The 2014 Holiday Contest Winner Is........

And the winner of the Abilene Holiday Architecture Treasure Hunt is…Jennie Hiatt of Abilene.

Jennie Hiatt - photo by Michael Hernandez

Hiatt correctly identified the location of all 10 architectural elements pictured in our treasure hunt of historical building features in Abilene. Her name then was drawn from all those who submitted the correct answers in the contest offering a prize of a $150 gift card.

Employed by the City of Abilene as an administrative assistant, the winner often walks through the downtown area on her work breaks. After seeing the contest announced on the Abilene Kansas App Facebook page, Hiatt went to myabilenekansas.com to view the photographs and already knew where some of the pictures were taken.

“I do appreciate beautiful buildings and architecture,” says Hiatt, who once lived in an old house in the country.  “Of course, Abilene is full of that.”

After brainstorming with others, she confirmed the answers through visual investigation; however, once it was merely a matter of scanning the skyline at the right time.

“One day I was coming back from an appointment and I looked up and thought, oh, that’s that one,” she says. “The last one we couldn’t figure out, and then my husband said I think that’s such and such and so we looked and sure enough that’s what it was.”

Hiatt plans to use the prize money to “finish Christmas shopping” and to pay for some final items for a bathroom remodel.

The Treasure Hunt was based on an architectural Scavenger Hunt created by Jeff Sheets, director of the Dickinson County Historical Society, 20 years ago to increase awareness of the historic buildings in Abilene. With its rich history, Abilene boasts a broad range of architectural styles with the most prominent being Italianate, popular in the 1880s, and Classical Revival, trendy at the turn of the century. Art Deco from the 1930s and the Modern Movement of the 1950s also are popular with Mission/Spanish Revival and Gothic Revival represented in the eclectic mix as well.

The Abilene Downtown Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places; some buildings also are listed individually on the National Register as well. The following information about each building’s architectural style is based on that application with additional historical information provided by Sheets.

The correct answers are:

#1:  300 North Cedar – The United Building, as it is historically known, was part of a commercial block constructed in 1886. It became known as the Brown Block when C.L. Brown purchased the building in 1904, and took the name United Building to reflect the name of Brown’s company in 1911. Brown founded an electric utility company and the Brown Telephone Company (which eventually became Sprint) and at one time was involved with 85 other companies under the United name. The three-story building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a modified example of an Italianate structure with its corner entrance featuring decorative terra cotta surrounds.

#2: 301 North Buckeye – First known as the Kirby Building and now the home of RHV Do It Best Hardware, this Italianate style, two-story building is a near twin to the one next door, creating a two-structure commercial block built in 1885. Features include the historic storefronts with recessed entrances and flanking display windows, tall, narrow windows on the second floor, and decorative brick work. Built by Thomas Kirby, an early day banker, the building was purchased by the Viola family which operated a general merchandise store there for many years. This building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

#3: 209 Northwest Fourth – The Abilene Public Library’s original Carnegie Library was constructed in 1908 in the Classical Revival style. Over 2,500 Carnegie Libraries were built throughout the world between 1883 and 1929 through grants from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. This historical part of the Library is a symmetrical, brick building with a projecting front entrance featuring stone piers and columns.

#4: 110 North Cedar – The former Union Pacific Railroad Freight Depot built in 1928/1929 is occupied by Geske Interiors. The buff brick and terra cotta Spanish Colonial Revival depot features an office area on the east end with a red clay tile roof and a highly decorated terra cotta entrance surround. This building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

#5: 115 NW Third Street – Etherington & Company Realtors is at the west end of a unique block-long, two-story ensemble of seven buildings, locally known as the Post Office Block, built in 1885. The brick building’s elements are derived from Italianate and Romanesque styles, including angled corner entrances and limestone details. Historically, the structure has been known as the Perring Building and the Wyandt Insurance Office. This building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

#6: 320 North Cedar Street – Home of Trinity Lutheran Church for over 135 years, this church was built in 1878 with an addition constructed in 1907. The older, Gothic Revival structure with decorative brickwork features a corner steeple bell tower above an entrance vestibule. The focal point of the front is a large, pointed arch stained-glass window that is flanked by two smaller arched windows. This structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

#7: 213 North Broadway  – The Abilene Public Schools District Office is located in the former Abilene National Bank building constructed in 1906. The temple front with columns is the most outstanding historical feature still intact on this building designed in the Classical Revival style.

 

#8: 209 North Cedar or 311 NW Third (Southeast corner Third and Cedar) – Built in 1885 and renovated in 1915, this two-story commercial building features decorative terra cotta embellishments, including a continuous band at the cornice level, enhancing the buff colored brick. It currently is home to Xpressions Salon and Day Spa on Cedar Street and the Great Plains Theatre office on Third Street.

 

#9: 202 Northwest Second or 200 North Spruce (Northwest corner of Second and Spruce) – Built in 1920 as the Forster Hotel, this structure features a tapestry brick masonry treatment of brick patterning and stone corner blocks and sills. It currently houses several businesses.

 

#10: 106 Northwest Third – Now home of The Hair Emporium, this building was occupied for years by Viola and Sons. Built in 1910, the building’s storefront has a recessed center-bay entrance flanked by display windows in the typical Commercial style of the time.

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