LAWRENCE HISTORIC RESOURCES COMMISSION

ITEM NO. 8: L-10-03-05

STAFF REPORT

A. SUMMARY

L-10-03-05: Hold public hearing for consideration of placing the structure located at 2819 Stone Barn Terrace on the Lawrence Register of Historic Places.

B. HISTORIC REGISTER STATUS

2819 Stone Barn Terrace is not listed on the State or the National Registers of Historic Places.

C. REVIEW CONSIDERATIONS

1) History Summary

According to the nomination, the structure located at 2819 Stone Barn Terrace, Grover Barn, was constructed c. 1858. Joel Grover built the barn on land that he purchased in 1854, after the opening of the Kansas Territory. Mr. Grover built the barn using yellow limestone rock that was native to the area. According to Joel Grover’s diary, he started construction on the barn on January 20, 1858 and by May 29, 1858, he had all walls in place. His last entry about the barn was dated October 23, 1858 and he stated that he had finished laying the interior ground floor in time for winter. Mr. Grover, with his neighbors help, finished the construction of the barn in only ten months.

Joel Grover was captain of the first military company in Lawrence and participated in the defense of the city during pre-Civil War conflicts. In 1858, he was elected as one of the first county commissioners, and later served two terms in the House of Representatives. Joel Grover married Emily Hunt, who originally came to Kansas as the companion to Sara Robinson, the wife of the first Kansas State Governor.

Numerous oral histories place the Grover Barn as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Lawrence was an anti-slavery town founded by the New England Emigrant Aid Society in 1854. The Underground Railroad provided a means for African-Americans to escape slavery and head to Canada. Homeowners and businessmen would open their buildings and offer them as a place for slaves to hide as the journeyed north. It was stated by Colonel Bowels that between 1855 and 1859, at least three-hundred fugitive slaves passed through Lawrence in their way north on the Underground Railroad. According to research conducted by the Douglas County Historical Society, John Brown, an abolitionist, frequently dropped his load of fugitive slaves off at the Grover Barn to stay the night until it was safe to travel again. The building also survived Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence on August 21, 1863.

The building remained in the Grover family until 1963 when it was purchased by a sculptor at the University of Kansas. The barn served as a workshop and studio for Bernard “Poco” Frazier from 1963 to 1976. Parkside Investors, Inc. owned the property from 1976 until 1981 when the City of Lawrence purchased the property and converted the building into a fire station. The building opened in 1983 as Fire Station #4, its current use today.

2) Architectural Integrity Summary

2819 Stone Barn Terrace, Grover Barn, is a good example of early vernacular stone architecture. The building is two stories, rectangular in plan with a front facing gabled roof. The walls and foundation are made using native cut limestone. In 1981, the barn was rehabilitated and converted into a fire station. An addition was constructed on the south side of the barn. The barn portion of the building is used as the living quarters for the firemen.

The west façade of the barn structure is two stories in height with a front facing gable roof. The wall is comprised of cut limestone with three openings, a door on the north side of the first floor and double-hung windows on the south side on both the first and second floor. The gabled portion of this façade is vertical metal sheathing. The north façade is also native cut limestone with a bank of windows in the center of the façade rising from ground level to the roof line, in the opening where the original barn doors used to be. At ground level, in the bank of windows there is also an entry door. The east, or rear façade of the structure is native cut limestone with no visible fenestration. The south side of the structure connects to the modern metal sheathed fire station addition.

The 1981 rehabilitation and addition significantly compromised the architectural integrity of the structure. However, the basic form and some of the original materials of the historic barn continue to be visible.

3) Context Description

2819 Stone Barn Terrace, Grover Barn, is a good example of early vernacular stone architecture and craftsmanship indicative of the early settlement period in northeast Kansas. The barn was a part of a larger homestead and served an important purpose to the functioning ways of the farm. The farm consisted of eighteen acres that was subdivided and platted into residential lots in the early 1980’s. The City of Lawrence purchased the parcel with the barn in 1981. The present fire station serves the residential suburban development that surrounds the barn.

4) Planning and Zoning Considerations

2819 Stone Barn Terrace, Grover Barn, is zoned RS-2, Single-Family Residence District. The RS districts are designed for those areas where the land is presently being used, or where development appears desirable, for single-family dwellings. In addition to the general purposes applying to residential districts, the regulations for the RS Districts are designed to encourage the provision of single-family, detached residences in districts of four permitted densities.

5) Fiscal Comments

There are no monetary benefits directly associated with nomination of a structure to the Lawrence Register of Historic Places.

However, listing on the local Register does help preserve built resources important to Lawrence's history and helps to maintain streetscapes in older neighborhoods through environs reviews.

The original information submitted with nominations for properties to the Lawrence Register is kept on file in the City Planning office for public review and consultation with regard to development projects within the notification area. Copies of this information are also on file at the Kansas Collection in Spencer Research Library on the University of Kansas main campus and at the Watkin’s Community Museum. This type of information is useful, for example, if present or future property owners seek nomination to the State or National Register of Historic Places.

6) Positive/Negative Effects of the Designation

The positive effect of designation is the creation of a permanent record of the historical significance of an individual property, for its architectural quality or its association with a significant local individual or event. This provides the local Historic Resources Commission with pertinent historical data which can help to provide an ‘historic' perspective to property owners when they desire to improve, add on, or redevelop a property within an older section of the City.

The public accessibility of this information is also a resource as it can be used by realtors, builders/developers, and others in the community prior to a property's resale, redevelopment or rehabilitation. In a more general sense, this information can be used by the Chamber of Commerce and existing businesses and industries to ‘identify' one of the facets that makes up Lawrence's Quality of Living.

Additional effects of designation are the creation of an arbitrary, 250' environs notification and review area. Within this 250' circle, projects which require city permits, e.g., demolition, redevelopment, renovation or modification, require review by Historic Resources staff or the Commission. These environs reviews permit scrutiny of proposed development/redevelopment by individuals sensitive to historic preservation.

A Certificate of Appropriateness or a Certificate of Economic Hardship is required to be issued by the Historic Resources Commission before a City permit can be issued for the proposed project. If the Historic Resources Commission denies a Certificate of Appropriateness or a Certificate of Economic Hardship, the property owner can appeal to the City Commission for a new hearing. The City Commission can uphold the decision of the HRC or it can grant the proposed development over the Historic Resources Commission's action.

The local ordinance 250' environs review area is exceeded by State law with regard to State and/or National Register properties. Certificates of Appropriateness or Economic Hardship are required for a project within the 250' radius of a Local Register property.

Examples of projects which would require review and approval are: projects involving the exterior building which are considered ‘structural' changes, demolitions or partial demolitions, rezonings, replats, site plans, variance requests or other items which require a city permit or are the direct result of an action of the City Commission. Minor changes which require a city permit can be administratively approved by the Historic Resources Administrator.

7) Summary of Applicable Designation Criteria

Chapter 22, of the City Code is the Conservation of Historic Resources Code for the City of Lawrence. Section 22-403 of this code establishes criteria for the evaluation of an application for nomination to the Local Register of Historic Places.

D. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION AND DESIGNATION - Section 22-403

Nine criteria are provided within this section for review and determination of qualification as a Landmark or Historic District. These criteria are set forth below with staff's recommendations as to which this application qualifies for:

(1) Its character, interest, or value as part of the development, heritage or cultural characteristics of the community, county, state, or nation;

2819 Stone Barn Terrace, Grover Barn, is significant for its association with the development of rural Douglas County into suburban Lawrence and for its association with the Underground Railroad. because of its association with Joel Grover, a founding member of Lawrence’s community, as well as its association with the Underground Railroad. 2819 Stone Barn Terrace

(2) Its location as a site of a significant local, county, state, or national event;

2819 Stone Barn Terrace, Grover Barn, is significant for its association with the Underground Railroad.

(3) Its identification with a person or persons who significantly contributed to the development of the community, county, state, or nation;

2819 Stone Barn Terrace, Grover Barn, is significant for its association with Joel Grover, a founding member of Lawrence’s community. It is also associated with the sculptor Bernard “Poco” Frazier.

(4) Its embodiment of distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style valuable for the study of a period, type, method of construction, or use of indigenous materials;

(5) Its identification as a work of a master builder, designer, architect, or landscape architect whose individual work has influenced the development of the community, county, state or nation;

(6) Its embodiment of elements of design, detailing, materials, or craftsmanship that render it architecturally significant;

(7) Its embodiment of design elements that make it structurally or architecturally innovative;

(8) Its unique location or singular physical characteristics that make it an established or familiar visual feature;

(9) Its character as a particularly fine or unique example of a utilitarian structure; including, but not limited to farmhouses, gas stations, or other commercial structures, with a high level of integrity or architectural significance.

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The HISTORIC RESOURCES CODE establishes a procedure to follow in the forwarding of a recommendation to the City Commission on applications for listing on the local register.

"Following the hearing the commission shall adopt by resolution a recommendation to be submitted to the city commission for either (a) designation as a landmark or historic district; (b) not to designate as a landmark or historic district; or, (c) not to make a recommendation. The resolution shall be accompanied by a report to the city commission containing the following information:

The Historic Resources Commission needs to formulate its recommendation in response to the following subsections section 22-404.2 (b):

(1) Explanation of the significance or lack of significance of the nominated landmark or historic district as it relates to the criteria for designation as set forth in section 22-403;

(2) Explanation of the integrity or lack of integrity of the nominated landmark or historic district;

(3) In the case of a nominated landmark found to meet the criteria for designation:

(A) The significant exterior architectural features of the nominated landmark that should be protected; and,

(B) The types of construction, alteration, demolition, and removal, other than those requiring a building or demolition permit, that cannot be undertaken without obtaining a certificate of appropriateness.

(4) In the case of a nominated historic district found to meet the criteria for designation:

(A) The types of significant exterior architectural features of the structures within the nominated historic district that should be protected;

(C) A list of all key contributing, contributing and noncontributing sites, structures and objects within the historic district.

(5) Proposed design guidelines for applying the criteria for review of certificates of appropriateness to the nominated landmark or historic district.

(6) The relationship of the nominated landmark or historic district to the on-going effort of the commission to identify and nominate all potential areas and structures that meet the criteria for designation.

(7) A map showing the location of the nominated landmark or the boundaries of the nominated historic district.

E. RECOMMENDATION:

The Grover Barn located at 2819 Stone Barn Terrace qualifies for designation as a Landmark on the Lawrence Register of Historic Places pursuant to Criteria #1, #2, and #3, as described in Section 22-403.

Staff recommends the Commission adopt by resolution a recommendation to be submitted to the City Commission for the designation of 2819 Stone Barn Terrace, Grover Barn, as a landmark in the Lawrence Register of Historic Places. This resolution should be accompanied by the report required by section 22-404.2 (b), and should include, in addition to the information contained in this staff report, the following information.

1. Significant exterior architectural features of the nominated landmark that should be protected include the original masonry components of the historic barn.

2. The types of construction, alteration, demolition, and removal, other than those requiring a building or demolition permit that cannot be undertaken without obtaining a Certificate of Appropriateness shall include the removal or replacement of windows or architectural features on the barn and the addition of or replacement of any siding material.

3. Proposed design guidelines for applying the criteria for review of Certificates of Appropriateness to the nominated landmark shall be the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards.

Staff also recommends the Commission approve the associated environs definition for this nomination.