Great opportunity to own a historic home and schoolhouse

Here are two great ways to get a peek inside a historic home and a historic school-house. At 10 a.m. Saturday, August 17 2013, this former one-room school at 4713 Brown Station Road, Columbia, will go up for auction. Named the Keene School, the United Country’s website outlines its history as a former school-house and includes…

Changes to demolition permits pondered

With 2012 seeing the loss of the Annie Fisher house (circa 1920s) and several other older dwellings, the Columbia Planning and zoning Commission is considering changing the time period for demolition requests and the nomination process to historic preservation districts. Read the Sept. 22, 2012 Columbia Tribune article, “Panel working on a new demolition, historic…

$1 billion in economic activity generated by historic preservation

Tax credits, including tax credits for historic preservation, have come under fire from time to time. However, a recent newspaper article on historic preservation states, “Preserving historic buildings over the past decade has, directly and indirectly, accounted for more than $1 billion in economic activity in Columbia and helped to create thousands of jobs…” The…

See inside 704 Westmount the peanut brittle house

The home at 704 Westmount is up for sale, giving curious folks like me an opportunity to peek inside. Here‘s the House of Brokers’ virtual tour of the home, which is priced at $689,000. So why does the headline mention peanut brittle? Three homes were built in 1907 in Columbia that carry that descriptive name…

Money matters: Meeting on benefits of historic preservation

A billion, with a B. That’s how much historic preservation in Missouri contributes to the state’s gross state product  according to a 2002 by the Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University. Now, the city of Columbia is inviting the public to look over a study designed to tabulate how much local historic preservation benefits the city’s economy….

Demolition Delay Efforts

This report by KOMU notes that Columbia’s Historic Preservation Commission can’t prohibit the demolition of buildings by property owners — but they can delay approving the demolition permit in the hopes of finding a way to work with the building owner and saving a historic structure. The report quotes Brian Treece, HPC chair, as saying…

May 5 concert gives history buffs a two-fer experience

On May 5, 2012, history buffs will be given a two-fold historic opportunity, according to this article by Bill Clark in the Columbia Daily Tribune. A three-hour concert (!) will be held in the Second Baptist Church at 407 E. Broadway, to benefit the renovation of the John William “Blind” Boone home, which is within…

2012 Most Notable Properties Gala, Feb. 7, 2012

On Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012, a gala to celebrate Columbia, Missouri’s Most Notable Properties will be held in the lobby of City Hall at 701 E. Broadway. The event is open to the public. The event has been previewed in both the Columbia Missourian and the Columbia Daily Tribune in articles published on Feb. 6,…