Mr. Edgar W. Clark, president of the Clark & Bates Lumber Company, commissioned Shepard/Farrar to build this home in 1909.  The home was designed in the Prairie School style that emphasis horizontal lines as seen in the low-pitched hip roof, eaves, and the expansive windows capped with prominent stone lentils.

This massive house serves as an excellent example of how historic details can combine with the need to modernize. For instance, many of the light fixtures throughout the house are original and were fully restored and rewired. A linen closet on the 3^rd floor was converted into a media center. And the original “sewing room” on the 2^nd floor has become a very handy laundry room.  Unusual for any private home, this house sports an elevator!

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Mr. Frank B. Chapeze, a livestock dealer, paid $10,000 for this 3-story residence in 1910. Smith, Rea & Lovitt designed this Late Nineteenth/Early Twentieth Century Revival style house.  Notice the Spanish tile roof and prominent gabled dormers with dentils marking the gable ends.  The mixed exterior finishes, stucco walls and rough hewn limestone are matched with decorative details of half-timbering and stone lentils above the windows, and bracketed columns on the porch, carriage porch, and dormers.  During the housing shortage of the 40’s, the house was broken into eight apartments.  In 1999 the home was purchased and painstakingly revived and restored to its original grandeur.

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In 1906, noted architect Fredrick Gunn designed this house for his family home.  However, his wife’s illness necessitated a sale, and Charles Hoefer, of the Woodstock-Hoefer Watch and Jewelry Company became the first owner.   The 2 story Craftsman style house features rounded arches on the porch and gable windows, as well as a low pitched red tile gable roof.  Massive stone walls and staircases compliment the natural setting on a bluff overlooking Roanoke Park.  The pebbled glass used in the 12-foot stained glass window is called “Roanoke Glass”.  Huge mahogany columns grace the living room and curved staircase.

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William B. Nickel commissioned George Mathews to design this 3 story Prairie School style American Foursquare in 1903.  This was the last house designed by the prolific architect before his tragic death in September of that year.  The home features a prominent front gable roof with tiled ridges, exposed rafters in the open eaves, asymmetrical window arrangement, and shingle siding.  Prairie elements include the unique wide overhang returns above the second story windows, the expansive tripartite window in the gable, and the off centered front porch.

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Built in 1912, this 3-story residence was originally the home of Mr. Harry Colvin. The architectural firm of Shepard, Farrar & Wiser designed the house in a unique Colonial Revival style, featuring symmetrical windows, an accentuated arched portico with classical style columns, and brick laid in a “stretcher” bond design.

The current owners purchased the house in 2002 from a family that had enjoyed the home for 43 years. In addition to the restoration work inside, they have constructed a new garage and a brick wall and wrought iron fencing that surrounds the double lot.

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Richard & Lillian Simpson built their home in 1915 for $6,000.  Nelle E. Peters, one of KC’s first prominent female architects, designed the 3- story home in a unique blend of Prairie School and Tudor Revival styles. Prairie elements include the horizontal lines in “string course” banding, the banking of the windows, and the full-width one story front porch. Tudor elements include the stucco walls with decorative half-timbering and steeply pitched side gable roof with no overhang ornamentation. The heavy rough-hewn limestone exterior is laid in “dressed ashlar” design.

In 1985, the home was purchased and a ten-year period of careful restoration was begun.  An enlarged kitchen addition, an entertainment room and gallery designed for children, and a “dormitory in the dormers” make this house a charming home.

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Architect George Mathews designed this Prairie School style American Foursquare in 1901 with construction costs of $6,000.  The house features a hip roof and prominent dormers, an asymmetrical double hung window configuration on the front façade, fenestration with entablature surrounds, shingle exterior, and bellcast eaves on the main roof.  Prairie elements are the prominent “stringcourse” band that demarks the first from the second story, and the off-centered front porch in a recessed bay.  The three-car garage is a recent addition, and the gardens on the double lot are being restored.

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A Muehlebach family home, this 3-story house was built as a wedding gift for Sophronia Muehlebach Buchholz and her husband William Buchholz.  Moving in as newly weds in 1907, they both spent the rest of their lives here – William in 1938, Sophronia in 1963!

The house is Colonial Revival style, with the gable roof, dormers with pediments, and stone details in the brick exterior. Notice the unique arched window and the asymmetrical two-story hexagon bay.  Added architectural details include the massive stained glass window in the staircase landing.

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Margaret Muehlebach, widow of George Muehlebach, Sr. (1833-1905) was the matriarch of the renowned Muehlebach family.  She and her son George, Jr., built this house in 1906, simultaneously with the house for Sophronia Muehlebach next door.   Presiding over his father’s brewing company, George expanded the interests to include the Muehlebach Hotel, Muehlebach Field (Municipal Stadium), and Muehlebach funeral homes.  He lived in the house until his death in 1955. The 3 story residence was designed in a Prairie School style that emphasis horizontal lines, as seen in the hip roof, the expansive windows, prominent stone lentils, and “string course” banding. The heavy rough-hewn limestone was a popular exterior finish of the time. The house has been remodeled extensively, and is an excellent example of blending modern conveniences with historic details of the original design.  The carriage house is finished as a guest house/entertainment room.

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Albert E. Holmes was a partner of South Highlands Land & Improvements, Co – developers of the Roanoke addition.  His father Edward Holmes was the President of the company.  Having their choice of Roanoke lots, they selected to build on the graceful curve of Valentine, on a bluff overlooking Roanoke Road.   The company later donated the surrounding land that became Roanoke Park. George Mathews designed the 3 story rustic Tudor Revival with a steeply pitched roof and arched radiating vousoirs above the windows. The heavy rough-hewn limestone exterior compliments the wooded setting.  The house is an excellent example of how buildings were adapted to the natural terrain -- when viewed from the side, an additional story is revealed.   A two-story carriage house, matched in design, is perched on the edge of the bluff.

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Walter M. Heltemes paid $4,000 to build this Tudor Revival style home in 1933.  The house features a steeply pitched, multi-gabled, overlapping roof with “verge board” fascia ends and decorative trusses.  The brick and stucco exterior has half-timbering and stone laid in a random pattern, casement windows, and a prominent front façade chimney.  Notice the tabs of cut stone laid symmetrically in the front door surround.

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H. Robert Ennis, a real estate businessman, and his wife, Kate, built this home in 1906.  Mr. Ennis was the President of the National Association of Realtors in 1924.  Unfortunately, due to the economic times, or his business acumen, the Ennises lost their home to foreclosure in 1931. 

The Colonial Revival style home features symmetrically balanced second story bays that flank a central front porch with square pillars.  Heavy rough-hewn limestone, laid in a “coursed rubble” design was a popular exterior choice of the time.

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