Architect Biographies - J-K-L

Jackson & Mcilvain — Architect of 4528 Troost Ave.

C.M. Jesperson — Architect of 3534 & 3538 Cherry St; 3728 Holmes St.

 Keene & Simpson — Architects of 710 E. Armour Blvd, 3639 Harrison Blvd, #53 Janssen Place

Keene & Simpson firm practiced from 1909 until 1980. The named partners were architects Arthur Samuel Keene FAIA (1875–1966) and Leslie Butler Simpson AIA (1885–1961). Keene was born in Boston and graduated in 1898 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1907 he moved to Kansas City, where he joined the office of Howe & Hoit. Simpson was born in Clayton, Missouri. He received his early architectural education through correspondence courses of the International Correspondence School of Scranton, Pennsylvania. In 1901 he moved to Kansas City, where he joined Van Brunt & Howe, predecessors to Howe & Hoit. In 1909 Simpson and Keene left Howe & Hoit to form their partnership.  

William J. Koch — Architect of 3933 Charlotte St.  (1925) — Four-family residence —Koch is listed in the 1910 city directory as a draftsman for Phoenix Stone & Lime Company. In 1920, he was a draftsman for the JC Nichols Building Department.

 Selby H. Kurfiss (xxxx – 1949) – Kurfiss S.H. & Goddard H.I. — Architect of 3727 Holmes St (1909); 3733 Gillham Rd (1907); 3719 Gillham Rd (1910)

 A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Selby Kurfiss studied at Columbia University. By 1891, he was working as a draftsman for Adriance Van Brunt. By 1900, he had opened his own office. Except for brief partnerships with Harry Goddard in 1910 and with Frederick Michealis in 1911, he practiced alone. Kurfiss mostly designed residences but also a few commercial structures. Throughout his career, he was active in professional organizations, serving as vice-president, director, and secretary of the Kansas City chapter of the AIA, between 1911 and 1917. His professionalism and willingness to counsel younger architects led to his description as “an architect’s architect”. His work includes the 1926 Gillis Opera building in the city market, the Arthur Bryant building designed in 1910 for the Eisberg Baking Company, and the J Sidney Smith residence at Gleed Terrance and Holmes, one of Kurfiss’s most impressive works. The Kansas City Public Library’s KC history – Local History file on Kurfiss contains photos and biographical article. There are descriptions of many of the houses and pictures of 3733 Gillham Rd. and 3727 Holmes St.

 Horace LaPierre (1873-1945) — Architect of 810 East 41st St and 4040, 4042 & 4046 Charlotte Street.

LaPierre was born in Ottawa, Canada. He worked for architect George Matthew as chief designer and superintendent of construction from 1896 until he took over the firm after Mathew’s death in 1903. LaPierre’s buildings were typically massive and slowly constructed. Extant Kansas City designs include the Armour Memorial Home at 2119 Tracy and the U.S. Epperson House at 52nd and Cherry. The South Hyde Park houses were built in 1908 and 1909.

  C. W. Lovitt —Architect of 3630 Holmes St. (1902) See Smith, Rea and Lovitt