Wayside Tour #17: Broadway Homes

Wayside Tour #17: Broadway Homes

Several blocks of North and South Broadway are still lined with the large gracious homes of early-day bankers, manufacturers, lumber merchants and contractors. The mansions shown represent some of the more unique and fascinating homes.

The house in the center of the painting, and which stands before you, is 624 South Broadway, a two-story Italianate frame house built in the 1890s. The original owners were Robert and Ellen Garrett. Mr. Garrett dealt in lumber. From 1906 until the 1960s the home was owned by the Bolman family, founders of another prominent early-Leavenworth lumber company.

The house pictured to the center left is 714 South Broadway, a twenty-two-room Queen Ann mansion that was built from 1883 to 1885 by A. J. Angell, another prominent Leavenworth lumberman. It cost $15,000. Mr. Angell died only three months after moving into the house in 1885. The home showcases extensive hand-carved woodwork, which often features the fruit or flowers of the type of wood being used. The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The house at the top left is 508 Broadway, which is also an Italianate home that was built in 1868 for coal mine and cattle business owner Jeptha Ryan, who was the Mayor of Leavenworth from 1901 until 1903. In 1903 Omar Abernathy bought the home. Mr. Abernathy owned the Abernathy Furniture Company and was the Mayor of Leavenworth in 1909. Extensive renovations were undertaken in 1913 and 1914, leading to the Spanish-villa-style exterior, and included the addition of mahogany paneling, and paintings and carving by Italian craftsmen in the interior. An enclosed heated swimming pool was added in 1916 when the house was sold to J. C. Lysle, owner of Lysle Milling Company. This unique home was known as the site of many lavish social events during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The next house shown to your right is 500 South Broadway. It is a two-story Georgian-style home featuring stucco pediment with Ionic columns. Originally built around 1860 for Judge Samuel N. Latta, a prominent early Kansan. Judge Latta had extensive real estate interests in the Leavenworth area and was an early nominee for the Kansas Supreme Court but was never seated. The home features a secret door leading from the dining room to the original butler's pantry. In 1914 the house was extensively remodeled for Hiram R. Wilson, President of the Great Western Stove Company and his wife Gertrude.

Continuing to your right, the James McGonigle house is pictured. James McGonigle arrived in Leavenworth in 1857 and found work building houses for $3 a day. He eventually entered the building contracting business and undertook large construction projects in Leavenworth. He built many of Leavenworth's finest residences, including his own mansion, a turn of the century project at 420 South Broadway. The entire third floor of McGonigle's home was a ballroom where the couple entertained with elegant parties. Mr. McGonigle died in Leavenworth in 1925 at the age of 91. His mansion was converted into an apartment house in the 1940s.

Now take a walk along Broadway and see the beautiful, historic Broadway Homes.