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.
Corinthian Hall, pictured above, is being completely restored as closely as possible to its original condition. During its conversion to a museum a lot of detail was lost in terms of woodwork and moldings. Also, many of the contents of the home were sold off or taken to Longview Farm. Really, in much of the house, all that's left is the basic structure and many interior walls had been removed entirely.
The area around the main door of the Carriage House is being prepared for the hanging of large double wooden doors that will look like the original design. They are very heavy.
Christopher Leitch the historic house director for Corinthian Hall gave a "hard hat" tour last Sunday as a part of the Friends of the Kansas City Museum's annual picnic. Here he talks about the servants quarters.
One of the few original furnishings that remains is this sink and the tile surrounding it in the servants area. 25 people were in service to the Longs.
Everything is carefully preserved whether it is to be retained in the structure or not.
Looking northeast in the servants area. All original interior walls in this section are gone.
The ceiling, above, and the floor, below, in the Solarium. The stained glass shown in these windows is original and was produced locally.
Some of the ceiling detail has been preserved although quite a bit of latex paint will have to be carefully removed before that design can truly be appreciated.
Fortunately stain glass windows were saved that were in exterior walls and have been restored.
This window looks east. A detail from the left most panel is shown below.
The ceiling in the dining room awaiting restoration as is the mantel-less fireplace in the same room.
Many famous people dined in this room including the allied leaders prior to heading to the Liberty Memorial for it's dedication in 1926.
Room just off the main hallway on the east side of the home.
Formal living area on the westside of the front of the house.
Some furnishings from the house are kept in storage... but will need extensive restoration just like the house.
Detail of a section of wall in the formal living room.
Looking through the living room window across Gladstone Boulevard to the Stevens' House which is profiled in an earlier post on this site. Mr. Long wished to purchase the house from Mrs. Stevens so he could demolish it... or to persuade her to let him move the building so his view would not be obstructed. She refused. The only landowner who did.
Looking west through the living room window toward the downtown skyline. All of the windows in the home have been replaced with new thermal units that have the same exterior color as the original windows did when the house was completed in 1910.
One of the stained glass windows that has been restored is the beautiful one on the landing between the first and second floors. Here Christopher shows where an organ was located when the Longs were still in residence. (An organ was still there in the 50s when I visited as a kid.)
The restored glass...
One of the few remaining original fixtures. Corinthian Hall cost 1 million in 1909 dollars for land acquisition, home moving and construction. The renovation has no set completion date. The tour also included the second floor... but I had to leave for a graduation party. I will post photos of that floor as soon as I can arrange a tour. :)
