Wednesday, August 23,1978
5
Area's historic houses described
By JOY CLARK Staff Writer
The 19th century still lives in Old West Lawrence.
Old West Lawrence is the area bordered on the north by Sixth St., on the east by Tennessee St., on the south by Ninth St. and on the west by Illinois St..
Touring this 15-block area will reveal houses built shortly after Lawrence became a city in 1844. Also the solidly constructed homes built shortly will be 1831 raid, the elements and renovations.
The houses in Old West Lawrence represent four basic styles of architecture.
The earliest type, the stone vernacular, was built with solid limestone walls in a small rectangle to provide protection from wind and sun.
The cottage style is similar to the stone vernacular, except the shape is in a T or an L. The house may be built of stone or brick instead of limestone and face front porches.
IN THE 1880s and '70s the popular style of houses changed to a type known as Italianate. These houses have elaborate windows, ornate decorative pianion windows, verandas and flat-roof roofs.
Most of the elaborate houses in Old West Lawrence fall into the category of Victorian Baroque. These 19th-century houses are designed with grand flower towers, and display richness and heaviness.
At 648 Louisiana St. one may see a simple stone vernacular house. Just down the street at 701 Louisiana St. there is an elaborate Victorian Baroque.
Trying to identify the various styles can fool the novice. Through the years the various owners may have added a porch or another room to the original structure.
THE HOME OF the first U.S. Senator from Kansas, General James Laine, is said to be located at Eighth and Illinois streets. Lane, a militant city leader, originally owned a 128-acre tract of land that extended west of Louisiana St. to Illinois St. The land was given to Lane in 1862 through a patient authorization of the authority of President Abraham Lincoln.
A mansion located at 743 Indiana St. is the oldest of the elaborate mansions in Old West Lawrence. The mansion was designed and built by Hiram Towne, who also built North College, the first building at the University of Kansas. The house, according to Quincy Baughman, is guarded by raiders because of the owner's plans that she was only a poor widow and that the house, then a boarding house, was her sole source of income.
THE HOUSE AT 645 Tennessee St., a Victorian Baroque, was built for Henry Tisdale, superintendent of the Southwestern Stage Company, president of Pacific Mill
Company, and president and treasurer of the Lawrence Transportation Company.
A bullet hole in the front door of the house at 711 Mississippi St. was supposedly made during Quantrill's raid. The panel containing the hole was inserted into a new door after the raid. The rest of the house was constructed and it was constructed of 18 inches of limestone.
Even notice that the house at 827 Tennessee St. is out of proportion with the neighboring houses? The house was originally located on a ravine that ran from the top of the hill to what is now Central Park, and the first floor of the house was covered.
Currently, there are 51 houses in Old West Lawrence that are listed by the State Architectural Survey as having special architectural value.
The Old West Lawrence Association is one of the reasons the 15-block area has been designated for use by older homes dedicated to the preservation of old homes and has been instrumental in keeping the streets well.
Headquarters helps the troubled
A $2 house tour guide may be obtained at local museums.
By DEBBIE EIFFERT
Staff Writer
Headquarters, 1602 Massachusetts Street,
is looking for new quarters this year.
Headquarters, a crisis and short-term counseling center, has a 24-hour holine and walk-in service. Their job is to talk to anybody at anytime about anything, according to Alan Johnson, Headquarters director.
The volunteer staff of approximately 60 people has to move from its two-story home to the building on the other side.
"The Friends Church, who owns the house, will probably make it into an education building or tear it down for a parking lot." Johnson said.
He said that a building committee is trying to raise money for a down payment on a new house that will probably be located in the same general area.
"We should be in it by mid-summer next year," he said.
In exchange for overnight sleeping at headquarters the crasher helps clean up the bathroom.
THE PRESENT house, with its sofa, overstuffed chairs, plants, and list of "Rules for Crashers" on the wall is a temporary classroom for new students and community people each year.
On the front door are signs that say "We never close" and "Come On in."
Johnson, who has been involved with Headquarters for about six years, said that they make about 25 to 30 contacts with the president, and that 70 percent of those are by phone.
"The bulk of the people used to be students but now it's probably about 50 percent students and 50 percent community members." Everything is done on an anonymous basis.
"The main age group is 20 to 55. Occasionally we have some juveniles."
In 1977, Headquarters had approximately 10,000 contacts, and about 4,500 of them were referrals or questions about the com-
munity. The other members were using food and medical and legal problems.
PEOPLE CONTACT them for help concerning drug-related problems and personal problems, he said. Headquarters does short-term counseling and makes referrals.
About 3,500 of the contacts were personal problems including school, family, sexual and mental problems. 500 of those contacts were from people who were depressed, 323 were from people feeling lonely and 117 were from people considering suicide.
Drug-related problems numbered about 600 in 1977, and half of them to do with pesticides. Another problem was drug use.
"For instance, people will want to know
this little, pink pill with the white
triangle."
"WE REALLY don't have many drug abuse problems."
There were 167 drug abuse contacts made in 1977, which is half the number of drug abuse contacts made in 1974 when the Head-On County Court Diversion Program was set up.
Four drug arrests of former callers have been recorded out of 116 clients in the program.
The Court Diversion Program is an alternative to prosecution for drug arrest, Johnson said. Most arrests are first-time users of soft drugs such as marijuana.
The first year the program was funded by a federal grant of $85,000 from the National Institutes of Health and six years funds came from the Kansas Governor's Committee on Criminal Administration.
"PEOPLE ARE referred mostly by the County Attorney's office, but we get referrals from seven or eight different places, too." he said.
Counseling sessions on drug abuse and drug education are held for the clients.
Judy Browder, co-director of the Court
Diversion Program, said that in her counseling sessions she tried to stress four areas of drug education: responsibility, emotional effects, life-likes and legalities.
"I feel there's a difference between drug
and alcohol," said the main
difference is responsibility.
Browder said that this spring the Court Diversion Program started working more with juveniles, and that the program, which has been designed to guard their families, will be expanding.
HEADQUARTERS started in 1968 as a place to help high school students who were involved in drugs. It was started by four teachers and was the location to the north near the present HO location.
Johnson, who has a doctorate in social psychology, has been the director of the Cranfield Center for Behavioral Science.
Johnson said that there are three paid positions besides his on the staff; an assistant professor of English and a supportive 45-hour training program for the staff and whose salary is the only one that comes out of University of Kansas Student Senate Division provision program person and a bookkeeper.
Volunteers work at least two four-hour shifts a week, he said, and some work up to eight.
The rest are volunteers.
About 30 new staff members are chosen from about 60 applicants each August, January and February.
“WE LOSE about half of our staff each semester,” Johnson said.
A staff member is expected to be a good communicator, to be responsible, to have few personal problems himself, and to be able to work with different backgrounds or values.
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GILLETTE
KODIAK STEEL BELTED RADIAL
- Original Equipment Design
Nylon Cap Ply
2 Radial Polyester Cord Plies
2 Steel Belts
Back to School Special
"Get Your Ship Together"
Aug.25,2:00 until 5:00
$1.25 Pitchers
50C Cans of Beer
At the
HARBOUR
1031 Mass 841-5709
royal college shop
eight thirty-seven massachusetts
843-4255