Dr. Generous Henderson House
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
A rare example of Second Renaissance Revival architecture in Kansas City, the Dr. Generous Henderson House is one of the last single-family homes on the northern part of Paseo Boulevard. Dr. Henderson built it in 1899. It features a projecting porch with Ionic columns supporting a porch, arched windows on the first floor, palladian windows on the second floor with one including a door leading to the porch balcony, square windows on the third floor separated by decorative terra cotta plaques, a pressed metal cornice with a balustrade above it, and a projecting three-bay window on the north side. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1899.
Images
Dr. Generous Henderson built this historic Second Renaissance-style home in 1899. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The northern section of Paseo Boulevard, the stretch between 9th and 17th streets, was created in 1898. The boulevard is named after the Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City. The President of the Kansas City Park Board at the time was August Meyer who knew of the Paseo de la Reforma and wanted Kansas City to have a street just like it. Paseo Boulevard represents the idea that civic development and the natural world could exist together. To this end, fountains, a pergola (a wooden structure with beams forming an open, sometimes lattice top), a sunken garden and other features were built in the parkway between the two lanes. Paseo Boulevard soon became one of the most prestigious streets in the city. Henderson built his house across from the pergola, which still stands.
Dr. Henderson was born in New London, Indiana in 1844. He graduated from the Chicago Medical College and the medical department of the University of Michigan and practiced for several years in Chicago. In 1880 he settled in Kansas City where he practiced for the next 45 years. Interestingly, he apparently operated a free museum in his office.
Sources
Piland, Sherry. "Dr. Generous Henderson House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. February 26, 1979. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Henderson%2C%20Dr.%20Generous%2C%20House.pdf
Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dr_Generous_Henderson_House_Kansas_City_MO.jpg