Mineral Hall and Its Unique Arched Doorway

History and Old Stuff...

Image courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division,
Historic American Buildings Survey, HABS MO,48-KANCI,10-5

The curious arched doorway is the photo above is the main entry to Mineral Hall in Kansas City, MO.

Mineral Hall was built between 1903 and 1905. Its architect was Louis Curtiss (1865-1924). He was born in Ontario, Canada. After studying architecture in Toronto and Paris, he came to Kansas City around 1890, apparently attracted by the economic boom and extensive construction in the area.

According to Susan Jezak Ford, writing for the Kansas City Public Library, "[Curtiss] only wore white. He continually smoked monogrammed Turkish cigarettes. He was a reckless driver. Yet his legacy of buildings remains truly recognizable by their style and innovative designs."

The main part of the house was built by William Rule, who never lived in it. About a year after it was built, it was sold to Roland E. Bruner, a businessman with extensive personal and business interests in mining.

To house and showcase his extensive collection of minerals, Bruner employed Curtiss to design and add a wing to the house . The name Mineral Hall was given to the house because samples of local minerals were embedded in the mortar of the interior walls of Bruner's new wing.

The exterior of the home is Jackson County oolitic limestone -- that is, locally quarried stone. The door itself is an example of Art Noveau style. The total cost of the house, when built, was about $25,000.

Mineral Hall looks like the residence of a mining king. The doorway reminds me of a hobbit hole, but of course Louis Curtiss had no such influences on his imagination. In 1903, J. R. R. Tolkien was a mere lad of 11 years.

According to Ford, Louis Curtiss is buried in an unmarked grave in Kansas City's Mount Washington cemetery. He died in 1924, at work at his drafting table.

Mineral Hall is used today as the Admissions Office of the Kansas City Art Institute. The Art Institute website remarks that Mineral Hall's door is said to be "the most photographed doorway in Kansas City."

I found a description of Mineral Hall and the photos I've posted here in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) at the Library of Congress website. Most of the details I've cited here come from the HABS documentation. If you want to read it yourself, the best way to find it is to visit the HABS homepage and type "Mineral Hall Kansas City" into the search bar.

Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division,

Historic American Buildings Survey, HABS MO,48-KANCI,10-2

Note: I revised this a few hours after I posted it to organize it better and to include more information. I also separated some information into a second post about buildings designed by Louis Curtiss.

Technorati tags: Mineral Hall, Louis Curtiss

Costume Rental in Hopkinsville

Life in Christian County, Kentucky...

I noticed today that a new business has started in the old building across from the courthouse, at the corner of 6th and Main. I think the ancient paint on the side of the building says, "Klein's Department Store," and most recently, an antique store was located there. The building has been empty for a couple of years.

The owners of this new costume rental business are apparently involved in local theatre; some of the hand-lettered signs on the door are notes about practice times. At any rate, I wish the Grande Masquerade well.

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Hopkinsville KY
Hopkinsville Kentucky

Heaven's Open Door

All In The Family... Christian and Lutheran Life...

Rain moving eastward, late in the afternoon

Here is one of my early memories. I think I was about three years old, and I was with my parents in the Church of the Nazarene basement at Ainsworth, Nebraska. Someone was playing the piano and everyone was singing. To my surprise, I heard my Aunt Becky's name in one of the songs!

This world is not my home,
I'm just a-passin' through;
If Heaven's not my home,
Then Lord, what will I do?
The angels beckon me
From Heaven's open door,
And I can't feel at home,
In this world anymore.

To this day, I think of my Aunt Becky when I hear this song. The opening in the clouds in the photo above reminded me of another phrase in the lyrics --"Heaven's open door."

You can hear and read this old Gospel song at Heavenly Midis, or if you can't hear that page, you can listen to it on Midi Picking by Harry (Scroll down to "This World Is Not My Home". It's a good foot-tapping rendition, though sadly it was cut just a tad short on the very last note.)

I became a Lutheran as an adult, and I love the hymns Lutherans sing -- hymns that have been sung by Christians for hundreds of years -- but I also love the classic Gospel music I grew up with. I'm doubly blessed because I've had the opportunity to learn and enjoy both genres.

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gospel music
Becky

Unique Shed Doors

Life in Christian County, Kentucky...

Touches of human creativity and personality can be seen in odd places. Consider these shed doors. Given four small windows and two large doors, the builder could have done the typical garage door window arrangement. However, he chose to set them diagonally at opposite angles.

Apparently he decided to give this humble building a little pizzazz. And it worked, don't you think?

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creativity
style

Seen In Hopkinsville

Life in Christian County, Kentucky... History and Old Stuff...

This beautifully detailed stoop is part of a home on Virginia Street in Hopkinsville, KY.

I was curious about the word "stoop" so I looked it up. Here is the definition according to Answers.com:

stoop (stup) n. Chiefly Northeastern U.S.
A small porch, platform, or staircase leading to the entrance of a house or building. [Dutch stoep, front verandah, from Middle Dutch.] Originally brought to the Hudson Valley of New York by settlers from the Netherlands... Stoop, “a small porch,” comes from Dutch stoep; this word is now in general use in the Northeast and is probably spreading...

And according to LaborLawTalk.com:

Stoop: (?), n. (Arch.) Originally, a covered porch with seats, at a house door; the Dutch stoep as introduced by the Dutch into New York. Afterward, an out-of-door flight of stairs of from seven to fourteen steps, with platform and parapets, leading to an entrance door some distance above the street; the French perron. Hence, any porch, platform, entrance stairway, or small veranda, at a house door.

An attractive door

History and Old Stuff...

On Main Street in Hopkinsville

I can't imagine this door being painted in any other colors. It's perfect.