Tag Archives: Columbia Daily Tribune

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How to see inside the Spanish-revival home at 2 E. Stewart Road

I admit it, I love Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com, because these real estate apps let me peek inside houses that fascinate me.

For years, I’ve admired the house at the corner of Stewart and Garth, with its deep red details, creamy Spanish-revival exterior and have often wondered what’s inside. Well, this link to a Zillow posting lets me see inside. By the way, Zillow values the house at $177,506, but notes estimates in this neighborhood, close to the University of Missouri and nearby valuable homes, makes the estimate difficult to make.

I’m not alone in appreciating this home. In 2006, Columbia Home magazine published a piece by Jim Muench and in 2004, Columbia named the 1929 home to its Notable Properties list, as noted in this May 5, 2004, article in the Columbia Daily Tribune.

Here’s information gleaned from both of those accounts and a list of its ownership:

  • 1929 – Dan and Gona Wilkerson, who had purchased the land two years earlier from Clara and John Stewart, for whom Stewart Road is named
  • 1941 – George Foster
  • 1942 – Evelyn and Smith Turner
  • 1943 – Catherine Tallen, who later married W.E. McClellan
  • 1953 — C. Mitchell Tucker and Helen J. Tucker
  • 1959 – Webster and Irma Wheelock
  • 1971 – David and Marilyn Vernon
  • 1980s – Garland Stephens, who owned the Temple Stephens grocery
  • 1990 – Jennifer and Alan Polniak
  • 2001 – Danna and Keith Vessell
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2013 Most Notable Properties Highlights

In case you missed it, here are links to coverage of the February 2013 announcement of six historic sites named to the Columbia Most Notable Properties List by the Columbia Historic Preservation Commission.

Qualifications for being named to the list include the property being older than 50 years, within Columbia’s city limits and highlights the historical or architectural influences in Columbia. To learn more about the Most Notable Properties criteria, check out this publication by the city.

The 2013 properties are as follows:

920 Cherry St. — Niedermeyer Apartments, circa 1837, with additions in 1902.

110 S. Ninth St. — Booche’s, circa 1925.

511 E. Rollins St., Pi Beta Phi Missouri Alpha Chapter House, 1930.

1411 Anthony St. – Arthur and Susie Buchroeder House, circa 1906. Dutch Colonial revival-style

703 Ingleside Drive, W.J. and Clara Lhamon House, 1926.

916 W. Stewart Road — Claude and Stella Woolsey House, circa 1930.

To read more about the properties, here are links to media coverage of the properties.

Feb. 5, 2013 – Columbia’s 2013 Most Notable Properties. Six properties, including a business rather than a property per se, were named to the Columbia Most Notable Properties list. Columbia Missourian article.

Feb. 5, 2013 – Commission to honor city’s notable properties: Six buildings to be recognized. Columbia Daily Tribune article.

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$1 billion in economic activity generated by historic preservation

Tax credits, including tax credits for historic preservation, have come under fire from time to time.

However, a recent newspaper article on historic preservation states, “Preserving historic buildings over the past decade has, directly and indirectly, accounted for more than $1 billion in economic activity in Columbia and helped to create thousands of jobs…”

The Sept. 4, 2012 article in the Columbia Daily Tribune by Andrew Denney outlined the results of a report conducted by Developing Strategies, a St. Louis consulting firm.

The report is titled: Economic Impact of Historic Preservation in Columbia, Missouri. You can find it at: http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/Council/Commissions/downloadfile.php?id=6304

The report was sponsored by the Columbia Historic Preservation Commission, funded in part by the City of Columbia and a grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Office.

So why do a study on the economic effect of historic preservation? Because it is hard to measure the importance and value of historic buildings. No one can measure the value of a masterpiece, and so measuring the economic activity generated by historic preservation provides one way to measure the value of Columbia’s buildings, masterpieces in a way.

The report includes a wealth of information and one of the most valuable bits of information is on page 45 — a listing of historic tax credit projects and the expenditures for the projects. Tax credits have come under fire, but people often fail to notice things of importance about such programs. First, money must be spent before a firm or individual can receive a tax credit. Second, in order to qualify for the tax credit, the person or firm must conduct the preservation to the set standards, standards that can be more expensive than simple renovations. Finally, it is a tax credit — that means the person or firm receives part of the taxes paid credited. It does not mean they receive money or funding, it is simply credit on taxes already paid. The company or person has to spend a great deal of money beyond the taxes credited.

The list notes that a total of $80 million was spent on various projects — and $15 million in tax credits were awarded. This means a company or person spent at least $80 million, while the state simply credited or forgave a portion of the firm’s or individual’s taxes for a total of $15 million. No money was given away, some taxes were simply credited.

Take a look at the report yourself and see what you think of tax credits for historic preservation.

You can also read the newspaper articles about it including two editorials, one of which is clearly against the use of tax credits.

Personally, I think historic preservation makes sense. The home of Annie Fisher, Columbia’s first black entrepreneur, was recently demolished and the land will likely be used for apartments. While the owners of the land have the right to do what they like with the land, the loss of the history is priceless. No where else can you point to a house and say that’s where a former slave built a catering company that drew people from throughout the county, where a woman with no education built a restaurant reputed to include place settings for more than 1,000, and a woman once owned by another person was honored at a state fair for the work of her hands, beaten biscuits. It’s hard to get inspiration from yet another apartment building.

And while many people will drive a long distance to see a historic building such as Mt. Vernon or Monticello, I’ve never once heard of anyone driving a long way to see a new apartment building.

Annie Fisher’s rise from obscure to entrepreneur might have seemed to some impossible; just as saving her home ultimately came to be, but perhaps tax credits can make the possible much more likely.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/sep/06/historic/

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/sep/04/study-looks-at-economic-effects-of-historic/

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/sep/16/preservation-studys-author-not-unbiased/

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Heibel-March building at 900-902 Range Line faces demolition

Once again, the Heibel-March building at 900-902 Range Line is facing demolition. And once again, this proves the axiom that the way to save a historic building is to put it to work.

Built in 1910, according to the a May 23, 2012 article in the Columbia Daily Tribune, the building faces an August 1, 2012 deadline for demolition. The building once housed a drugstore and was named to Columbia’s Notable Properties list in 2005.

Yet, it has been vacant for years, despite several organization’s plans to occupy it. This recent article outlines the various plans and organizations that once proposed using the building.

For a short history of the building, see this City of Columbia link.

Below is a newspaper article that outlines the current possibility for the building.

May 23, 2012 – Heibel-March demolition is back on table – Columbia Daily Tribune. There is an August 1, 2012 deadline for this building to be demolished. Despite many efforts, the building remains vacant and no organization, agency or individual has stepped forward with plans to renovate it.

Oct. 23, 2011 – Plans for Heibel-March building stagnate – Columbia Tribune. Building at Rangeline and Wilkes Boulevard is still awaiting renovation. Several other plans to renovate the plans have fallen through.

Dec. 8, 2010, Historic Preservation Commission endorses Heibel-March purchase, Columbia Daily Tribune.

Dec. 7, 2010, Historic Preservation Commission votes to keep Heibel-March Building alive, Columbia Missourian.

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2010/12/07/historic-preservation-commission-votes-approve-legacy-constructions-offer-purchase-heibel-march-building/

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Money matters: Meeting on benefits of historic preservation

A billion, with a B. That’s how much historic preservation in Missouri contributes to the state’s gross state product  according to a 2002 by the Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University.

Now, the city of Columbia is inviting the public to look over a study designed to tabulate how much local historic preservation benefits the city’s economy.

At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, Columbia’s Historic Preservation Commission will hold a public meeting about a study on the economic impact of historic preservation in Columbia, Missouri. The draft executive summary is available online here.

The meeting will be held in rooms 1A and 1B of City Hall at 701 E. Broadway in Columbia.

The draft executive summary includes a table that indicates $79.94 million has been reinvested in historic properties in Columbia since 2002, helping to support an estimated 800 jobs in the city as a result.

This research is being conducted in partnership with a Historic Preservation Fund Grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Historic Preservation Office.

Here’s a link to a Columbia Tribune article on the upcoming meeting.

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May 5 concert gives history buffs a two-fer experience

On May 5, 2012, history buffs will be given a two-fold historic opportunity, according to this article by Bill Clark in the Columbia Daily Tribune.

A three-hour concert (!) will be held in the Second Baptist Church at 407 E. Broadway, to benefit the renovation of the John William “Blind” Boone home, which is within sight of the church. The event starts at 1 p.m. and the tickets for the concert performance by Sutu Forte will cost $10 for adults; $5 for students and free for children younger than 12.

Both the Boone home and the Second Baptist Church were named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The Boone home was placed on Columbia’s Notable Properties List as well.

The Boone home at 10 N. Fourth St., once housed ragtime great John W. “Blind” Boone. He played throughout the country playing what was then a new and lively style of music. He lived in Columbia until his death in 1927. By then, his career of touring to play ragtime music was on the wane, due to several factors including the 1916 death of his most effective manager, John Lange, and the advent of the radio, phonographs and automobile travel.

The Second Missionary Baptist Church was founded in 1866 and the building featuring Romanesque and Gothic styles was built in 1894, according to the church’s website. According to the website, the church construction was funded in part by John Lange, Boone’s manager and Boone, as well as by Judge John Stewart, for whom Stewart Road is named.

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Annie Fisher home at 2911 Old Highway 63 South demolished

The 1920-era Annie Fisher house at 2911 Old Highway 63 South has been demolished, according to this Nov. 29, 2011 Columbia Daily Tribune article.

The house was a concrete reminder of black history. Annie Fisher built the house for a restaurant and catering service she operated. Born in 1867, Fisher had only a third-grade education, yet went on to build a thriving business.

As a Feb. 8, 1911 article from the University Missourian noted it a headline: ”Her Cooking Famed Throughout States.”  The article continued: “Mrs. Annie Fisher, Columbia Negro, Serves for the Best of Society. Owns silverware for 250. Chipped Potatoes, Beaten Biscuits and Fruit Cake Renowned Dishes.”

This is the second Annie Fisher to fall to the wrecking ball. A 15-room home she built earlier at 608 East Park Avenue was torn down in the 1960s as a part of a 1960s urban renewal project, according to 2009 Columbia Housing Authority document.

Both homes fell to changes in Columbia. The first home was destroyed during the city’s attempt at urban renewal. This house has for years been sandwiched between large apartment buildings and flanked by storage units. The two-story, window-filled building is owned by Merle and Charlotte Smarr, and the Columbia Daily Tribune article states they may expand their storage unit operation.

The Historic Preservation Commission named the house to the Notable Properties list in 2009.

Yet, even if this home, too, is demolished, the story of Fisher’s success and life will remain with us.

You can still see the house on a Facebook page dedicated to the Annie Fisher House Project includes a video tour of the home as well as historical documents.

There’s also a YouTube video on City Scope: Annie Fisher, Cateress of Columbia, narrated by Bill Thompson notes the house has 81 windows. Thompson says she put so many windows because she wanted the people eating at her restaurant to be able to look out at the beauty of Columbia and Boone County.

The house has had many champions, most recently Sheila Kitchen Ruffin, who in 2010 founded the Annie Fisher Project to save the home.

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Update on the historic Heibel-March Building

In October, the Columbia Tribune updated readers on the development — or rather the lack of development of — the Heibel-March Building. Built in 1927, once again the brick structure faces an uncertain future. The building was named to Columbia’s Notable Properties list in 2005.

Could the problem be no one has tried to put the building to work? As Deb Sheals, a historic consultant says, saving a building requires putting it to work. But several of the plans in the past had nonprofits trying to make the building fit in with their plans. Unfortunately, the last commercial plan for the building fell through when the developer died.

For now, the building is simply out of work and time is taking its toll.

Below is a newspaper article that outlines the history of plans for the building.

Oct. 23, 2011 – Plans for Heibel-March building stagnate – Columbia Tribune. Building at Rangeline and Wilkes Boulevard is still awaiting renovation. Several other plans to renovate the plans have fallen through.

Dec. 8, 2010, Historic Preservation Commission endorses Heibel-March purchase, Columbia Daily Tribune.

Dec. 7, 2010, Historic Preservation Commission votes to keep Heibel-March Building alive, Columbia Missourian.

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2010/12/07/historic-preservation-commission-votes-approve-legacy-constructions-offer-purchase-heibel-march-building/

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Dec. 4 concert for historic home of John W. “Blind” Boone

When I mentioned to a friend I wanted to write a book about historic homes, she suggested a title for it: If these walls could talk.

Well, on Dec. 4, 2011, in a way, the walls of one historic home will talk, and it will be the language of music.

A fund-raising concert will be held at 6 p.m. in the Second Baptist Church on Fourth and Broadway, sponsored by the Boone Home Foundation, according to this article by Bill Clark in the Columbia Daily Tribune.

The fundraiser is to raise money to help continue the renovation of the home of John William “Blind” Boone, a virtuoso pianist who lived in Columbia from 1879 until his death in 1927.

So what kind of music can you expect? Describing it in the article Clark quotes pianist John Davis calling it,”virtuoso salon pieces that fuse the European concert music with rural American and black folk traditions.”

For more information on Boone or to contribute to help fund the renovation of his historic home, visit the J.W. “Blind” Boone Heritage Foundation Board website.