By LESLIE COLLINS
Northeast News
October 9, 2013

Homes tours aren’t new to the Northeast, but one aspect sets this year’s Fall Homes Tour apart from others.

“What’s cool about this is with all six homes on tour this year, none of them have ever been on a homes tour before,” said Kent Dicus, president of the Northeast Kansas City Historical Society (NEKCHS). “From what we’ve been told, there’s never been homes tours in any of those three neighborhoods.”

Those three neighborhoods include Lykins, Sheffield and Independence Plaza.

“The homes are in various stages of anything from almost gutted to finished. A couple of them are newer inside, but most of them still have the original feel,” Dicus said.

One of the homes, a Queen Anne with tudor influences, was built in 1888 and the owner has stripped the woodwork to the original red oak. It’s the largest home on tour, Dicus said.

“We’re really proud of that home,” he said. “Inside, the woodwork just gleams. He’s got beautiful furnishings and the center hall is breathtaking.”

The newest home on tour was built in 1909 and is an American Foursquare. Next door is an all-stone Catholic church rectory built in the Cornbelt Cube style, a spin-off of the Arts and Crafts style, which will also be on tour.

There’s also another Queen Anne, a vernacular farmhouse and an Eastlake Victorian.

One coincidence is that all three neighborhood association presidents’ homes are featured on the tour, Dicus said.

With two homes on tour, their addresses changed over the years. One house was moved 50 feet in 1905 after a
smaller house on site was torn down. The other home formerly served as a site for “fallen women and incorrigible girls,” according to an article from 1894.

The NEKCHS Fall Homes Tour will be held on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dicus recommends attendees allot at least 1.5 to two hours for the tour. The day of the tour, two shuttles will transport attendees to the homes and back to the sales tent located in the Mayfair Cleaners parking lot, 2807 Independence Ave. Tickets cost $12 in advance and can be purchased at www.nekchs.com or the day of for $15. Postcards and posters featuring Historic Northeast homes, along with the tour maps, will be available at the sales tent.

Asked why area residents should check out the homes tour, Dicus said, “For two reasons. Number 1, these homes have never really been on tour before and the neighborhoods haven’t had homes tours, either. It’s almost like a landmark event for those three neighborhoods. The other is because all six homes are really classic in their design, such cool features. Even if they’re not 100 percent original, they’re pretty darn close.”