IOOF Hall - Emporia, Kansas - Victorian Style Architecture on Waymarking.com

IOOF Hall Status: Contributing
Address: 319 N COMMERCIAL ST
Date of Construction: 1880 (Estimated)
Parcel ID: 195-15-0-20-15-007.00-0
Historic Function: Social - Clubhouse
Current Function: Commerce/Trade
Architectural Classification: Italianate

Description:
This load-bearing stone, two-part commercial block is seven bays wide and six bays deep. Upper-story fenestration defines the bays. Round arches characterize each upper-story window opening in the primary façade. Three of these openings contain the historic tall, narrow, one-over-one double-hung wood windows; non-historic multi-light vinyl windows occupy the remaining window openings in the front facade. The street-level entrance to the second floor occupies the center bay, which contains non-historic painted wood infill. The second-floor entrance is flanked on each side by a storefront. The south storefront has a center-bay recessed entrance flanked by a display windows. The north storefront has a flush entrance and a three-part display window. Both storefront transom openings contain non-historic painted wood infill. Additional character-defining features include: the pressed metal cornice; the quarry-faced stone on the primary and secondary (south) elevations, which has regular courses on the front façade and irregular courses on the side elevations; the full-height engaged stone piers flanking the center bay and at each end of the front façade; the modest pier capitals at the top of each storefront; and the round arch ashlar stone second-story window hoods with decorative keystones and springers. The secondary elevation window openings feature segmental arches with stone lintels and contain non-original one-over-one windows with plywood infill above.

History:
This building was built by 1884, when it housed a "99-cent Variety Store" on the first floor and offices on the second floor. By 1888, there was a furniture/undertaking business on the first floor and IOOF hall on the second floor. In 1893 and 1899, there was a second-hand store on the north, grocery on the south, and IOOF hall upstairs. By 1905, the first floor was occupied by a wholesale grocery.

Integrity:
Although the building has had modifications over time, including replacement of some upper-story windows and enclosure of transoms, it retains key elements, including pressed-metal cornice, materials, massing, quarried-stone exterior, upper-story window openings and open storefront.