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Mark J. Oliver House at 1105 N Lawrence (now "Broadway") in Wichita, KS, c. 1886
M.J. Oliver Residence in Wichita, KS (now razed - the house, not Wichita, KS). An early description of this house noted that interior walls and ceilings were finished with hand-pained frescoes. Exterior brickwork was extremely ornate (especially the south chimney - which is somewhat hidden behind the tree in this photo - which corbells up through the limestone foundation and has decorative brickwork patterns the entire height of the house). Photo shows mainly the front (east side) of the house and the south side of the house (whcih actually has the larger porch). If one were looking due northwest at Lawrence & 10th Street in Wichita, KS, this was the scene. This residence is confirmed to have been designed & built by W.H. Sternberg circa 1886. The residence was torn down to make way for commercial development and today the Saigon Restaurant sits on this site. Judging by some of the other more modest homes in the photo, this was without a doubt a first class Victorian home with two (probably coal-burning) fireplaces. The fence of wrought and cast iron also set this home apart. Because of the tremendous economic boom at the time this house was built, skilled workers from all over the country were relocating to Wichita in hopes of finding work. There were a couple of newly-relocated mural painters in Wichita (one allegedly from Illinois the other from "back east") and this house is reported to have had large hand-painted frescoes on the walls & ceilings (done by the artist from Illinois). Consistent with Sternberg-designed homes this one displays the diamond pattern in the front awning, highly corbelled & decorative brick work on the chimney column and flue, a front window on the 2nd level appears to extend into the 3rd level (tied together by a decorative element at the roof line) giving the impression of a two-story room on the front as well as a steeply pitched roof. The broad side of this house faces south towards downtown. The roof line of this home appears to mimic the C.R. Miller home in many ways. Of course the C.R. Miller home was on south Lawrence and the broad side faced north. Here the M.J.. Oliver is on north Lawrence and the broad side faces south. There are additional design aspects of this home that resemble or appear to "copy" other confirmed Sternberg-designed properties such as the low sloping roof line on the north (similar to the Levy Mansion) and the and the wrap-around porch on the south side of the residence (reminiscent of Sternberg Mansion). Although not visible in this photo, the one south porch covers two entryways to the residence with stairs on both the east (showing) and west side (a similar wrap-around porch - south side of the residence - covering two entry doors with stairs on east and west side of porch also seen at Sternberg Mansion). Not exclusively, but commonly Sternberg-designed-built homes have the front entryway on the right side of the house (as this house does). This house was built about 1886. The Wichita City Directory does not list a residential address for M.J. Oliver in 1885, however in 1887, this address (1105 N. Lawrence) is listed as his residential address. So sometime between 1885 and 1887 this house was built. This period was also the very height of the economic boom. This photo is believed to have been taken the Winter of 1886 or 1887. The Olivers planted new trees (along the fence next to 10th street) when they moved in and a confirmed 1888 photo shows those same trees, but looking a little larger than they appear in this photo.
The Georgian-style porch on the south of the residence (closest to 10th street) with opposing stairs on each side indicates that even though this is the largest porch on the residence, it was not the front or main porch. The main porch on Sternberg homes always has the widest staircase and always leads directly into the home - it's a straight shot into the home. However all other staircases in Sternberg homes always encompass turns or twists between the time a person enters the staircase and essentially "leaving" the staircase (whether exterior or interior). In the case of the south porch one must turn to enter the house. With regard to interior staircases in Sternberg homes, they are never straight. When you enter the staircase you're never exactly sure where you might end up as they always turn at least once if not more than once and rarely (or not easily) can you see the final destination of the staircase from the starting point. For this reason I have always thought of Sternberg staircases as "passageways of mystery" and what a Victorian delight they would have been at a time when most staircases were purely functional, Sternberg built all secondary staircases in his homes (other than the main one to the front door) as elements of intrigue and mystery. This design aspect also had practical purposes, too, as it shielded the private areas of the second floor from lookers on the first floor without having to use portieres or doors for privacy. Perhaps this was one reason W.H. Sternberg was so popular for residential design. In the late 1800s, he was specifically building homes for the enjoyment and livability of its occupants, which was an idea that wasn't common for persons of moderate to upscale means. Only the extremely wealthy could afford to have their homes architected and built to suit their own comfort and Sternberg did maintain and use the services of prominent architects when the situation called for it. Indeed, Sternberg is credited with having been the first person in Wichita to use the services of an architect (outside of the area) purely for residential design. That residence was the home of C.R. Miller on South Lawrence (home commonly known as "Lyndhurst") and the architect was none other than Standord White who had a national reputation for designing homes for the super wealthy including the Vanderbilts, the Astors, Joseph Pulitzer and many other notable and wealthy persons of the day. Another "novel" feature that W.H. Sternberg is credited with having built (in the Wichita area ) was the first-ever laundry chute (in the Pratt-Campbell Mansion). Again the notion of designing and building one's home specifically for the comfort of its occupants was not at all common in the 1800s. Work was the standard and the notion of "short-cutting" the stairs by building a laundry chute was unheard of. But Sternberg brought many of these types of new designs together and introduced them to prospective home builders and it resulted in wide-spread appeal and acclaim to his benefit. The Biographical Album of Sedgwick County notes in 1888, that W.H. Sternberg designed and built "probably twice as many" homes and buildings as the next largest contractor. What he did was new and different and many people had the means to do something new and different. Sternberg was the area's leading designer and contractor at a time in the 1800s when Wichita had a larger population than Dallas, TX and was by some measures the fastest growing city in the entire country (#2 would have been New York City, #3 would have been Kansas City). His building styles to this day are well-loved by all who see them.
Years before this house was built, Sternberg was promoting himself as both an “architect and builder” of homes, specifically offering “designing and drafting” services. An advertisement for Sternberg, Hall & Co in the 1869 - 1870 Chenango County, New York Directory noted, “Being Architects and Builders themselves, they know just what is wanted for a house and how to prepare it. Give them your patronage if you would have everything in first-class style.” It is interesing to note that they listed "Architects" first and "Builders" second in the list of services. Some have tended to think of W.H. Sternberg as mainly a contractor, but indeed the architecting and design services that he did himself were a substantial portion of his business if not the larger portion.
Your thoughts, ideas, comments and / or additional information are welcomed and appreciated!!
Mark J. Oliver House at 1105 N Lawrence (now "Broadway") in Wichita, KS, c. 1886
M.J. Oliver Residence in Wichita, KS (now razed - the house, not Wichita, KS). An early description of this house noted that interior walls and ceilings were finished with hand-pained frescoes. Exterior brickwork was extremely ornate (especially the south chimney - which is somewhat hidden behind the tree in this photo - which corbells up through the limestone foundation and has decorative brickwork patterns the entire height of the house). Photo shows mainly the front (east side) of the house and the south side of the house (whcih actually has the larger porch). If one were looking due northwest at Lawrence & 10th Street in Wichita, KS, this was the scene. This residence is confirmed to have been designed & built by W.H. Sternberg circa 1886. The residence was torn down to make way for commercial development and today the Saigon Restaurant sits on this site. Judging by some of the other more modest homes in the photo, this was without a doubt a first class Victorian home with two (probably coal-burning) fireplaces. The fence of wrought and cast iron also set this home apart. Because of the tremendous economic boom at the time this house was built, skilled workers from all over the country were relocating to Wichita in hopes of finding work. There were a couple of newly-relocated mural painters in Wichita (one allegedly from Illinois the other from "back east") and this house is reported to have had large hand-painted frescoes on the walls & ceilings (done by the artist from Illinois). Consistent with Sternberg-designed homes this one displays the diamond pattern in the front awning, highly corbelled & decorative brick work on the chimney column and flue, a front window on the 2nd level appears to extend into the 3rd level (tied together by a decorative element at the roof line) giving the impression of a two-story room on the front as well as a steeply pitched roof. The broad side of this house faces south towards downtown. The roof line of this home appears to mimic the C.R. Miller home in many ways. Of course the C.R. Miller home was on south Lawrence and the broad side faced north. Here the M.J.. Oliver is on north Lawrence and the broad side faces south. There are additional design aspects of this home that resemble or appear to "copy" other confirmed Sternberg-designed properties such as the low sloping roof line on the north (similar to the Levy Mansion) and the and the wrap-around porch on the south side of the residence (reminiscent of Sternberg Mansion). Although not visible in this photo, the one south porch covers two entryways to the residence with stairs on both the east (showing) and west side (a similar wrap-around porch - south side of the residence - covering two entry doors with stairs on east and west side of porch also seen at Sternberg Mansion). Not exclusively, but commonly Sternberg-designed-built homes have the front entryway on the right side of the house (as this house does). This house was built about 1886. The Wichita City Directory does not list a residential address for M.J. Oliver in 1885, however in 1887, this address (1105 N. Lawrence) is listed as his residential address. So sometime between 1885 and 1887 this house was built. This period was also the very height of the economic boom. This photo is believed to have been taken the Winter of 1886 or 1887. The Olivers planted new trees (along the fence next to 10th street) when they moved in and a confirmed 1888 photo shows those same trees, but looking a little larger than they appear in this photo.
The Georgian-style porch on the south of the residence (closest to 10th street) with opposing stairs on each side indicates that even though this is the largest porch on the residence, it was not the front or main porch. The main porch on Sternberg homes always has the widest staircase and always leads directly into the home - it's a straight shot into the home. However all other staircases in Sternberg homes always encompass turns or twists between the time a person enters the staircase and essentially "leaving" the staircase (whether exterior or interior). In the case of the south porch one must turn to enter the house. With regard to interior staircases in Sternberg homes, they are never straight. When you enter the staircase you're never exactly sure where you might end up as they always turn at least once if not more than once and rarely (or not easily) can you see the final destination of the staircase from the starting point. For this reason I have always thought of Sternberg staircases as "passageways of mystery" and what a Victorian delight they would have been at a time when most staircases were purely functional, Sternberg built all secondary staircases in his homes (other than the main one to the front door) as elements of intrigue and mystery. This design aspect also had practical purposes, too, as it shielded the private areas of the second floor from lookers on the first floor without having to use portieres or doors for privacy. Perhaps this was one reason W.H. Sternberg was so popular for residential design. In the late 1800s, he was specifically building homes for the enjoyment and livability of its occupants, which was an idea that wasn't common for persons of moderate to upscale means. Only the extremely wealthy could afford to have their homes architected and built to suit their own comfort and Sternberg did maintain and use the services of prominent architects when the situation called for it. Indeed, Sternberg is credited with having been the first person in Wichita to use the services of an architect (outside of the area) purely for residential design. That residence was the home of C.R. Miller on South Lawrence (home commonly known as "Lyndhurst") and the architect was none other than Standord White who had a national reputation for designing homes for the super wealthy including the Vanderbilts, the Astors, Joseph Pulitzer and many other notable and wealthy persons of the day. Another "novel" feature that W.H. Sternberg is credited with having built (in the Wichita area ) was the first-ever laundry chute (in the Pratt-Campbell Mansion). Again the notion of designing and building one's home specifically for the comfort of its occupants was not at all common in the 1800s. Work was the standard and the notion of "short-cutting" the stairs by building a laundry chute was unheard of. But Sternberg brought many of these types of new designs together and introduced them to prospective home builders and it resulted in wide-spread appeal and acclaim to his benefit. The Biographical Album of Sedgwick County notes in 1888, that W.H. Sternberg designed and built "probably twice as many" homes and buildings as the next largest contractor. What he did was new and different and many people had the means to do something new and different. Sternberg was the area's leading designer and contractor at a time in the 1800s when Wichita had a larger population than Dallas, TX and was by some measures the fastest growing city in the entire country (#2 would have been New York City, #3 would have been Kansas City). His building styles to this day are well-loved by all who see them.
Years before this house was built, Sternberg was promoting himself as both an “architect and builder” of homes, specifically offering “designing and drafting” services. An advertisement for Sternberg, Hall & Co in the 1869 - 1870 Chenango County, New York Directory noted, “Being Architects and Builders themselves, they know just what is wanted for a house and how to prepare it. Give them your patronage if you would have everything in first-class style.” It is interesing to note that they listed "Architects" first and "Builders" second in the list of services. Some have tended to think of W.H. Sternberg as mainly a contractor, but indeed the architecting and design services that he did himself were a substantial portion of his business if not the larger portion.
Your thoughts, ideas, comments and / or additional information are welcomed and appreciated!!