100-108 S. Fifth - Leavenworth Downtown Historic District - Leavenworth, Kansas - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

Building Date: 1905
Style: LATE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY REVIVALS: Italian Renaissance
Functional Use/Type COMMERCE: Two-Part Commercial Block

This two-story, brick building has a flat roof. The south elevation has five separate storefronts. Each storefront and its second-story fenestration vary from the adjacent sections. The western segment has three bays created by three rectangular windows on the second story. Above the windows is a stone beltcourse that supports three full arches directly above the windows. A stone beltcourse also forms the sills. A corbel cornice caps the parapet. The second and fourth storefront sections (numbering from west to east) each have three bays created by three rectangular windows that have double-hung sashes with six-over-one lights. A modified soldier course, semi-circular, brick arch caps the windows. A stone beltcourse above the arches merges with a frieze and cornice. The center storefront segment has a parapet that rises above that of the other sections. It features two large bays, created by paired windows with six-over-one lights, under a stone beltcourse and large, cast stone, full arches that span the width of the paired windows and rise to the roofline. A stone beltcourse forms the sills. The easternmost storefront section has three bays created by rectangular windows with architrave window frames capped by cast stone full arches. Within the arches is a sunburst terra-cotta panel. The modern window replacements are double-hung sashes with snap-in muntins that create a multi-light appearance. The storefront below has a corner entrance. Panels cover the transom windows and part of the display window on the east facade. The east facade has brick infill recessed in the openings of two doors that originally accessed the second story. The second story has eight bays created by rectangular windows with segmental arches. The window replacements are identical to those on the Shawnee facade for this end segment of the building. Common elements in all of the sections is the use of stone beltcourses to visually separate the first and second stories, as well as above the second-story windows, and as a part of the cornice configuration. Brickwork, laid in a textured pattern, defines the entablature and projecting cornice of the different building segments. Other common stylistic elements incorporated into this ensemble are cornice window heads, architrave window frames, stone sills supported by brick corbels, a paneled balustrade above the cornice that implies a third story, the use of an enlarged beltcourse merged with a frieze and cornice above certain windows and sometimes combined with another main cornice.

This highly ornamented two-part commercial block retains a high degree of integrity of location and setting. The building retains its all of its original exterior building materials. With a few minor exceptions, its original design, including its size, scale, massing, character-defining elements, and ornamentation are retained without loss, alteration or additions. In particular, the building reflects a high degree of integrity of workmanship in its original brickwork and stonework, including the retention of the original cornice, elaborate second-story brickwork, and all five storefront segments on the primary facade. The original storefront transoms are intact and have wood panels covering them that are easily removable. All of the storefront display window and entrance footprints remain unaltered, retaining their original openings and bulkheads. The only loss to the storefronts is the original display window glazing and muntin configuration above the original bulkheads. On the secondary elevation of the storefront at 108 S. 5th Street (501-505 Shawnee,) the first bay with its corner entrance is intact. The central portion of this facade has two entrances to the second story that have brick infill. The infill is recessed and the original opening surround is intact. This alteration is reversible. The brick walls on either side of these openings have a different coloration than the brick and reflect sandblasting to remove a successive layers of painted signs; traces of historic painted sign remain in these spaces. The second-story window sashes of this building section are replacement units, but match the original sashes in configuration and fill the original spaces. Because of its integrity of setting, the retention of the original size, scale and massing of the block, the presence of all of the original stylistic ornamentation including cornices, and the retention of all of the original materials with the exception of window glazing, which constitutes a small percentage of the facade, this building continues to be an excellent example of a variation of popular early twentieth century revival designs for commercial buildings.