Where Old Meets New... The West Side

Strolled the West Side Sunday fascinated by the mixture of architectural styles exemplified by the shot above. Really old and really new side by side and merged. Not all to my liking but certainly interesting on many levels. My father's family lived on the West Side from the 1890's through the early 1900s.... only one of their houses still stands... This probably explains my fascination with this area.
I always park by the FBI Building theorizing that car thieves MIGHT be smart enough to give it a wide birth.... crossing the Summit Street Bridge over 670 leads you straight into the heart of the district.

Much of the housing stock has been meticulously restored... I suppose "gentrification" is the appropriate term but that seems to have negative connotations. As far as preservation is concerned, if it can be saved... gentrify away to your hearts content.


Nice to see the daffodils .... but, strangely, no one was outside.


I know virtually nothing about giving proper names to architectural styles... but it is easy to tell the old and the new apart.... i.e. above and below....

This will be my only snarky comment. I do believe that architects, in general, should adopt the motto of the medical profession.... "First, do no harm."
More style melding.... a little less jarring here. (above)
Beautiful restoration above... and the Bluebird Cafe below... right of center.

Above... 20th Century strip mall. I was delighted to find a brand new little cafe that will be opening in the first part of April. Just east of Bellevue on 17th Street. They were having a test day and I snuck in.... you can't miss the entry... below...
The name is FUD with a horizontal colon over the U... which I have no idea how to do on a keyboard. It smelled absolutely wonderful in there.... and was very warm and welcoming....
I wish I hadn't just eaten lunch. I'm going back....

Above.... very tall, very slender and very new. Below.... faithfully restored... I lined my shot up with the fence... so the house must be crooked.
North side of the above house shows a very large garden.... looks like preparations are underway for planting... you can see how the very tall, very narrow and very new dwarfs its neighbor. I already made my one snarky remark.

Good housing is in demand on the West Side... so much so that they are using trees.... above... a tree house and the mother manse.... below the tree house isolated.

More merging of old and new above.


Took the above shot to show how close to downtown the West Side is... walk to work.
This, to me, is an example of older construction that doesn't quite match the architectural majority. I like the building... it just seems out of place.
Above new, below old.

Eclectic doesn't even start to explain......



The back of a house with another tree dwelling.... I think we see recycling in action here.
Above.... stumbled upon this coven of modern which I didn't know existed... " interesting" I'll give them...below, what appears to be the oldest house in the "cul-de-sac" which actually surrounds the oldest park in the city. (I've got to get out more... I didn't know about it either.)

Land donated in the mid 1800s for KC's .... first..... Andrew Drips Park. Naturally someone had to screw up the granite with a chisel. At the north end of the cul-de-sac is another foot bridge that takes one around behind the FBI Building, by a ball field in Mulkey Park... that one I'd heard of.

Above.... steps to nowhere with the Skyline in the background. Below the Steer on it's "new" perch... although it's been there a while.


Went passed the car to get one shot of the skyline from the Summit Street Bridge just as the sun made a brief appearance.

I just scratched the surface when it comes to photographing the west side... I'll be going back again soon.

Holiday Homes Tour 2

Next on our tour is the Calvert Hunt home, 1904. Undoubtedly the finest example of Arts and Crafts architecture and furnishings in the city, if not the state. Lovingly restored by homeowners Bill Stout and Chris Granger this house had not been open to the public since 1912. Although it looks somewhat like concrete, the exterior is flat limestone. On our virtual tour pay particular attention to the doorways... that are intentionally non-rectangular. More Egyptian than anything. The view below is looking north from along side the front entrance.
Below, looking west into the dining room.

Above, north again up the staircase to the landing.
Notice the recessed lighting panels along the top of the curved walls. Almost everything in this home is original.
Above, looking up to the second floor.
Main entryway... this view is south.
Living room above and behind this view is the delightful nook below. Note the ceilings on either side... painted canvas. Detail below.
Benches are newly upholstered... original fabric was crimson. Restored painted canvas below. Extensive water damage had occurred in this area.

Office/den/library.
Beautiful glass throughout the house.
Dining room above. Sorry for the list to port... I was very close to the table with an extreme wide angle lens.

The above home was built in 1905 for Banker Nathan English. It's an all-brick home built in the Prairie Style. It has eight bedrooms, two and a half baths and a fireplace on every floor. The current owners, David and Carrie Kolwyck have continued the restoration of this wonderful home.

Front door, above, festive and inviting.
Gorgeous entry hall with wonderful original fixture.
Front parlor on the west side of the entryway. The house faces north fronting on Gladstone Boulevard and sits on land purchased from the Scarritt family.
Living room on the east side of the entryway with one of the many fireplaces.
Looking south from the living room toward the dining area with one of the pocket doors closed.
Above, the dining room.
I can see Sunday breakfast below and Sunday dinner above.... although I have no inside information.

Below, the refrigerator, far right, is located directly in front of the block ice delivery area... kind of fitting methinks. Tomorrow the final tour home and a look inside Melrose Methodist Church with some shots of a great choir performance.