Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Playhouse In The Attic

These pictures were taken prior to the Museum's closing for renovation. I'm grateful to Christopher Leitch the Historic House Director for the Museum for allowing me to go through one last time to photograph the exhibits. He was also kind enough to show my daughter Kelly and I the third floor, attic and roof. Below is a shot from the roof looking down at the front gate on Gladstone Boulevard.... this is four stories up and we are looking toward the south.Below... in the attic is a full-sized playhouse that R.A. Long built for his grandchildren.... this really is adult scale and the attic is tall enough to house it. Word from the grandchildren though is they thought it was a little creepy.
Below.... a dormer and the furniture elevator that could be used to winch up items from the third floor for storage.
It's operated by hand power.....

Above... closeup of one of the copper sheathed dormer windows that are so prominent on the roofline.
Original wallpaper on the ceiling of the attic.
Prior to the removal of all the exhibits for the renovation the attic was used as storage space for old exhibit materials, posters and all sorts of things.
Note the steel beams holding up the roof.

Above.... heading up stairs to the roof.
The view north (above) showing the Natural History Hall.... now being restored as the carriage house it originally was... new windows and doors and the hall entrance addition has been removed.
Above... looking southeast. The large stone house in the foreground originally sat where Corinthian Hall is now and was moved at R.A. Longs expense to help create a space for his home. To the left and rear of that home is Melrose Methodist Church founded by Nathan Scarritt in the 1880s... still going strong.
Wider shot still looking southeast.
The Steven's House.... 1902... now totally restored.
Again looking north over the rooftop of the servants quarters.

Northwesterly view out over Kessler Park and Cliff Drive.
Looking due West.
Excellent view of the KC skyline... not nearly as populated by tall buildings in 1910.


Looking east above and west below.

Above the neighborhood.... Scarritt Renaissance... large stone church in the middle is the old Eastminster Presbyterian Church... structure beyond it is St. Anthony's formerly Assumption Catholic Church.
Heading back down the iron staircase. In a future post I'll show pictures of the third floor before what was left of the exhibits was removed including scenes from the igloo room.

2 comments:

  1. that's like NE version of the Empire State Building

    ReplyDelete
  2. someone should be paying you for this invaluable service

    ReplyDelete