lifestyles
Top Right: This house on Ohio Street was renovated into four apartments. Brick sidewalks and the row of homes down the street are part of the historic neighborhood.
Above: Stairs lead up to one door on the same house on Ohio Street. A curved sidewalk goes to another.
The houses in the Oread Neighborhood are not only home to many students. They are part of Lawrence's history.
Story by Casey Barnes Photos by Jay Thornton
Becky Miller knew she was living in a historic Lawrence neighborhood, but she did not know the extent of the history surrounding her.
Miller, Overland Park senior, is not the only KU link to 1108 Ohio St. Her house is part of KU history, too.
Alberta Corbin, the first dean of women at the University of Kansas and the inspiration for Gertrude Sellards Pearson-Corbin Hall, lived in the house in the 1930s.
The house is part of the Oread Neighborhood, which is bordered by Ninth Street, 17th Street, Massachusetts Street and campus. The neighborhood is close to campus, which has encouraged landlord investors to tear down old homes to
build apartment complex-
To find out if your house is a historic site, research it at:
the Spencer Library. It has a collection of archives and maps that provide information on historic homes.
the Watkins Community Museum.
the Watkins Community Museum.
the tax records in the Douglas County Courthouse.
the Lawrence Public Library. City directories list homes by address. The directories also give the names of the people who have lived in the house, their occupations or if they were students.
Right: Ivy grows along the wall of a renovated house on Ohio Street.
Five KU students live on the top floor. The basement is a separate apartment.
Far right: This house on Tennessee Street hasn't been renovated.
Bottom: Stairs lead into the cellar of the house on Tennessee Street.
The neighborhood is one of the oldest in Lawrence, said Marci Francisco, president of the the Lawrence Preservation Alliance. The group is dedicated to saving homes from demolition and encourages landlords and
home owners to maintain the unique aspects of their houses. But that can be difficult when students who live there usually know nothing of the value of the house.
"Students want to live in the neighborhood because the houses are fun. They are more interesting." Francisco said. "The high cellings and the big windows are things that old houses have to offer."
These are only a few of many unique features that have led the Lawrence Preservation Alliance to save historic homes. The city's Historic Resource Commission accepts applications for historic homes to be put on the local landmark list, which means a house meets certain historic criteria for architecture. So, any major changes to the house would have to be approved by city government, Francisco said.
There is even a Lawrence Historical Resources Code that identifies and helps preserve distinctive historical and architectural characteristics.
But those resources don't change that part of the Oread Neighborhood that is sometimes referred to as the "student ghetto."
According to the 1990 census of population and housing, 4,148 of the 5,520 people who lived in the Oread Neighborhood were students.
That is something Francisco said was important.
But many students, such as Miller, still are not aware of the historical significance of their home.
"Once you know things about the house you live in and the houses around you, it makes it fun to walk down the street and look at them," Francisco said. "Some people find letters and pictures in the walls or newspapers under the linoleum to let
the new residents know who lived there and when."
Fred Sack, owner of the house at 1108 Ohio St., paid someone to do research on the history of his house. He discovered that there had been three libraries in the 10 bedroom house when Corbin lived there. By the 1970s, 11 people lived there.
Today, Miller and five other girls live upstairs, and the downstairs is rented out as a separate apartment.
And the history and architecture of the house are still appreciated.
"Old houses have so much more character than new houses," Miller said. "The huge old windows and the hardwood floors make the house more beautiful."
Miller said that Sack had helped preserve the house's character by leaving antique light fixtures and light switches with dates on them from the Civil War.
Sack keeps the house up because he said that history was important to the neighborhood and the community. He said he had filled out the request to make his house a historic landmark, but he had not sent the it yet. He has owned the house at 1108 Ohio for eight years, renting it mostly to students.
He said keeping the house renovated was the key to students not messing it up. He updated the heating and air and reworked the plumbing.
"I have had very good results with student tenants," Sack said. "If you don't keep them up, the people living there are not going to respect the house and will tear them up."
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Cultural Calendar
EXHIBITIONS AND LECTURES
Exhibition- Land and Its Uses: Photographs from the Collection, Sept. 3-Dec. 31 at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Exhibition- Native American Ceramics from the Southwest Pueblos, ends Sunday at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Tour du Jour-Steve Smith, Mellon Foundation research Intern, on Native American Ceramics from the Southwest Pueblos, 12:15 p.m. tomorrow at the White Gallery in the Spencer Museum of Art.
PERFORMANCES
University Theatre presents "Jesus Christ Superstar," 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Crafton-Preyer Theatre. Tickets $12 public, $6 KU students, $11 other students and senior citizens.
Fall Concert-KU Jazz Ensemble I, 7:30 p.m.
Friday at the Lied Center. Tickets $6 public, $3 students.
Choral Concert-KU Concert and Chamber Choirs with Lawrence High School A Capella Girls, 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Lied Center. Tickets $6 public, $3 students.
Fall Concert-University Singers, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Swarthout Recital Hall.
Informal concert-University Dance Company, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Elizabeth Sherbon Dance Theatre in Robinson Center.
AUDITIONS
Lawrence Community Theatre-7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at the Lawrence Community Theatre, 1501 New Hampshire St.
University Theatre-7 p.m. Sunday in Murphy Hall. Auditions open to all students enrolled in 6 hours or more.
1