Last Saturday was the Fourth Annual Homes Tour in Pendleton Heights... and a tour highlight was the Folk Victorian home of Greg and Amy. Bradford pears shield the house from view which accounts for the angle of the shot above. This home was built in 1892 for Harry and Rosa Browdy, natives of Russia. Mr. Browdy operated a tavern on Independence Avenue.
The block stained glass window in the image above is original to the house and it has much of its original woodwork and ceiling height. Note the transoms over the doorways.
The owners love art, particularly locally produced, and have adorned their house with wonderful examples. I love it.
Many of the homes on the tour also had goodies... I felt that, since I walked between homes, that I deserved to splurge....
Amy and Greg moved into the home last year and have updated the bathroom, above, and the basement and backyard.
The painting on the wall in the picture above is an original by local artist Hector Casanova Cinderhouse.
Above, the expansive backyard and below the redone garage/basement with an original painting by Betsy Barratt.
Visiting this house is a visual treat.... excellent use of space.
Scuola Vita Nuova was also on the tour this year. A charter school it stands where two Victorian mansions once stood... the stone walls above and portions of a carriage house are all that remain of those. Visitors were greeted by a bell choir below....
There were tour guides for each group of guests... our guide, Maria, talked about the founding of this public charter elementary school that teaches children of many cultures. It's credo is based on the philosophy and service of Dr. J.B. Bisceglia who assisted and motivated Italian immigrants in Kansas City from the late 1910s until his death in 1988.
This portion of the school is a chapel built in 1941 for Christ Presbyterian Church... all the school buildings on the site are owned by the Northeast Community Center.
Above and below is the middle school of Scuola.... very bright and airy...
The library is housed in what is left of a 100-year-old carriage house for one of the mansions that used to be on the site. Below you can see one of the rings where horses were tied up.
Above a tribute to Galileo painted on the window.
Above and below in the gym.... tap shoes and the implements of competition.
Our final stop this year is the home of Benjamin and Angie. Built in 1888 by the Western Lumber Company the first known occupant was Dr. Valcolon W. Mather.... however, by 1893 there was a new owner, John W. Merrill, manager of the Big Four Tea and Coffee Company.
Above two of the neighborhood elves who served as tour guides... Damian and Marcellus... their home was on tour last year.
The house is blessed to have much of its original woodwork and ornamentation.... like cherry and walnut detail, pocket doors, bay windows and the beautiful lower staircase.
Benjamin and Angie just moved in last year.... they have converted the garage and studio into a studio and guest house.....
Stay tuned for word of the Fifth Annual Holiday Homes Tour next year!
In my first "ruins" post (http://hyperblogal.blogspot.com/2010/11/if-walls-could-talk.html) I showed images of structural remains at the foot of Gooseneck (below the Museum along Cliff Drive). This post shows ruins along Paseo just south of Gate 1 to Cliff Drive not far from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences.. Above old brick foundation...
Above and below, stone walls.
Above and below inside the old walls. According to an old Sanborn map this building was a brick foundry....
Above, old doorway.
These photos were taken on a warm day in January 1998. Shot with an F4 on T-Max 400.... not my favorite film. For you old timers my favorite film was Panatomic-X... Slow as molasses... but beautiful, detailed images... perfect for studio work too. Kodak discontinued it in favor of T-Max 100 which was the beginning of the end for Kodak as far as I'm concerned.
Above is Hyper with daughter Kelly, then aged 9... for scale.... not far from these ruins are piles of very interesting and ornate rubble... Kelly sits atop a column remnant below...
Above Kelly and friend, Brad, a fellow bluff explorer.
Whatever this used to be it was rather grand.
Another set of remains above.
