Tag Archives: Notable Properties

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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the house on a Facebook page dedicated to the Annie Fisher House Project includes a video tour of the home as well as historical documents.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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Virtual tour of 1927 home at 2007 S. Country Club Drive

Another historic home is on the market. This one, built in 1927, is at 2007  S. Country Club Drive. It was named to the Columbia Most Notable Properties List in 2008.

This Tudor home features a staircase from Italy as well as practical features including six bedrooms, six bathrooms and two half baths. The home is roughly 9,000 square feet and the agent is Andy Babel of Plaza Real Estate. The price is listed as $650,000.

Whether you are in the market or not, you can take a tour of the house and see inside this 1927 home at http://www.agentnation.com/vt/1977/unbranded

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A hidden home at Stephens College

Senior Hall, home to thousands of students over the years, actually started out as just that — a home.

Built in 1841, Senior Hall is actually built around an 1840s house, built for Oliver Parker, of New Hampshire. He moved to Columbia in 1821 and opened and operated a general merchandise store. He died the year after he built the two-story home at the center of Senior Hall.

Parker’s widow resided in the family home until March 4, 1856, when she sold it to Moss Prewitt for $5,000. He then transferred it, at the same price, to the newly formed Columbia Baptist Female College, which would be renamed Stephens College in 1870.

So how did a two-story home become Senior Hall?

The first enlargement of the building took place in 1870, designed by St. Louis architect C.B. Clarke. He’d originally planned a three-story, square tower on the east side and a two-story, round tower for the west side. But only the east tower was built.

Then in 1890, the college hired architect M. Frederick Bell of Fulton to design another addition. His planns called for adding a three-story round tower at the northwest corner and a three-story ell, adding a third floor to the older Parker House, giving the building a uniform three-story front, the nomination explains.

If Bell’s name sound familiar, that’s because he was the major architect responsible for rebuilding the University of Missouri’s Red Campus, the Francis Quadrangle, following the 1892 fire.

Until 1918, Senior Hall was the only dormitory at Stephens College. The list of famous residents includes Mrs. George Caleb Bingham and daughter Clara, actors Patricia White Barry and Tammy Grimes among others.

Senior Hall under went renovation in 1990 and today it is home to the Harriette Ann Gray Dance Studio, the Music Program, a board room, recital hall and parlors, according to the Stephens College website.

Lucky for us, the home inside has not disappeared.

“The main entrance still gives access to the 1841,” says the National Register of Historic Places’ nomination form for the building’s placement on list as of August 2, 1977. “The north-south central hall floor plan with double parlors to the east and west survives. Numerous refurbishment projects have, however, removed most of the original interior finish and the stairway …,” the document notes. However, “The multi-light wood windows throughout are intact and in very good condition … This building was fully restored after it was listed in 1977 and has been maintained well since then,” notes the National Register for Historic Places nomination form which resulted in Stephens College’s South Campus being placed on the list on Nov. 25, 2005.

So how historic is Senior Hall?

It was Columbia’s first entry to the National Register for Historic Places and one of the first places honored by the Columbia Historic Preservation Commission with its placement on its Notable Properties Listing.

For more information, see the NRHP nomination form for Stephens College South Campus: http://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/05001326.pdf and the NRHP nomination form for Senior Hall: http://www.dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/77000799.pdf

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Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice

One of the homes on Columbia’s Notable Properties list, the Pinkney home, was designed by the firm of William Bernoudy, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright.

This house is the focus of an article in Mizzou, the magazine of the Mizzoui Alumni Association. The article states Bernoudy built six homes in Columbia and includes a slide show.

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National Register Listings

Columbia has 19 properties listed on National Historic Register and on the Columbia Notable Properties list.

For example, the David Guitar House, also known as Confederate Hill, is on the list.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources web site also has detailed information for many of these properties.

The properties on Columbia’s Notable Properties List and on the National Register include:

  • John W. “Blind” Boone House, Fourth Street
  • Central Dairy Building, 1104-1106 E. Broadway
  • Columbia Cemetery, 30 E. Broadway
  • Columbia National Guard Armory, 701 E. Ash St.
  • East Campus Neighborhood Historic District, bounded by Bouchelle, College, University and High Streets.
  • Sanford F. Conley House, 602 Sanford Place
  • Samuel H. and Isabel Smith House, 315 N. 10th St., now Koonse Glass.
  • First Christian Church, 101 N. 10th St.
  • Greenwood Heights, 3005 Mexico Gravel Road
  • Hamilton-Brown Shoe Factory, 1123 Wilkes Blvd.
  • Maplewood, Nifong and Ponderosa Drive
  • Missouri State Teachers Association, 407 S. Sixth St.
  • Missouri Theatre, 201-215 S. Ninth St.
  • Second Baptist Church, 407 E. Fifth St.
  • Senior Hall at Stephens College
  • John N. and Elizabeth Taylor House, 716 W. Broadway, now a bed and breakfast
  • Tiger Hotel, 23. S. Eighth St., which is now a special events venue
  • Virginia Building, 111 S. Ninth St.
  • Wabash Railroad Station and Freight House, 126 N. 10th St., now the bus depot for the city of Columbia.
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Schools

History is everywhere — if you know how to look for it. In Columbia, four schools have been determined to be historical properties and have been named to the Notable Properties list by the Historic Preservation Commission.

Of the four schools, one has recently been closed as a school and only one is named after a writer. The other three are named after political leaders.

Eugene Field Elementary School at 1010 N. Rangeline was named after Missouri native Eugene Field, who worked as a journalist, but is perhaps best known for his children’s poems. The school was closed as a public elementary school in December 2009. 

Thomas Hart Benton Elementary School at 1410 Hinkson Avenue was named for one of the first two senators to represent Missouri after it became a state in 1821.

The other two schools are Jefferson Junior High School at 713 Rogers St., and Ulysses S. Grant Elementary School at 10 E. Broadway.