South Esplanade Historic District
The South Esplanade Historic District is an 1857 addition to the City of Leavenworth. On the east side of the street, travelers are treated to an unobstructed view of the first truly eastward bend in the Missouri River and the valley extending to the bluffs approximately four miles away. In earlier times, the top of the slope was wide enough to permit baseball games on level ground. The flood of 1993, primarily, caused extensive collapse of the hillside. This necessitated clearing the slope and building the terrace found midway down the incline which may one day be incorporated into Leavenworth's linear park and trail system. South Esplanade was originally named Main Street and was connected to North Esplanade via a bridge over Three Mile Creek that still exists but is obsolete and structurally incapable of bearing any traffic. The 3MC parkway may incorporate restoration of the bridge as a part of the new pedestrian trail.
Of interest in the area, one of Leavenworth’s early coal mines was on Second Street south of the Missouri Valley Shipyards dry dock which is still visible from the Esplanade Bluff. The coal mines created a demand for low cost and frequently, "company" provided housing, mostly in the form of "shotgun" homes. These still dot the older half of Leavenworth, mostly in close proximity to the mines.
The shipyard built landing craft during World War II and launched several tugboats a year for river barge navigation. The last tug boat splashed into the river in June, 1983. Thereafter the
Shipyard merged with Missouri Valley Bridge & Steel, the general contractor for the San Francisco Bay Bridge, the longest single span bridge of its day when completed over 50 years ago. The Missouri Valley works finally closed their doors in 1987 and sold their production facility at 790 Thornton Street to the City for use as its Public Works Service Center.
The tour begins at 2nd and Olive streets a little south of the boundary of the Historic District; South Esplanade is a one-way street south.
Drechsel-Wiley House
800 S. Second Street
1985
(Picture if we can get one)
As you approach South Esplanade, note the beautifully restored Stick Style house on the southwest corner. It was built in 1895 by William Drechsel, a shoe store owner. The three small cottages north of the house were built for coal miners
Albert Doege House
108 Olive
1864
Although not presently within the boundaries of the district, this 1864 house is significant because of its age and blend of Federal and Italianate features. Mr. Doege was the owner of the National Soap Co., manufacturers of laundry and toilet soaps, violet starch, sal soda and blueing. This house was saved from the wrecking ball by Jeanette and Manny Craig. It is listed on the Kansas State Historical Register.
Joseph Eble House
100 Olive
1924
At the corner of Olive and South Esplanade, on the left, is a ‘kit’ house from the Gordon-Van Tyne Co. of Iowa. It arrived on two-rail road flatcars and was constructed by Joseph Eble in 1924. He and his family lived with his in-laws, the Doeges, while construction was taking place.
T.W. Judge House
810 South Esplanade, c. 1890
This house marks the north end of the present Historic District. The original porch posts have been replaced on the shingled story-and-a-half house. Note the flared eaves and cornice returns.
George William Combs
814 South Esplanade, c. late 1800’s
This two-story frame Queen Anne style house features decorative stained glass around the front window and a transom above the front door. The front porch is a 1920s Craftsman style replacement of the original. G.W. Combs came to Leavenworth as a child. He became the Superintendent of Milling and Pattern Making at the Great Western Manufacturing Co. His flour sifting invention was a forerunner of sifters still made by that company for mills around the globe. Leavenworth sifters sift the world’s flour. (PICTURE)
Josephine Norton House
818 South Esplanade
c. 1870
This two-story frame house has Greek Revival influence in the peaked lintels above the windows and front door. The porch is a later Craftsman style replacement, similar to that at 814 South Esplanade. (PICTURE)
Findlay and Mary Hathaway House
822 South Esplanade
This small house has been drastically altered from its beginning as a simple four-room house. The Hathaways lived here from 1888 to 1920. Only plaster and lathe remnants in a crawl space under the eaves are left to indicate its early life as a single-story house with ten-foot ceilings. A mid-20th Century remodel eliminated the Victorian-era interior. Two small dormers from that change became the large second story shed dormer in the 1960s.
Charles F. Dassler
826 South Esplanade
This brick house is shown on the 1876 Adolph Hunnius map. Originally, the story-and-a-half building had an L-shaped front porch and a back porch, both of which had been removed by 1949. Chas. Dassler was a lawyer and lived here for much of the first half of the 20th Century. It was modified later to accommodate a full second story.
James McGee House
830 South Esplanade
c.1886
The McGee House is a two-story, frame Queen Anne. The wrap-around porch with a gazebo is a 1990s replacement. Mr. McGee was an insurance agent. On a stage coach trip to southeast Kansas, he and the other passengers were confronted with an ‘unusual and unreasonable’ request from the Jesse James gang to hand over their cash and valuables. After giving up a total of $700, the journey continued to Pleasant Hill. The carriage house on the alley behind the McGee house is over a century old. It is one of the few old frame carriage houses still existing in Leavenworth.
John and Harriet Gimper House
114 Spruce Street
c.1876
This small one-story brick Victorian no longer has its across-the-front porch. Note the small dormers and the old stone wall toped with a low metal fence. Mr. Gimper was superintendent of the Leavenworth Gas and Light Co. G.W.Combs bought the property in 1910 as a gift for his son, Dr. Frederick C. Combs. Dr. Combs’ son, George, grew up here. His widow, Mary, and granddaughter, Kathy Green, still reside here. (PICTURE)
W.D.Evernghim
118 Spruce Street
c.1876
The present house started out as a simple, clapboard-covered frame house. Around 1920, the owner decided to have a Craftsman style porch built and to veneer the whole house with brick. The house was known for many years as the home of Dr. Channell.
Thomas Templeton Reyburn House
900 South Esplanade
c.1918
The Reyburn family operated a hardware business in Leavenworth for many years. Thomas built this house for his bride. It replaced one on the site that had burned. Later owners have found remnants of the earlier house, including a coin silver spoon. The house was originally a single story home. Sometime between 1924 and 1949, the second story was added. Around 1970, the rear garage addition was constructed.
George Tobey Anthony
912 South Esplanade
c.1975
George and Rosa Anthony built this gable-front Italianate about ten years after coming to Leavenworth from New York state. He was a second cousin of famed local publisher, D.R. Anthony and his sister, Susan B. Anthony. He was the seventh governor of Kansas, serving from 1877 to 1879. He championed locating the Old Soldiers Home, now the Eisenhower Veterans Administration in Leavenworth in the 1880s. Matthew Ryan, Sr. and his wife were the second owners of this house. (PICTURE)
Dakotah Skinner Ryan
920 S. Esplanade
c.1908
This house is an example of the Prairie Four Square style, considered to be the first purely American home design. Mrs. Ryan was the widow of Matthew Ryan, Jr. The Ryan’s owned several businesses in Leavenworth and cattle interests in Wyoming or Montana. Her widowed mother-in-law was still residing next door at 912 South Esplanade. Note the cantilevered bay window on the north side. (PICTURE)
Ambrose and Janet Reno House
928 South Esplande
c.1860
The brick two-story brick home has some of its original Italianate features such as the brackets at the cornice. The front entry pediment on the south side and the porch overlooking the river are likely c. 1930s Colonial Revival influences. It is thought the original owner was a Quaker from New Orleans involved in the iron trade. He came to Leavenworth to escape the Civil War. Clarence Ryan lived here in the early 1900s, next to his brother’s widow. (PICTURE)
Smith-Lange House
1000 South Esplanade
c.1868
Attorney and journalist, Nicholas Smith, built the Tudor-looking house. It was said he was inspired by Washington Irving’s home in the Catskills. It was originally a Gothic Revival, built of brick and embellished with gingerbread at the cornices. His second wife was Ida Greeley, who was the daughter of Horace, the famous New York editor and writer. Horace frequently visited Leavenworth, as have his descendants in recent times. During Prohibition, Adolph Lange, a pharmacist, acquired the house. Myron Feth, architect, redesigned the residence around 1920 making it a Tudor Revival. The renovation was most likely funded by the sale of ‘medicinal spirits’ sold during prohibition (by prescription only, of course!). (PICTURE)
G.J.Bub House
1008 South Esplanade
c. late 1800’s
This one-story frame Late Victorian-style house has vinyl siding and replacement windows. Although the front façade appears typical of the era, the rear additions are from later years and the modifications render the house a non-contributing structure in the district. Leavenworth's newly found emphasis on the historic importance of our architectural environment is encouraging owners of modified homes to restore them back to their original condition. This is a likely candidate.
Orlando D. Coppedge House
1016 South Esplanade
c.1925
This is a Mission-style house reflecting its later construction. Of particular interest is the arched recess for the front door. It is
framed with terra cotta blocks and columns and was designed by Myron Feth. A tile fountain is in the rear. The garage and living space above it are from a 1980’s renovation. Mr. Coppedge owned a glove factory at 4th and Seneca. He died while driving to his summer home in Minnesota. He was reading a newspaper, as he usually did while driving, and collided with a pig causing his vehicle to overturn.
