915 W. 33rd Street
923 W. 33rd Terrace
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923 W. 33rd Terrace |
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The small houses at 915 and 923 W. 33rd Street are examples of bungalows, houses that were based on the designs that came from California. The style spread through magazines, plan books and even through mail-order kits. They were very popular small homes because they were so economical and many were built in Kansas City. Bungalows are usually one or 1½ stories tall and have porches across the full front of the house supported by substantial pillars. Inside, they usually have very open floor plans with no hallways.
Both of these houses were designed and built by Clarence E. Shepard (the architect for the Prairie House at 3201 Karnes Boulevard) and built for $4000. 915 was built for in 1910 for John P. Jordan, who worked for the New England National Bank and 923 was built in 1909 for John Coleman Long. Long worked for his family’s business, the Long Lumber Company, which built many houses in this neighborhood. This house’s connection with the lumber company may explain why the woodwork, such as the decorative brackets and the trim around the windows, is more elaborate. Long never lived in this house and probably built it on speculation.Q & A:
How are these houses the same? They both have side-gabled roofs, shingle siding, central front stairs and exposed rafters.
How are these houses different? 915 has a triple dormer (which has been altered with new windows), porch walls of solid stone and is asymmetrical. 923 has a shed dormer, a pieced porch rail and is symmetrical. The houses have different posts supporting the porch roofs.
Things to Notice:
As you turn left at 33rd Street and West Coleman Road, look north (right.) When the neighborhood was built, urban planning was following a new trend that departed from the grid pattern for the layout of streets. The planners of Coleman Highlands followed this trend by plotting streets to follow the natural topography. This type of street plan was seen as very natural, healthful and mimicking the rural countryside. The layout was enhanced by Roanoke Park to the south, the designation of Karnes Boulevard and the curving of Coleman Road around a ravine on this site.
In 1945, the ravine was filled in and West Coleman Road was extended to connect with Coleman Road. (The Coleman Road that originally curved around the ravine was renamed Belleview Place.)
Ranch houses were built on the newly created lots in the early 1950s. Although they do not match the rest of the neighborhood, they are an excellent early example of the most popular style of house built in the 1950s and 1960s. These typical middle-class houses are usually asymmetrical, one story tall and have an attached garage or carport. These houses are not considered historic because of their age, but will be reevaluated when they turn 50 years old in 2001.
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