727 Mechanic Street, Emporia, KS
Recently I wrote about a house I photographed in 2016 but never posted the images.
Well here is another such house!
And this story is both tragic, and a classic example of the old saying: No good deed goes unpunished.
I had long been aware of 727 Mechanic. It was adjacent to a sea of parking, and looked profoundly forlorn and in danger: The only remaining building on the whole block front. Surely, I thought, the city would snap it up to create more parking, right? But, year after year it remained, quite to my surprise.
At first, I had no idea of who designed the house. But, after buying the 1894 Cross House, I learned a great deal about its architect, Charles W. Squires. And as my eye became ever better informed, I recognized 727 as a late Squires design.
The house was designed several decades after the Cross House, and is…as was the norm for the times…much simpler. The house was also, upon close inspection, built with a per square foot budget significantly exceeding that of the Cross House. in short, 727 had money poured into it.
727 Mechanic Street. To its left side (south) is a sea of parking. To its right side (north) is a residential neighborhood.
The sea.
North side.
Rear.
South side. Note how the sides of the dormers splay out. An unnecessary but playful detail which is typical of Squires. Note also the eccentric checkerboard pattern of the stone porch railing.
As mentioned, 727 had money lavished upon it, as seen here in the superior brickwork, the dressed stone foundation, and stone sills and (not shown) stone lintels. You can also see the quality of the work.
When I finally was able to access the house in 2016, I was stunned. It was wildly original. I was drooling. And filled with lust. At the time 727 was being used for storage. It looked like a hoarder house but was not. But even with the flotsam of items abounding, the quality of the architecture and materials and craftsmanship was evident. And soooooooooo intact. Original lighting! Original sinks and cabinets! My drooling was significant.
I knew I could not take on the house so I worked to find a buyer to protect and restore it. Eventually, I was…drum roll, please…successful! I was, too, as you can imagine very happy. The new buyer and I made an agreement: I would be retained as a historic protector.
It soon though became evident that the new owner had absolutely no understanding nor appreciation of what historic integrity meant and, with a punch to my stomach, I realized that I had actually endangered the house.
And then things grew worse. Vastly worse.
The new owner abruptly sold 727. And the owner#2 quickly destroyed pretty much all that I valued about the house.
I had spent years working to protect the house, and my efforts resulted in the house being trashed.
Yep, no good deed goes unpunished.
Sigh.
The north stairwell bay, and brackets loved by Squires.
BEFORE. The beveled-glass parlor window.
AFTER. Why???????????
To my eyes, 727 is a very ‘masculine’ house, it is straight and boxy, rather than curvaceous. As evidenced by the main stair. Note the “receiving” bench. None of the following pictures convey the high quality of the work and materials.
Looking from the entry into the parlor. The dining room is through the wide cased opening to the right.
The dining room has a wide bay window facing south (left), and a delicious columned portal to a small room facing west. The portal though…WTF?…has now been removed.
The fireplace in the dining room appears sorta simple, but…
…the tile is unlike anything I have ever seen. I do not know if this remains.
The dining room and parlor retained original gas/electric sconces. Do any remain?
The GORGEOUS and $$$$ trim.
The kitchen was particularly drool worthy. This cabinet though was removed and discarded.
Kitchen door to entry hall.
A to-die-for original sink. Also now discarded.
The first floor had a half-bath. It looks terrible here but was wholly restorable. The missing sink was on the floor, as were the missing subway tiles.
I was amazed this single sconce was still in situ. It would have had a better socket originally, and glass shade. Easily correctable issues.
Classic floor tiles. All very restorable.
You can see the basically excellent condition of the wall tiles and trim, yet all this has now been destroyed.
The pantry cabinet. I do not know its fate.
.
A short flight of “servant” steps up to the main stair in the kitchen. I do not know if this remains.
The second floor landing. Again, the very high quality of the work and wood is not evident in images. The floor had four rooms and one full bathroom.
Wonderful hardware.
In the second floor NE corner is a small room with double pocket door to the large bedroom. I would have turned this into a spa-style bathroom.
You can see the quality of the wood and trim. This was $$$$.
The large bedroom in the SE corner. The small window has a twin in the adjacent closet. Wonderful detail.
The closet was wholly original. I adore vintage closets.Is any of this still intact?
The second floor had a full bath facing west. I think this has been gutted.
Fabulous original tub. The few missing wall tiles were on the floor.
Glorious original beveled mirrored cabinet and…zounds!!!!!!!!…original gas/electric sconces. I think this is all gone.
I would kill for this.
The bathroom had a remarkable feature: a porch via a door. I have never seen such a feature off a bathroom. For nude sunbathing? This feature has now been destroyed.
The third floor stair. The floor is one large room and bathroom, lighted by dormer windows.
The bathroom did not appear to be original, but rather a bit later, and cobbled together. I would have re-thought the room.
All houses should have doors to Narnia.
The dormers have full-height headroom.
New windows have been installed. Sigh.
The backyard was one of the best features of 727. It had an oasis quality. I would have built a privacy fence and the yard could have been a glory. Instead…
…it has been 100% denuded.
Again, the rear face. Before. The “nude” porch can be seen, middle of image. Note the brick corner, lower left. The window to the left of the electric meter was in the pantry.
The now lost “nude” porch. This was a wonderful feature.
The house has now been expanded. Note the brick corner. I am confused by the need for this addition as it is mostly porches.
When I found a person to buy 727, the idea was that it would be transformed into an Airbnb. Its location, while terrible for a single-family home, was ideal for an Airbnb. It is right next to Main Street, and the adjacent parking would have been a huge plus.
It would have been the best located Airbnb in town.
The first-floor would have been a cafe, with 4 guest rooms above.
The rear yard oasis would have been perfect for weddings, and receptions.
But…sigh.
Sigh.
Sigh.
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I love reading these Emporia house posts, Ross! This one reminds me of several houses in my town which sit like islands in seas of parking lots! I wonder what the end results of this work will be like? I hope they at least replant a garden in the back yard.
(((Ross)))
(((727)))
This is the most depressing thing, regarding old houses, i have seen in months. This house was a dream in those before pics; the perfect house in my opinion. This makes me so mad, and really really sad.
I share your pain, Kim.
Oh dear, I am SO sorry for your loss, sigh. I’d wish to be able to get the “discard pile” from this project, if only to rescue the sink and some of the gorgeous wood.
Keep on with your beautiful work. If only we could save them ALL….
A tragedy indeed 🙁
I very vividly remember walking this house with you in the fall of 2021 and being quite taken with how intact it actually was, despite being filled to the brim with “stuff”. Not quite my style, but a spectacular house nonetheless.
It needed everything, but, all the important stuff was still there. All of it. The original picture rail moldings were even stacked neatly in a pile in the dining room. Why they were taken down I have no idea, but they were still there. Probably firewood now.
One of the more distinct features that stuck in my mind was that when standing on the front porch looking in to the front parlor and the foyer, both having large front facing windows (photo 8 in this post), I realized that although the transoms were beveled glass as is typical, the large plain panes of glass below also had a beveled perimeter. It was an extraordinary detail that I had never seen before nor since.
What a fucking waste.
I bet the large rear porches are going to turn into additional exterior entrances (with large clunky staircases) to other floors and areas of the house so that it can be chopped up into a multifamily situation. It would make sense then that they bulldozed the back yard, for parking…for tenants.
All of your guesses would be incorrect. It’s going to be restored to a single family home that will stay with the same family name sake for generations to come. There are no discard piles, I can assure you. Perhaps you could contact the owners who purchased it last year and get a comment from them (very nice people with established roots in Emporia) or maybe not comment an opinion of such tragedies that don’t exist.
I met the new owners. And, yes, they were very nice.
I did not state that there were discard piles.
And everything I wrote is accurate. Many original features have been removed. And, yes, that IS tragic, IMO.
Oh, I see. So you met owner #2 who destroyed the house?
Yes, I met the current owners.