Native stone structures could receive historic recognition

“We had a consultant who surveyed much of Springfield to identify the Ozark rock masonry construction as a significant property type in Springfield, and thus potentially amend the city’s multiple property listing,” said Christian Lentz, senior planner with the city of Springfield.

That listing, Lentz said, identifies significant properties and allows property owners whose properties fall under categories on the listing to nominate their properties to the national list.

“The survey’s been completed. The amended multiple properties listing has been completed,” Lentz said. “It’s been approved by the state, and it’s now being reviewed by the National Park Service.”

The survey, Lentz said, was funded in part by the state of Missouri’s Preservation Office. What the survey did, he added, was to examine native stone structures throughout Springfield. Some of the most significant rock structures in the city are located in city parks such as Fassnight, Phelps Grove, Silver Springs and Doling.

“But the vast majority of properties that were reviewed were owner-occupied or just single-family residential structures,” Lentz said.

Under the city’s historic preservation plan, one of the objectives is to increase the number of properties eligible for listing on the National Register, Lentz said, and pursuing this amendment is one way to work toward that objective.

Perhaps the most recognizable type of Ozark rock masonry construction is what many people refer to as giraffe rock – tan or orange stones with contrasting, sometimes painted or piped mortar.

“There are a bunch of different construction styles, and what people refer to as giraffe rock is really one of many different styles,” Lentz said. “But it all falls under the Ozark rock masonry construction.”

Lentz said that the Springfield-Greene County Parks Department’s rock structures probably have the best opportunity to be nominated to the National Register as a district because there are so many eligible structures within the parks.

Jerany Jackson, senior park planner with the Springfield-Greene County Parks Department, said that nominating those structures to the National Register is a distinct possibility, “But it’s not something that we’ve discussed at any length,” she said.

She added that the department has done significant renovations at parks that include the stone structures, and as other renovations are begun, the department will be mindful of possible nominations to the National Register of Historic Places.

“As we’re going through the process of renovations and making improvements in the parks, that would be something that we would want to consider,” she said.

Historic happening

Preservation is nothing new in Springfield, as the city’s downtown and its older neighborhoods – Midtown, West Central and Woodland Heights among them – are in the midst of a renovation renaissance to restore their former glory.

Oct. 21-23, people from all across the state will have the chance to see first-hand local preservation and renovation efforts as the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation brings its 19th annual statewide preservation conference to University Plaza Hotel, 333 John Q. Hammons Parkway.

The three-day conference provides continuing education credits for architects, but registration is available at www.preservemo.org for anyone interested in historic preservation.

The conference will feature leaders, activists and practitioners in the fields of preservation, heritage tourism, historic sites management and conservation. Educational sessions and tours are part of the event. Speakers will include U.S. Rep Roy Blunt, Paul Taylor, editor and publisher of Route 66 Magazine, and John Sandor of the National Park Service.

A developers’ panel also will discuss residential and commercial rehab projects, and attendees will be able to learn how to generate community support and enthusiasm for such projects.