Cruising The Hood Volume 4

Above and below, 9th and Van Brunt...used to be the old trolley/bus barn.  Now soccer fields  and neighborhood gathering place. 

Above and below.  Elmwood Cemetery.  Very well maintained.  Holds lots of KC Mayors and an ex-girlfriend of Abraham Lincoln.  

Above, the chapel, below family vaults. The closest one "Waldo"... like the area of the city.

Above and below, more Elmwood Cemetery.  Below the chapel named for Armour of the meet packing company. 

                                      Above the Northeast Athletic Fields, still used. Below, former Luce Luggage, my mother worked there as a teenager. 

                                                           Below, Van Brunt Boulevard. 

 

Garden Between Storms

 Had time today for a quick visit to Kauffman Memorial Gardens.  It's in transition to Summer plants.           

Cruising The Hood Volume 3

                                                                      Gladstone Blvd

                                                   Above and below, the Reservoir.

                                                     Above and below, The Reservoir. 

                                                    Above and below, Reservoir Hill. 

                                                    Above and below, Maple Boulevard. 

                                 Above, Maple Park.  Ball diamond is now a soccer field. 

                               Above Tiffany Castle on Garfield.   Below, Bellefontaine. 

                                                        Gladstone Boulevard and Smart

                                                     Above and below, Sunrise Drive. 

                     Above and below, Sunrise Drive.  My house on right in bottom photo. 

          Above and below, Lexington Avenue.  Top: PH Coffee.  Bottom; Building being renovated. 

                        Above, Pendleton Avenue.   Below, formerly Eastminster Presbyterian. 

 

Fairytale Home With Scarritt Connection

This marvelous home, 3400 Norledge,  was built in 1899 for Elliot Hamilton Jones and his wife Martha Matilda (Mattie) Scarritt.  They took up residence in 1900 and raised 8 children remaining in the home until 1931.  

 Elliot was an attorney and Mattie was the daughter of Nathan Scarritt who bequeathed the above land to her.  The home was built next to Annie Scarritt Hendrix and William Chick Scarritt's homes...her sister and brother. 

                                      
                   John and Patrica are current owners of the home and have embarked on a renovation. 

Below, a picture of the home shortly after it's completion. 

The Sycamore tree right by the front steps is barely visible in this picture but it and the linden tree on the left are still on the grounds. 

                                       You can see how the Sycamore has grown over the sidewalk. 

The house was constructed with outer and inner stone walls.  In between was a void that was filled with

rocks, gravel, plaster, and other things.   According to John and Patricia's contractor the tower (above and below) began having leaks shortly after it was constructed.  This, over the last 120 years, has resulted in serious deterioration in the walls.  The tower is now under renovation requiring the reconstruction of the outer and inner walls from the first floor to the roof.  

Below is the interior of the top of the tower where stonework is gradually being replaced.  Patricia plans on this being a greenhouse. Although subdivided after World War Two into apartments, it was returned to single family use in the 70s and has, fortunately, retained most of it's original glory . 

The land on which this house sits was first deeded by the State of Missouri to Samson Owens in 1837 for $100 ( $1 per acre ).  The land was purchased by Nathan Scarritt in 1865 for $3600... although most of the Owens family was gone.  

                                                             The back deck is newly renovated.

Mattie is in the middle front between her two sons Elliot and Russ.  The group is seated on the stairs in the front hallway.  I think Mattie's sister Annie is on the left in the front row...others are not yet known. 

          Elliot and Mattie.  Mattie passed away in 1949 and Elliot in 1951.  Both are buried in the Scarritt Family plot Mt. Washington Cemetery. 

Stained glass window on the landing between the first and second floors. The owners are planning a birthday party for the house this Fall... I will have more interior photos then.  Below, one of the original slate roofing tiles that has "H Moss  Oct 11 1899" scratched into it. 

The dining room, and, below, the library.  Note the gas line from the chandelier down to the table lamp. 

Below, Elliot and Russ on the front porch. 

             Below, the remains of the carriage house behind the home.  Too far gone to be saved.

              The backyard runs into Kessler Park.  Deer, possums, fox and raccoons are abundant. 

Many thanks for Patricia's help with this post and access to her photos and home.  John and Patricia are awesome caretakers of our collective history. 

The Jones home is listed on the Local Register of Historic Places as well as the National Register via the Scarritt Point Historic District designation.  Below is the description in the National application.