Finlay Ross Mansion; Wichita, KS

September 4, 2020 by 4g3nd4

Photo, c. 1887 of the Finlay Ross home at 821 North Waco Avenue in Wichita, KS. This residence is confirmed to have been built by William Henry Sternberg (1832 – 1906) and many of
Sternberg’s design influences can be seen in this home. Sternberg was the leading designer and builder of fine homes such as this one in the Wichita area in the last quarter century of the 1800s. Finlay Ross was a prominent businessman in Wichita and later on became Mayor of Wichita during which time he established Riverside Park – ever popular today. While headquartered in Wichita KS, Sternberg did branch out and build fine homes and buildings throughout southern Kansas and Missouri. To wit, in the late 1800s, Sternberg built the original limestone City Hall in Springfield MO (now the Greene County Historical Museum), still standing today and on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sternberg was a highly skilled and popular builder during Wichita’s boom years of the 1870s and 1880s. Mr. Sternberg came to Kansas from New York in 1875. He grew up on a family farm in Norwich, New York helping his father in the family saw mill, felling and hauling trees, cutting lumber, woodworking and working as a carpenter on local homes and buildings. As years passed and Sternberg continued working as a contractor and a carpenter, his skills in building grew and he became well-known throughout New York State for his elegant and innovative building designs, his integrity, work quality and prudent approach to costs. People far and wide knew of his reputation for quality and knew him as a fair man in his dealings with customers. Partly as a result of his reputation for being a fair and honest man, he was elected Mayor of Norwich for a period of several years. Although comfortable with his life in New York, Mr. Sternberg increasingly heard about Wichita, Kansas ~ a rapidly growing nucleus on the plains. Indeed the growth bubble (from the late 1870’s until about 1890) was so significant that Wichita was by some estimates the fastest growing city in the country. At one point, the absolute value of real estate transactions in Wichita ranked it the third highest in the nation in terms of dollars transacted. This was behind only New York City and Kansas City! People were speculating on land and buildings and making handsome profits in return.

“In the first five months of 1887 real estate transactions
totaled $34,893,565 according to Dunn and Bradstreet’s
reports. Wichita was third in the nation in total real estate
transactions. Only New York and Kansas City were ahead
of Wichita (in terms of volume). Chicago was fourth having
$33,173,950 in transactions.”

However… in terms of the dollar value PER CAPITA (dollars per person), Wichita was first in the nation for a period of several years in the mid-late 1880s. New York and Kansas City had much larger populations than Wichita to produce a higher absolute volume of real estate transactions. But their dollar volumes per capita were in fact lower than Wichita, KS. With its new found wealth, Wichita was progressive in its early days and news of its budding wealth traveled the country. Evidence of its progressive spirit was noted with much fanfare on May 23, 1873 when Wichita’s first regularly-scheduled electrified street cars (trolley cars) began shuttling people between the bustling downtown and the outskirts of the city. Three years later, Wichita installed several hundred nighttime electric street lamps throughout downtown, while still retaining some of its existing gas and “vapor” lamps. And in the Spring of 1883, Wichita’s new underground water system with 60 fire hydrants spread throughout the City was tested, on-line and ready-to-go. One of the things Wichita did with this wealth is invest in public systems and buildings to the tune of over ten million dollars per year in some years in the 1880s. This was W.H. Sternberg’s hey-day. Impressive buildings were going up… literally as fast as they could possibly build. Between July 1, 1886 and June 30, 1887 almost 3,000 new completed structures were erected in Wichita and all of this with a population of only about 12,000.

Spying an opportunity for building, Mr. Sternberg moved his family to Wichita in 1875 and after only a few months, was successfully bidding contracts, hiring workers and constructing buildings at a frenzied pace. The economic bubble of Wichita in the 1880s was perhaps the most dynamic growth spurt of any city in American history. Wealth sprung up practically overnight and people such as: C.N. Lewis, Albert. W. Oliver (Businessman), Aaron Katz (Merchant), Mark J. Oliver (Atty), Hiram Imboden (Businessman), M.W. Levy (Bank President), Peter Getto (Capitalist), Reuben H. Roys (Atty), Finlay Ross (Mayor & Businessman), William H. Whitman, Jacob Henry Aley (Businessman), Robert E. Gutherie, J.R. Van Zandt (prominent businessman), George Pratt (lumber baron), Charles W. Bitting (prominent Businessman), Alfred W. Bitting (Prominent Businessman), Judge James L. Dyer (Judge), Charles M Jones, Dr. G.E. McAdams (physician), Capt. Charles Smyth, Dr. J. Russell (physician), Kos Harris (Atty), William Greiffenstein (Mayor), Russell Harding (Railroad Superintendent), Ben Aldrich (Mayor & prominent businessman) and many others… displayed their newly found wealth by building palatial mansions of the highest quality and most extraordinary craftsmanship. When Wichita’s well-to-do wanted homes or buildings, W.H. Sternberg was the builder of choice by a wide margin. The 1888 book, Portrait and Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kansas (Chapman Brothers; Chicago, 1888) in which Sternberg is noted states about him,

“Ninety brick stores in Wichita stand as monuments of
his skill and industry, besides numberless other
buildings, probably twice as many as have been put
up by any other contractor in the city.”

Not long after coming to Wichita, Mr. Sternberg used a marketing approach – common today, but relatively unheard of at the time, called a “spec home”. The spec home he built was his own home and it was a huge 7,500 sq. ft. showcase home that contained virtually every ornamental and stylish feature that he and his crews could muster. He located his home on the most elite street in Wichita at the time ~ Waco Avenue ("Waco Street" as it was then and "Waco Avenue" as it was to become). Before Waco became the “elite street” of Wichita, city planners named it “Waco Street”. As elegant mansions continued to appear on Waco, property owners in this well-dressed district became dissatisfied with the designation of “Street” and so local residents petitioned the City to officially have the name changed to “Avenue” to be more in keeping with the fashionable tone of the neighborhood. Today, the official name of Waco is still "Waco Avenue". Mr. Sternberg reckoned that showcasing the capabilities and ornate building skills of the construction trade would draw customers to him, and it proved to be a very successful technique. Even back in 1886 when he completed his Victorian gingerbread mansion people acknowledged it was something extraordinary. His worthy showcase mansion was written up in the newspapers as well as the 1888 Portrait and Biographical Album of Sedgwick, County, Kansas as follows,

“The residence of Mr. Sternberg, a handsome and costly structure,
is beautifully located on a rise of ground commanding a fine view
of its surroundings. Within and without it bears the evidence of
refined tastes and ample means, and it is universally admired
by all who have occasion to pass it.”

Even before the Sternberg’s mansion was finished, people were remarking about it as the September 6, 1886 edition of the Wichita Beacon commented,

“Mr. Sternberg is building for his own use a fine residence
on the corner of 10th and Waco Streets. Judging by the
foundation it will be one of the largest and finest in the city.”

Within weeks after finishing his home at 1065 North Waco Avenue, Mr. Sternberg was flooded with requests to build other fine mansions for Wichita’s “polite society”. And in 1887 and 1888, Sternberg and his crews built first-class mansions and buildings all over Wichita as quickly as they could. Sternberg was one of the largest employers in Wichita with a skilled crew of approximately 40 full-time persons working at various locations.

Sternberg set precedence in building design at a time when style and social status was everything and people had the money (and the willingness) to express it. Sternberg (unlike other builders of the day) built custom features into his homes that allowed the occupants to enjoy their home more. In addition to an extensive use of smaller more intimate porches in his homes and particularly romantic highly corbelled chimney flues, Sternberg was also the first builder in Wichita to construct a very practical laundry chute into a home (the first home in Wichita to have a laundry chute was the Pratt house at 1313 North Emporia). The idea of such a feature so that people didn’t have to climb up and down stairs was new and unheard of in 1887, but Sternberg believed a home should be both beautiful and comfortable. It was new and trend-setting features such laundry chutes, ornate porches and his ability to create exceptional milled gingerbread work that brought acclaim and respect to Sternberg. Other builders simply didn’t offer such features, and most didn’t have the expertise to do so. In New York state where Sternberg grew up and worked for many years before coming to Wichita, he is credited with being the first person to build a Mansard-style roof. The concept was made popular at the 1850’s World’s Fair in Paris . A mansard roof is a French style that allows more unencumbered space on the attic level than a traditional pitched roof does. Although not an architect by training, Sternberg often had considerable input into the design and layout of the homes he built. Many of his customers, unaware of the need for an architect at the time when deciding to building a house, would contact Sternberg first when they wanted to build and then it was Sternberg who would usually contact an architect of his choice and advise the architect on what the home-owner wanted and could afford. Sternberg was the first recorded builder to use an “outside” (New York) architect purely for style and design in upscale an upscale Wichita residence. That residence designed by both Stanford White and William Sternberg and built by Sternberg was the Charles R. Miller residence at 509 S. Lawrence Rd (now Broadway). Miller affectionately chistened the home, "Lyndhurst". Stanford White although building a national reputation would a few years later would receive national acclaim for his designs including Madison Square Garden in New York and homes for the ultra wealthy in Newport RI and New York. The design and construction of this Sternberg-built home that Stanford White-designed was eye-catching and charming to Wichitans of the day and the local Wichita Beacon in April 18, 1883 commented about the house,

“It will be of brick, 40 x 44 feet in area, with basement
eight feet, two stories above that, and a ten foot mansard
attic. The basement will be used for a steam heater,
laundry, coal, etc. The facades will be broken by swells,
bay windows and porches. It will be one of the finest
in southern Kansas.”

Obviously, Sternberg felt that for some exceptional projects, local architects were not up to the task, and Sternberg liked the press attention. What’s more and another “first” for Sternberg is that he was the only builder during the 1870s-1880s working in Wichita to have also built major public and private buildings in at least two other states. In addition, he’s the only builder during Wichita’s boom period to have his works from three states (Kansas Missouri and New York) listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Additionally his 30 years of experience in the lumber business grading qualities of woods and knowing the particular characteristics of various woods allowed Sternberg to build with exceptional quality. Arguably he was the highest quality builder and most highly skilled builder of the day in Wichita. An article from November 2, 1969 in the Eagle-Beacon newspaper noted the quality of the Sternberg Mansion,

“It was built to last with joists
of 2 by 8-inch timbers, and wood-
work of pine so hard it will not take
a regular nail and one interior
wall that is 15 inches thick.”

In all W. H. Sternberg built well over 100 buildings and homes in Wichita alone after coming in 1875. Other homes and buildings he is known to have built before coming to Wichita include: (1) the Methodist Church in Guilford, New York, (2) the Chenango County Poor House in Norwich, New York, (3) the Methodist Episcopal Church in Norwich, New York at a cost of $47,000, he later completed the beautiful case inside this church for the church organ, (4) the residence of Charles Merritt in Norwich, New York at a cost of $35,000, (5) the store of John O. Hill & Co. at a cost of $23,000, (6) the residence of Warren Newton in New York and (7) “an elegant mansion for himself” which had the first mansard roof in the town.

Mr. Sternberg was a remarkable man. In 1888, Chapman Brothers in Chicago, Illinois printed an expensive first-class volume of notable persons in Sedgwick County, Kansas ~ a sort of “Who’s Who” of the time. The book, entitled “Portrait and Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.” Contained “Full Page Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the County together with Portraits and biographies of all the governors of Kansas, and of the Presidents of the United States.” Mr. Sternberg is listed on pages 190 – 191 in the Album. His biography notes:

“William H. Sternberg, who is one of the prominent citizens
of Wichita, arrived here in time to assist in the building up of
the town, the growth of which has been phenomenal. He has
been one of the most interested witnesses of its progress
and development, and no unimportant factor in bringing it to
its present proud position. As a man of influence, public
spirit and liberal, this brief record of his history will be more
than ordinarily interesting to those who are identified in any
way with the business or industrial interests of one of the
leading cities of the West.”

In addition the biography noted that,

“Ninety brick stores in Wichita stand as monuments of
his skill and industry, besides numberless other
buildings, probably twice as many as have been
put up by any other contractor in the city.”

And as always, whatever the job, W. H. Sternberg was noted for work of the finest quality and expertise. Mr. Sternberg had a reputation for only hiring the best workers which sometimes was hard to do as the building boom created quite a shortage of workers, never-the-less, he was known for the fact that he and “his workmen should be persons of the highest skill and reliability.” In 1888, just two years after Sternberg personally built and constructed his own “showcase” mansion for himself, it was written up in the Portrait and Biographical Album as though it was undeniably a special residence in Wichita . . . .

“The residence of Mr. Sternberg, a handsome and costly
structure is beautifully located on a rise of ground
commanding a fine view of its surroundings. Within and
without it bears the evidence of refined tastes and ample
means, and is universally admired by all who have
occasion to pass it.”

Today, historical authorities who know the Sternberg Mansion lay accolades on it for its style, its authentic representation of Victorian influence, its extreme ornamentation and its first-rate quality throughout. It has appeared in numerous books, magazines and approximately 30 different newspaper articles over the past 125 years. The following is an excerpt from the City of Wichita’s Historic Landmark website (www.wichitagov.org/Residents/History/Listing51-60) about the Sternberg Mansion:

“William H. Sternberg, a prominent builder during Wichita’s
economic boom days of the 1880’s built his own resi-
dence in 1886, incorporating the Victorian penchant
for "gingerbread" millwork with this extravagantly gabled
Queen Anne-styled home. This house is one of a few
remaining homes of this elaborate style in the city and
is regarded as a quintessential product of the late
Queen Anne residential design and stylistic features.
From its native stone foundation to the four corbelled
brick chimneys with their decorative flues, the house
served as a showcase for the builder’s trade including
colored glass window panes, stained glass windows in
the ornate stairway, several fireplaces and combination
gas/electric chandeliers. The two and one-half story
residence also has porches projecting from each of
the three main elevations.”

A quote in the Wichita Eagle-Beacon from Wichita’s Historic Preservation Officer, Marian Cone on April 10, 1977 stated about the mansion,

“The Sternberg Mansion…is unusual in that its
eclectic style incorporates all the elements Stern-
berg could fabricate…Sternberg used his own
home as a sort of ‘model home,’ a tangible ex-
ample of his expertise for prospective customers…
it is the only remaining Queen Anne-style man-
sion of its size in the city and it is a magnificent
example of architecture…The use of exterior
wood in patterns is most unusual as are the var-
iations of the use of colored and plain glass.
The leaded and stained glass windows on the
landing of the very ornate staircase are most
unusual in that they are of a geometric pattern
not common until the 1920s.”

Yet another article about the Sternberg Mansion in the Eagle-Beacon in November 16, 1976 states,

“The house, built in 1886 by William H. Stern-
berg, one of Wichita’s foremost builders during
the city’s early boom days, is the only remaining
Queen Anne style mansion of this size in the city.
It is seen as a magnificent example of Victorian
architecture, with most of the original detailing
and gingerbread on the exterior, a large walnut
staircase, wood paneling, and four fireplaces.”

And Mr. Sternberg located his first-rate mansion in Wichita’s finest district at the time (on Waco Avenue). Yet another article appearing in the Wichita Evening Eagle on August 3, 1933 comments,

“in the early ‘70s (1870s)…Waco avenue was
‘the elite’ street. Waco avenue in the very early
day was considered to be the best residential street
and many believed that when the city grew large it
would be the choice residence district of the city.”

Indeed, W. H. Sternberg was an extraordinary person in Wichita at a time when the rest of the country was curiously taking note of this fast-growing prairie town. His work as a contractor, his involvement in civic groups, his reputation for doing the highest quality work possible, his reputation for being hard-working and fair to all, his diligence to hire only the most highly skilled workers, his generosity to lesser causes and his pioneering ideas in building style and function bestowed to the people of Wichita and beyond an authentic Victorian legacy to be enjoyed by all for generations to come.

Your comments, thoughts, stories, ideas and/or additional information about this photo or this place are welcomed and appreciated!!

Posted by kendahlarama on 2010-05-27 23:22:12

Tagged: , Finlay , Ross , 821 , North , Waco , Avenue , Wichita , Kansas , KS , William , Henry , Sternberg , history , historic , home , homes , Riverside , park , Historic Sternberg Mansion , Wichita, Kansas , Wichita, KS , Mansion , Victorian , Victorian Houses , Victorian Homes , Cool Victorian Houses , Beautiful Victorian Houses , Sedgwick , county , Victorian Architecture , Sternberg Mansion , Victorian Design , Sternberg House , Historic Wichita , Midwestern Architecture , Sedgwick County , William Henry Sternberg , W.H. Stenrberg , 1800s , Victorian Mansions , Wichita History , WH Sternberg , Victorian Style , Ornate Victorian Houses , house , Houses , Historic Houses , Kansas History , Historic Homes , Mansions , Ornate Victorian Homes , Queen , Anne , ann , Cool Old Houses , Architecture , Cool Things in Wichita , Beautiful Old Houses , Midwestern , Queen Anne Houses , Residential Styles , 1880s , chapman , brothers , Dormer

J.C. Fraker Residence; Wichita, KS

August 18, 2020 by 4g3nd4

This photo is circa (approximately) 1875. Showing is the residence of J. C. Fraker at 306 East Central Avenue in Wichita, KS. This Second Empire style features a Mansard roof. Stylistically, this home is a clear departure from the simple frame homes of the day (background) that normally had gabled or shed roofs. The roof on this home is clearly designed with style and elegance in mind and sticks out somewhat like a "sore thumb" in the middle of the prairie. Within months after W.H. Sternberg settled in Wichita, ornate homes such as this began dotting the scene. This home (which is no longer standing) is believed to have been designed and built by William Henry Sternberg (1832-1906) who originally came from New York and had much success there incorporating Mansard roofs into residential design. Information indicates that W.H. Sternberg attended the 1855 World’s Fair in Paris where he became introduced to a variety of French and European styles such as the Mansard roof. He came back to the states greatly influenced by these French styles and incorporated them into his residential designs. It’s quite apparent from the newspaper article below that W.H. Sternberg greatly admired the beauty of these Mansard roofs . . . In Norwich, NY where Sternberg was born and raised, he built a house at No. 89 on East Main Street which was noted in an early newspaper article . . .

"Mr. Sternberg’s home was in East Main street at No. 89, now owned by Mrs. Julia O. Stuart, whose father, Charles W. Olendorf, purchased it from the builder, William H. Sternberg, the father of Oscar [Sternberg]. It was the first French or Mansard roof to be built in the village. When Mr. Sternberg advertised it for sale in 1870 he described it as ‘the most stylish residence in Chenango County.’ "

It would NOT have been unusual upon arriving in Wichita (in order to help promote his designing and contracting work) for Sternberg to "announce" his arrival in town by selling, designing and building his most beloved styles (i.e., French or European styles). Sternberg used this very technique later on when he built Sternberg Mansion as a way of showcasing beautiful styles he intended to sell to the public (a model home of sorts). The house above incorporates many of popular elements on confirmed Sternberg-designed homes in New York such as the porches and bay windows resembling those of the Warren Newton home in Norwich and the Mansard roof closely resembles that of one of his own homes on East Main Street in Norwich. Of course the diamond designs within the roof (of which Sternberg was the only known builder specifically making diamond designs) is yet another reason this home is strongly suspected to have been designed and built by W.H. Sternberg. The one-story bay windows are highly reminiscent of the Greiffenstein Mansion in Wichita, KS (also believed to have been desinged and built by Sternberg). See this link to compare the one-story bay windows on the Greiffenstein Mansion with the one-story bay windows on the Fraker house: www.flickr.com/photos/37230477@N06/5119278171/. It’s believed that the Fraker home above was one of the first homes (if not the very first home) that Sternberg designed & built in Wichita. Sternberg came to Wichita in 1875 and this house is believed to have been built in 1875. The photo is circa 1875 and typically photos of new houses were taken fairly shortly after completion (note the newly-planted sapling trees in the front yard). Based on the new dirt which surrounds many of the other plants in the yard, it appears that the other plants were also planted not long before this photo was taken. Streets were dirt at this time and there appear to be two walking paths through the front yard connecting to the street. There appears to be a crop of something behind the Fraker home. This crop probably belongs to one of the neighbors, since J.C. Fraker was a bank president and the family was not into farming. Additionally there are no visible barn buildings in the photo (normally, a source of pride and show for folks when taking pictures) and hence there was probably no farming going on without barn buildings.

Part of the problem with getting homes like this built (at this time in Wichita – 1870s) was that there weren’t many facilities (tools / machines) that could cut special shapes in lumber (curved and decorative shapes). As can be seen in the background here, homes were mainly built from flat planed boards. Millwork equipment was expensive to buy and set-up and demand for decorative millwork products was relatively weak in 1875, but growing with the introduction of the railroads in Wichita in 1872. If homeowners did request a little decorative millwork on their homes, that work was done locally by hand with existing cutting and planing equipment – which didn’t always work out very successfully. Rotary steam-powered table saws back then were designed for cutting large amounts of rough, but straight boards, not the smooth polished millwork we expect today and the thickness of the blades (the kerf, not uncommonly a 1/4" thick) prevented some details to be made at all. Back in New York State (until arriving in Wichita), Sternberg owned and operated a millwork factory making decorative doors, newel posts, turned fence posts, shutters, base boards and more (see Photostream for photo of the Sternberg Sash and Blind Company). This three-story factory had around 30 employees, so Sternberg was familiar with how to make architectural wood products and also sources from back east to get quality work done – if he didn’t do it himself. Sternberg grew up working in his father’s lumber yard in New York. He participated in logging and cut many a tree into lumber on the steam planing equipment. He was truly an expert in the performance characterists of various species of wood and begain building and designing homes at an early age (before the age of 20). In New York, Sternberg had been promoting the use of mansard roofs in residential design. One of Sternberg’s first homes in New York (in Norwich) was built with a mansard roof and it was the first one of this style known in southern New York State. It’s believed Sternberg began using this roofing style after attending the 1855 World’s Fair in Paris. Sternberg would have been 23 years old at the time of the World’s Fair. His biographical sketch indicates he had been working in the lumber industry (his father’s lumber yard) since he was about 5 years old and had begun designing (and building) homes since his late teens. This style of roof was popular in part because with only a little adaptation to what would otherwise have been a gabled or hip-style roof, a Mansard roof added a whole new floor of usable space. In France, the floor space incorporated immediately under the roof was still considered "attic space" and hence was not taxed as being usable floor space regardless of whether it was actually usable floor space or not, so this was one reason Mansard roofs were popular in France. This would have been one of the very first houses in Wichita that Sternberg built and by suggesting this Mansard style to Fraker, it seems apparent that Sternberg was not only trying to provide a distinctive home to the President of the Kansas National Bank, but he was also introducing what was a popular style back east into the growing Kansas frontier. The Fraker family is seen posed with the house. Everyone in town would have known that Sternberg was the builder of this style, so if anyone else liked this elegant roof, they would have also contacted Sternberg for something similar. The house has many design features common to Sternberg including fancy milled woodwork, multiple porches, a Mansard roof, an elaborate shingle pattern featuring Sternberg’s signature diamond designs within the roof and double ornamental flanking gazebos out in front of the property. Other Sternberg residences (such as the Wallace home and the Greiffenstein Mansion) would incorporate double flanking ornamental objects in the front of the home, however instead of double gazebos, these amounted to double ornamental multiered fountains in front of the property with a ground level reflecting pool. These ornamental objects in the front of the property give it a somewhat European court feeling. Clearly this was not a traditional prairie style and these design influences came from outside the area, notably New York and likely further (France).

In style, this house is much more reminiscent of a smaller version of the Greiffenstein Mansion than most of Sternberg’s designs, especially with the use of one-story bay windows. Most Sternberg bay windows were two-story ones. Compare this photo with those of the Greiffenstien Mansion and notice is a similarity of style. As on the Greiffenstein Mansion, this house also has only one chimney flue – a vent for the boiler in the basement which means this house was outfitted with steam radiators in 1875! It’s not known for sure whether steam radiators were installed on the second floor, but it’s likely they were. Some homes of the day (even manufacturerd upscale homes such as this) not uncommonly heated only the main level and allowed the heat to rise for second floor heating with auxiliary heat for the second floor (if you were lucky enough to have auxiliary heat) coming off of a flue pipes or a small coal fireplace. Sometimes the amount of heat could be controlled via louvered vents or louvered rotary dials installed into the floor – which could be opened or closed as needed.

In early Wichita (early 1870s) most of the buildings being put up were of wood. The intent was to replace these wood structure with more substantial brick ones as soon as possible, but wood was fast and easy and cheap. Brick buildings were more expensive and since building demand didn’t require many bricks (people were already using wood) there wasn’t much local capacity to manufacture bricks at this time, although by 1875 that demand was growing rapidly. Shortly after this by about 1880, brick production in Wichita was approaching of a million bricks / day. Initially, bricks for buildings were likely brought in by railroad from Emporia or Kansas City. The chimney flue on the Fraker home is suspected to be a metal flue pipe surrounded by a decorative wooden encasement. The foundation on the Fraker home could very well have been limestone, but it doesn’t appear to have the normal "roughness" of a limestone foundation. Perhaps it was brick or heavy wood piles, but limestone is still a very likely possibility.

No outbuildings (out-houses or stables) are visible in the photo, but for photo purposes those were commonly hidden behind the main structure (hide the outhouse). In other photos at about this time that were known to have had out buildings those outbuildings were purposely "hidden" from view by the house in the photo. A variety of plumbing fixtures and indoor piping was readily available at the time but indoor bathrooms with running water were not common in middle-upper class homes. Indoor bathrooms were only being built in upper-class homes. It would be interesting to know the actual bathing facilities here at the Fraker home.

Any comments, thoughts, ideas, stories or additional information about this photo or this place are always welcome and appreciated.

This photo is provided courtesy of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, (www.WichitaHistory.org).

Posted by kendahlarama on 2010-05-12 13:22:10

Tagged: , Fraker , J.C. Fraker , 306 E. Central , 306 , E. , Central , Wichita , KS , President , Kansas , National , Bank , Kansas National Bank , Wichita, KS , Wichita Kansas , Sedgwick County , Sternberg , William , Henry , William Henry Sternberg , W.H. Sternberg , Waco Avenue , Mansard , Mansard roof , Victorian Styles , Victorian Roof Styles , Victorian Gazebos , Greiffenstein Mansion , Norwich , Norwich, New York , Norwich, NY , World’s Fair , Paris , Diamond , Second Empire , President Kansas National Bank , Sternberg Mansion , Historic Sternberg Mansion , Bay window , Steam Heat , Coal Fireplace , France , Historic Wichita , Cool Victorian Houses , Cool Victorian Homes , 1885 , 1800s , 306 E Central Avenue , bricks , Brick Manufacturing , Brick production , queen anne , Beautiful old houses , Beautiful Victorian Houses , Cool Things in Wichita , rail , roads , railroads , Railroads Wichita , Victorian Homes , Victorian Architecture , Midwestern Architecture , Victorian Design , Victorian Houses , Victorian Houses Wichita KS , Sternberg House , Sternberg Home , shed roof , Gabled roof , Hip roof , Limestone foundation , Limestone , Indian Territory , Indian , Territory

Jacob Henry Aley Mansion; Wichita, KS

August 9, 2020 by 4g3nd4

Photo of the Jacob Henry Aley Mansion at 1505 North Fairview in Wichita, KS. This photo was taken about 1890. Note the newly planted tree (left). Construction on the house was started in April 1887 and completed later that same year at a cost of $25,000. This home is a confirmed design and build by William Henry Sternberg (1832-1906), who was originally from New York. True to Sternberg designs, this home features tall, fancy corbelled chimney flues where the decorative brick work continues on through the 2nd and 1st floors, highly decorative milled woodwork (both exterior and interior), a square porch above a triangular-shaped main entryway of the house (also seen on Sternberg Mansion and other Sternberg homes), a roofline that visually seems to be a "hodge-podge" of different pitches and shapes which add visual interest to the roofline, three main entries on the first level, usable / functional porches on the first and second floors, fish-scale shingles on the second floor and a 4th floor dormer at the very apex of the house with a window. Typically with Sternberg designs, rounded towers (and turrets – say over a rounded porch – as in the elegant Hatfield Residence @ 430 S. Seneca) appear on the left-side of the main entry of a house and square towers (or square projections) appear on the right side of the residence (when facing head on). Typically these square projections are on a 45 degree angle to the main structure. Although hard to discern from this photo, the dormer at the very apex of the roof has a row of windows in the rectangular area (see note in photo above).

Years before this house was built, Sternberg was promoting himself as both an “architect and builder” of homes, specifically “designing and drafting” services. Many persons have thought of Sternberg as just a contractor, but indeed his design and architecting services (that he did himself) were a substantial portion of his overall business. 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 interesting to note that the advertisement listed "Architects" first and "Builders" second. As with most designers and architects common design themes can be seen throughout their works. Sternberg’s unique mix of residential styles were just as well-loved in the 1800s as they are today and the common themes throughout his works make identification of them fairly easy. As Sternberg worked most of his life in the Wichita area, this particular style of Victorian architecture (although similar to Victorian-era styles) is unique and distinct to the Midwest. Some areas of the U.S. (like the south, the New England area or the southwest) have had long standing residential design trends that have helped to distinguish those areas. The Midwest is no different. Sternberg’s particular residential designs help to distinguish Midwestern Victorian architecture from that of other areas of the country . . .

Mr. Aley was originally from New York and moved to Wichita where started a successful boot and shoe retail business. He also served as a Sedgwick County Commissioner. Today this house is a Local Landmark and is open for public historic tours.

Lumber for building in late 1800s was usually brought in from other areas of the country – especially the Pacific northwest. When "white people" started arriving in Kansas, the prairies were virtually devoid of trees except by streams and rivers. What lumber that was available was mostly cut down by the 1870s. When the transcontinental railroad was being constructed, photography crews followed along taking photos of not only the work but also capturing the hills and prairies in the background. Identical shots today taken from the same vantage points of where those railroad photographers took their photos in 1869 show that virtually all the trees on the prairie today have been cultivated – they are new since then and were not originally there. In the 1800s the prairies were horribly devoid of trees. Indians had a practice of burning the prairies in the early spring. The charred and blacked earth absorbed sunlight better and warmed the ground earlier in the Spring than it normally would have which allowed grasses to grow sooner and most importantly brought buffalo back sooner for grazing. This practice of burning may account for some of the lack of trees in the 1800s. When trees were cut down, the lumber was sawn and planed on location by a steam-powered saw mill. A steam-powered saw-mill was frequently a shoddy open-air shack with a large boiler in the middle which provided steam to a cylinder steam engine. Sometimes steam leaked from boilers or pipes (or both). Steam also blew from the governor as well as it blew from the steam exhaust, so the work was hot and humid. Cotton belts and pulleys connected the equipment and the area smelled like a mixture of fresh wood, grease, burning wood and steam. When a saw mill was in full operation the sawdust produced from the mill provided more than enough fuel to power the boiler. 99% of the lumber used to build the Aley Mansion above (except for a few replacement pieces added in later years) was cut from a steam-powered saw mill. When pieces of pre-cut lumber didn’t or wouldn’t meet specifications the wood was hand-hewn with various hand tools including a broad-ax, an adze, a drawknife, a chisel and/or a hand saw. The wood used in the Aley Mansion is all “true dimensional” meaning that a 2 X 4 is really two full inches by a full four inches. A standard “2 X 4” today actually measures 1.5” X 3.5”. Remember that when this house was built there were no extension cords, electric jig saws, electric nail guns, bucket trucks, belt sanders or other convenient electric tools. This was all done with steam saws, pulleys, sweat, hand tools, square nails and lots of elbow grease. Sternberg had a reputation for only hiring the most highly skilled workers in a trade and his firm was widely known for having the best quality construction available.

Of note, since nails back in the 1800s were iron and easily rusted, window frames (which were subject to a lot of moisture) were not put together with any nails at all! Indeed window joints were joined together using a mortise and tenon joint and this arrangement was held together with wooden pegs. This type of construction can be seen today on any of the original windows of a Sternberg structure. This wooden-peg construction has held up quite well and can be seen on these windows today! The practice of using wooden pegs to hold construction joints together (holding joints together with wooden pegs) is really quite old and first starting migrating to the United States in the late 1700s. Prior to that it was being used in Europe (Germany, especially), Africa and the Carribbean islands. Timber framing of a building (although larger than window frames) is a similar technique of using a wood peg to hold a joint. The German term, "Fachwerk" literally means "framework" and "half-timbering", is the method of creating structures using heavy timbers jointed held together with wooden-pegged mortise and tenon joints. In architectural terms, "Half-timbering" is defined as: a latice of panels filled with a non-load bearing material of brick, clay or plaster, the frame is often exposed on the outside of the building. Carpenters (especially German) would peg joints together with an allowance of approximately an inch, enough room for the wood to move as it seasoned, then cut the pegs and drive the beam home fully into its socket. Half-timbered construction is also seen in the southern United States being brought into the region from highly skilled African slaves and the Carribbean islands. Creole plantations (very sturdy, durable and functional places of work) were frequently done in a half-timbered construction set on porous piles that went deep into the soil. The porous piles sucked water up into the walls of the home where the water then evaporated and kept the house surprisingly cool. So the use of wooden pegs to hold wooden joints together was a regional practice, depending on where the immigrants came from. W.H. Sternberg’s father (Nicholas Sternberg) immigrated to the United States from Germany. Many of Sternberg’s building techniques (including the use of wooden pegs to join wood joints) were without a doubt learned from years of working with his father who learned those same techniques from his father in Germany. In Europe, a cast system of laborers was generations-long and very difficult to overcome. So, in some ways the construction techniques used to build homes like the Aley Mansion in Wichita, KS are hundreds of years old and originated with craftsmen in Germany and other far away places. So in addition to popular design styles, Sternberg was bringing high quality German construction techniques to bear in the western frontier. That construction has held up remarkable well.

From the time he was 5 years old, W.H. Sternberg grew up cutting trees and working in his father’s saw mill. Later he owned his own his own lumber mill for many years. It’s been noted that no one knew the qualities of wood and woodworking techniques better than Sternberg. Sternberg selected only the very highest grade of original old forest lumber to build grand homes like the Aley Mansion. Regarding the quality of the wood used on the Sternberg Mansion, a newspaper article noted that “it is made of wood so hard it will not take a regular nail.” This very dense, high quality old-growth lumber is indeed unlike any lumber on the market today, just another reason these beautiful Victorian buildings deserve to be preserved and saved. The materials simply are not available that they can or ever will be re-made.

Your thoughts, comments, ideas or additional information about this residence are always welcome and appreciated!!

This photo is provided courtesy of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, (www.WichitaHistory.org).

Posted by kendahlarama on 2010-05-13 13:41:47

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