Tag Archives: Columbia Missouri

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Does the April 2013 election bode well for J.W. “Blind” Boone home at 10 N. Fourth Street?

The election on Tuesday, April 2, could herald good news for the renovation of the J.W. “Blind” Boone home at 10 N. Fourth St. The voters re-elected Bob McDaniel as mayor of Columbia, put Karl Skala on City Council for the Third Ward and Ian Thomas on City Council for the Fourth Ward. All these candidates were called “Progressive-leaning,” in this article in the Columbia Daily Tribune.

McDavid has says he supports spending part of the city’s $1.9 million surplus to complete the renovation of this home, where J.W. Boone lived from 1889 until his death in 1927. A famous musician, Boone toured the country playing to black and white audiences, often traveling 10 months a year, playing six nights a week.

The house has been stabilized and the exterior renovated, the inside remains a shell. Remaining costs have been estimated in the area of $500,000.

On Dec. 3, 2012 KOMU.com reported the house project is slated to include a display with video, audio and interactive media and amphitheater, statue of Boone and a garden. The report states the J.W. Boone Heritage Foundation is donating $16,000 to the city for the project.

What do you think are the prospects for a complete renovation of the Boone home? What kind of facility would you like to see in this historic structure?

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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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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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Free Food and History

Even history buffs like me enjoy some perks from time to time. The public unveiling of the 2013 Most Notable Properties on Tuesday, February 5, 2013, includes hors d’oeuvres — yes, free food. Get more information and RSVP at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MN2013

The event is sponsored by the Historic Preservation Commission of the City of Columbia. It will be held at 7 p.m. preceded by light appetizers. The event will be in the Historic Daniel Boone Building Lobby, which has recent under gone an amazing renovation itself. It is at 701 East Broadway, Columbia, Mo.

Why attend? This is where the year’s newest additions to the city’s Most Notable Properties list are announced, the property owners accept the honors and you have an opportunity to get to know more about Columbia and the properties that mark the city’s history. Last properties named to the list have included the “Gingerbread house,” at 121 N. West Blvd., brick streets and even Columbia Cemetery.

This Columbia Missourian article of Feb. 6, 2012, “Six properties to be honored by Columbia’s Historic Preservation Commission,” covers last year’s event, honoring the Arrowhead Motel, Calvary Cemetery, Harry Satterlee Bill and Florence Henderson Home, Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority House, Missouri Hall at Columbia College, and the Columbia Telephone Building, which now houses CenturyLink.

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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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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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10 N. Fourth Street – Concert of J.W. “Blind” Boone

10 N. Fourth St., is a historic home, once the home of J.W. “Blind” Boone, a blind, black pianist who against all odds was a nationally known musician. He lived from 1864-1927. His home is slated to become a museum.

According a notice on the blog of University Avenue Bed & Breakfast at 1315 University Avenue,  a Blind Boone Holiday Concert will be held at 6 p.m. Dec. 4, 2011 in the Second Baptist Church in Columbia.

The notice states the concert will feature Tom Andes playing ‘Blind’ Boone’s music, the CPS 5th grade honor choir, Celestine Hayes, and Linda Dodd singing holiday music and music by ‘Blind’ Boone. The event, the notice states, is sponsored by The ‘Blind’ Boone Heritage Foundation.
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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.