The University of Missouri-Kansas City has announced its search for a “partner” to restore the century-old Epperson House, a four-story, 54-room mansion located at 5200 Cherry St. For 10 years now, the building has been vacant.
“One of our responsibilities as a public university is to be the appropriate stewards of our legacy,” Chancellor Molly Agrawal said in a press release. “Epperson House is a treasure not only for our campus, but for the Kansas City community.”
The house was built in 1919 for insurance magnate Uriah Epperson and his wife Marie, who called the mansion—at a cost of $500,000 when completed in 1923—”Eperson’s Folly. That’s about $8 million today when adjusted for inflation.
Chris Wolfe, who runs the UMKC library and offers tours of the campus, shared five things to know about the house:
LaBudde Private Collections, UMKC University Libraries.
Great Architectural Features
Architect Horace Lapierre, who worked in Kansas City and Oklahoma, designed the mansion. According to Wolff, legend has it that LaPierre offered the Eppersons “plans for 1,500 different homes before they settled on the 54-room castle that combined Tudor and Gothic styles.” It took nearly five years to complete construction.
Notable features include the Greek-tiled pool, billiards room on the lower level, formal dining room on the ground floor, elephant room for Mrs. Epperson’s travel group, and barbershop.
“However, the real show of the house was the great hall and its loft,” Wolf explained. “The Eppersons were huge fans of art and music and envisioned using the Great Hall to host plays and musical performances.”
The interior of the house, Wolf said, is “full of hand-carved walnut and oak panels and balustrades…truly a marvel of the art of carpentry.”
LaBudde Private Collections, UMKC University Libraries
haunted house
According to Wolff, the “original kernel of the chase” can be traced back to Harriet Barse, a member teacher at the Kansas City Conservatory of Music (now UMKC Conservatory). The Eppersons family, who had no children, invited Pars to live with them and considered her an “adopted daughter”.
An organ loft was built in the house in anticipation of musical performances. In December 1922, Pars was hospitalized with a gallbladder infection and died on the operating table.
“Since the house was donated to the University of Kansas City (now UMKC) in 1942, people have claimed to have seen Harriet’s ghost,” said Wolf. “And the sound of organ music coming from downstairs is one of the most common paranormal phenomena people talk about in the home. Other unusual events that people have reported include footsteps in rooms, empty corridors, and lights going off and on.”
University of Missouri – Kansas City
ingenuity legacy
Philanthropist Uriah Spray Epperson died in 1927 and left home for his wife, who died in 1939. A few years later, Epperson’s business partner J.J. Lynn donated the building to the University of Kansas City (now UMKC).
The building served as a dormitory for cadets in the Navy during World War II and was then used by various UMKC departments, such as the College of Education and, more recently, the Department of Architecture, Urban Planning and Design. It has been closed since 2011.
UMKC consultant Agrawal told Roo News in April that UMKC was looking to “lease or even sell” it.
But, according to Agrawal, approval is required from the Missouri legislature.
University of Missouri – Kansas City
Restoration costs
The renovations are expected to cost between $12 to $15 million. A minor fire in recent years has activated the sprinklers, damaging the gypsum. Stained glass windows are deteriorating. The house has also been converted into classrooms and meeting spaces, so there is wear and tear.
As Wolfe says, “there are enormous challenges.”
For example, he lists “Refurbishing things like hand-carved walnut shingles, oak railings, and leaded glass. It’s not cheap. And then, of course, you’ll need a new roof and modern plumbing wires and pipes all matching the code.”
It does not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act or the ADA which means that modern stairs, lifts, and chair lifts must be installed.
The future looks bright
One of Woolf’s ideas for the renovated Epperson House includes using it as a southern branch of the Kansas City Museum with “focusing on the history of things like Plaza, Swope Park, UMKC, Brookside, and other Southern landmarks. The Great Hall can be converted into an event space.”
He also believes that a boutique hotel is a viable proposition. He said UMKC parents “will have a place to stay on campus when they visit to see the kids playing sports or performing or during campus visits.”
UMKC officials say they are “open to a variety of approaches that will preserve the building’s historic and design integrity.”
If you have an idea for an Epperson House, please contact Bill Haverly at w.haverly@umkc.edu. The university will begin reviewing the proposals on January 31, 2022.