Lawrence Modern home

For our first event in more than two years, we are excited to offer fans of midcentury modern industrial style buildings—count us among them—the opportunity to tour one of the most noteworthy examples in Lawrence, the Zimmerman Steel building, now owned by Mar Lan Construction. Built in 1959 (an office designed by the local architecture firm of Robertson & Ericson was added in 1963), for decades the building’s corrugated metal siding and zig-zag roof design clearly communicated its intent: custom steel fabrication. The only one of its type in the immediate area, Zimmerman Steel in many ways resembled a German mittelstand, a small family-owned business that occupied a niche market in manufacturing. “[Owner] Lee Zimmerman didn’t do gigantic steel fabrication jobs, he would pick up the small pieces,” said Mar Lan Construction’s Kevin Markley. “He did tons, just miles and miles and miles of handrails and guide rails, bollards, trash gates and things like that, and sometimes he would fabricate all of the steel.” Some of the most significant buildings the company provided material for included the Hallmark production facility; the expansion of Kansas University Memorial Stadium; the new Frasier Hall on the KU campus; the rebuilding of the Kansas Student Union; the Varsity Theater; and the old Lawrence Public Library.

Mar Lan Construction purchased the property in 2019 and spent a year carefully refurbishing the exterior, remodeling the interior office, and significantly upgrading the landscaping. They have done a fantastic job of preserving the building’s architectural integrity, feel, and history. In 2020 architect Stan Hernly of Hernly and Associates spearheaded a move to add the Zimmerman Steel building to the National Register of Historic Buildings, noting that it “expresses important design principles of modern architecture through its use of distinctive design, form, and construction techniques.” The building was added to the Register as locally significant in April 2021.

Join us on May 1st to see and learn more about the preservation of this historic modern building. Presentation by Mar Lan’s Kevin Markley (principal and vice president of marketing) and Stan Hernly. Architectural context and expert appreciation from our own Dennis Domer, fresh back from his winter haven in Arizona.

Don’t miss this special architectural experience!

Tim Hossler

The extensive renovation of the Santa Fe Depot is completed. It is one of the greatest midcentury preservation efforts in the State of Kansas and arguably the most significant in Lawrence history.

The Depot was designed by Warren Corman and Warren Jones and completed in 1956. Preservation efforts have drawn a diverse group of activists with various interests, yet everyone shared a common goal to preserve the train station after years of neglect.

Lawrence Modern has been involved since the beginning when Depot Redux, the non-profit advocacy group led by Carey Maynard-Moody, was formed nine years ago. Depot Redux has worked diligently with numerous city commissions, two city managers, the Historic Resource Commission, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and Amtrak for the City to transfer ownership of the building. This enabled the City to submit the nomination written by our own Dennis Domer for the depot to be listed on the National, Kansas and Lawrence Historic Registers, which in turn facilitated a Transportation Enhancement grant administered by the Kansas Department of Transportation and matching monies from the City to fund the extensive renovation.

On February 22^nd you will find that the building looks very similar to what it looked like in 1956. What you won’t see is the new geothermal HVAC, new electrical, plumbing and new roof. There is new aluminum fascia wrapped around the various roof elevations and fresh paint. The bathrooms, entrances, walkways, and platform now meet American with Disabilities (ADA) guidelines. The original (but still operable) windows have interior storm windows and screens that blend seamlessly with the north and south window walls.

First Management Construction was in charge of the renovation and Stan Hernly of Hernly Associates Inc. was the architect who made sure the renovation adhered to the historic guidelines.

Assistant City Manager Diane Stoddard provided the leadership and determination for the Depot ownership to be transferred to the City. Without Diane’s persistence, the Depot would still be owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe and falling into a worsening state of disrepair.

We are happy and grateful to all of the citizens of Lawrence who were involved with this successful preservation effort and look forward to celebrating the refurbished Depot with you.

Link to the nomination for the National & State Historic Register:

https://www.kshs.org/resource/national_register/nominationsNRDB/Douglas_SantaFeDepot_LawrenceNR.pdf

– Tom, Dennis, Tim & Bill

Tim Hossler

Lawrence Modern’s infatuation with 1960s brutalist architecture continues with our next event at the Immanuel Lutheran Church, a building most of us (non-Lutherans) drive by quite often. Brutalist architecture tends to elicit strong reactions, but love it or hate it you can’t ignore it. Rising from the ground like a stripped classical belfry, the Immanuel Lutheran Church reaches for the heavens with typical Lutheran clarity. The result is art and architecture that provides an inspired setting for worship. The Bible says, “The people must make a sacred Tent for me, so that I may live among them.” This is quite a tent. See you on November 12 for another stirring Lawrence Modern congregation.

https://www.curbed.com/…/8/…/10444768/a-history-of-brutalism
http://kmuw.org/…/past-and-present-architect-behind-some-we…
http://karl-marxhausen.blogspot.com/…/daisy-mosaic-where-in…http://immanuellawrence.org/

—Tom, Tim, Dennis & Bill