for a carriage.
The third floor was for hay storage and had a room, shown below, for the chauffeur.
At Christmas the home is the picture of holiday spirit! The house is listed on the Kansas City Register of Historical Places as a part of the Scarritt Renaissance Historical District. It is protected by an advanced alarm system, two giant schnauzers and three cats.
Above, what Scarritt Spring looked like in the early part of the last century. Below, what it looks like now. This site is located directly below Cliff Drive just east of the DiCapo Fountain (the waterfall). It commemorated the site of the spring (still flowing) which the Scarritt family used for water and to keep things cool. As late as the 1950s you could still go down there and get watercress for salads. But, when the Cliff Drive Spring above was closed due to contaminated water, so was this one below.
The walls shown in the postcard view are still there and in remarkably good shape. At some point it would be fun to clear away some of the debris and brush to see if any of the walking paths still exist. There is the desire to bring this back to its 20th Century condition... but it will take some time.
The original spigot (left in the image) is still there with ample water coming forth. The spring had a mind of its own though and opened a new channel on the right.
I wouldn't be surprised if some of the original stonework that made up the basin is still in place under the dirt and debris.
Above, closeup of the spigot and, below, much of the original granite is still in place lining the channel.
The pieces below "crawled" about 50 yards to the east.... probably a failed attempt at "recycling".
I'll keep you posted on any efforts toward restoration.
