Tag Archives: Columbia Historic Preservation Commission

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Tentative Agreement to Save the Niedermeyer

This news item from KOMU states that the Niedermeyer Apartments may be saved from demolition by an agreement with a private buyer. The news report is dated March 12, 2013, 12:30 p.m.

The report outlines the history of the Niedermeyer Apartments on Cherry Street:

1837 – Built by Gen. Richard and Ann Hawkins Gentry.

Home to Columbia Female Academy and Gordon Hotel, frequented by Mark Twain, William Jennings Bryan and Mary Todd Lincoln.

1921 – Became Niedermeyer Apartments.

Previous reports outlined plans by Collegiate Housing Partners to demolish the apartment building to make way for a 15-story apartment building. There was significant backlash by historic preservationists against the St. Louis firm’s plans. A report in the Columbia Missourian on Jan. 3, 2013, noted an online petition designed to stop the demolition had gathered 1,500 signatures.

Today’s KOMU report states Columbia Mayor Bob McDavid and the City of Columbia’s Historic Preservation Commission reached a tentative agreement to have a private buyer purchase the building. Brent Gardner, a local realtor and member of the Commission, is quoted as saying preservation could involve a combination of resources including historic preservation tax credits, energy efficiency grants and other city programs.

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Changes to demolition permits pondered

With 2012 seeing the loss of the Annie Fisher house (circa 1920s) and several other older dwellings, the Columbia Planning and zoning Commission is considering changing the time period for demolition requests and the nomination process to historic preservation districts.

Read the Sept. 22, 2012 Columbia Tribune article, “Panel working on a new demolition, historic preservation rules.”

http://m.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/sep/22/panel-working-on-new-demolition-historic/

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Demolition Delay Efforts

This report by KOMU notes that Columbia’s Historic Preservation Commission can’t prohibit the demolition of buildings by property owners — but they can delay approving the demolition permit in the hopes of finding a way to work with the building owner and saving a historic structure.

The report quotes Brian Treece, HPC chair, as saying delaying a demolition would also allow fair notice to all concerned about upcoming demolitions.

While the report also notes demolitions are down from last year, it also acknowledges the loss of the Annie Fisher home at 2911 Old 63. The house was used for a catering business founded by Fisher, one of the first African-American woman entrepreneurs in Boone County.

http://www.komu.com/news/columbia-historic-commission-to-save-valued-homes/

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Historic home, “fairy-tale house,” for rent

The house at 121 N. West Blvd., is now a rental property — and that’s good news. As I’ve quoted historic consultant Deb Sheals saying before, the way to save a historic property is to put it to work.

That’s exactly what has happened to this 100-year-old house. Built in 1911 by Arch McCard, the house has a log cabin concealed inside it. It was owned by Betty and Herb Brown until 2010 and then sat vacant. The house was purchased by Kristin Bourgeois, former member of Columbia’s Historic Preservation Commission, and Adam Kaiser. The house will be rented out as a furnished vacation rental. This Jan. 16, 2012 article in the Columbia Tribune quotes Bourgeois as saying it is getting booked quickly.

The house has been renamed the Creekstone Cottage; previously people referred to it as the “fair-tale house,” the “Hansel and Gretel house,” or the “gingerbread house,” the article notes.

Now it’s a historic home put to work.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/jan/16/gingerbread-house-ready-for-rentals/

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1601 Stoney Brook Place

Accuracy counts, even in small things. I am a journalist and recently learned the correct address for the home at 1601 Stoney Brook Place. Other accounts listed the house at 1601 Stoney Brook Ave., Drive and other designation.

So why update it? Because the purpose of this website is to provide accurate information on historic homes in Columbia so that people can become aware of the history all around them and perhaps even visit these sites. The correct address is crucial for that.

So now for the background on the house at 1601 Stoney Brook Place. It is reputed to be the oldest home in Boone County. It started out as Boone County’s “poor farm,” a place for the sick or indigent.

You can see this historic home here on OldHouses.com, a site dedicated to “celebrating the glory of historic homes.” This house is not currently for sale, but is in the archives of this site. A picture accompanies this article published on Feb. 4, 2008 by the Columbia Missourian, marking it being named to the Notable Properties list. Note the article refers to the address as 1601 Stoney Brook Ave., however, Boone County Assessor’s Office records refer to it as 1601 Stoney Brook Place.

This home was built in 1864 according to materials provided by the Columbia Historic Preservation Commission, however, another source notes it was built in 1854. It was named to the Columbia Most Notable Properties list in 2008 — the 100th such designation.

According to information provided by the city of Columbia: ”The land was purchased in 1854 by the court from Murdock and Anne Garrett to establish a county infirmary or poor farm for the county’s indigent citizens. The infirmary was erected in 1864 and was maintained by the county until 1898 when the land property was sold to J.B. Turner. This property represents the 100th selection of Most Notable Property by the Historic Preservation Commission.”

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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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Brick streets save money, add something priceless

Brick streets made their appearance in Columbia around the turn of the century, according to this Nov. 7, 2011 article in the Columbia Missourian.

The article further notes sources say that repaving and repair the city’s brick streets could save money. While brick paving and repair costs more, brick streets last roughly 85-90 years, while asphalt must be repaved or resurfaced every 10 to 30 years.

But there are so many costs not weighed in this comparison. When you look at historic areas, there’s something called “streetscape.” That’s how the entire street looks and feels; this is something that you cannot put a price tag on, it’s priceless. Having brick streets could contribute to the elusive, yet important quality of aesthetics.

For a chance to experience this sense of a streetscape, visit the areas where historic home neighborhoods are largely intact, including the ranch-style home dominated area of the Columbia Country Club, the East Campus area, and West Broadway.

The article includes the information that the company that did some of the brick paving, the J.A. Stewart’s Columbia Paving Company. Note, this company probably was that of Judge J.A. Stewart, who also platted the historic area on Broadway and created John Stewart Park, a private park for the area. By the way, Stewart ran a contest to name the park, and you can read about it here in a 1922 article in The Columbia Evening Missourian.

So what does this have to do with Columbia’s Historic Homes? If we lose bricks and homes, we lose part of our history.

 

 

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See inside 315 N. Tenth St., a 1882 Italianate historic home

Everyone loves to take a peek inside someone’s house. Here’s your opportunity to take a look inside an 1882 Italianate-style home in Columbia, Missouri.

This house at 315 N. Tenth St., was once the home of Samuel H. and Isabel Smith Elkins. Today, it houses Village Glass works.

That’s why you can get this online peek inside. Here’s a link to a March 11, 2011 slide-show published in the University of Missouri student paper, The Maneater. The slide show is of photographs taken by Peter Yankowsky and it shows the home owner, Susan Fiegel, working with glass. You can take a tour of the house in person by visiting during business hours.

http://www.themaneater.com/slideshows/2011/3/11/114/