The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-03-18
All Materials Are Returning to
Near Pre-War Prices.
RECORD KEPT BY M'GIFFERT
List of Vacant Lots Shows a
Steady Decrease. 4
College Avenue in Lead in
Number of New Houses.


Topeka people are building homes
with building materials returning
to somewhere near pre-war prices ana
rents showing no inclination to come
back to normal, home Dullolng mas
become q somewhat plausible solution
to the dilemma of the homeless.
It wants but a short walk or ride
over the city to give ocular PROOF OF
the fact that the city's supply OF IN
dividuaI homes is being augmented
steadily. Getting accurate and COM
plete figures. on the number OF houses
which are being built, however, is no
easy task.
has been revealed in the office of
Robert D. McGiffert, city park and
health commissioner, in connection
with the city's work of cutting weeds
on vacant lots where the owners neg
Iect to keep the weeds down.
Keep List of Vacant Lots.
There is filed in the office a COM
p1ete list of the vacant lots in the
city, and the owner thereof. When
the owners fail to keep the weeds
down, the city does the work and
charges it up on the tax bill for that
when a lot ceases to become a va
want lot-when there is a building
erected upon 1.-THE card which rep
resents it is withdrawn and put into
a separate file.
There have been withdrawn during
the past two years-1920 and 1921
a total OF 257 cards, representing lots
on which houses or business buildings
have been built during that period.
Check-Up Under Way.
The check-up this spring is now
under way. When it IS completed.
the number of previously vacant lots
on which building operations have
been under way, will show as having
been vastly increased.
The cards show that more houses
were built in 1921. than in 1920, altho
the exact number constructed in each
year cannot be ascertained from them.
The cards are arranged by streets,
showing the number of dwellings
which have been erected on each
street.
Many Building Sites.
Vacant lots on no less than seventy
two Topeka streets have become build
ing sites within the two-year period
named.
The number of new houses on each
street which the park department rec
ords show, ranges from one to twenty
four. College avenue is high with
twenty-four houses occupying lots
which were vacant irr> 1919. Buch-
anan street is second with twenty
three. Brooks avenue is third with
nineteen new structures.
Underwood avenue, in Potwin. is
fourth with sixteen new houses. Next
comes Boswell avenue with thirteen,
then Lincoln street and Jewell ave-
nue. tie for honors with twelve. West
street has ten new houses, Broad
moor avenue and Lane street each
have nine.
Topeka boulevard and CORTLAND
avenue each have eight new houses,
son street, Kendall avenue and West
ern avenue each have six new houses.
Euclid avenue, and West Sixth ave-
nue. each have five.
n
woodward avenue, North Harrison
street, Quincy street, West Fifteenth
street and Grand avenue, each are
credited with four new houses during
the two years.
Other streets on which fewer than
four homes have been built during the
period, are: Locust street, South
Chandler street, Hancock street, jack
son street, Central avenue, The Drive,
ChickaSaW avenue, Cherokee street,
Chestnut street, Center street, East
Tenth avenue, Wood street, Van
Buren, street, Union avenue, Throop
street, Arch street, Byron street, North
Central avenue, Woodlawn avenue,
Garfield avenue, Bolles Avenue, South
Washington street, Quinton boulevard,
Seward avenue, Shawnee avenue,
North Quincy street, Polk street, East
First street, East Sixth avenue, West
Eighth avenue, Tyler street, Saywel1
street, West Norris street, Paramore
street, North Madison street, Chester
avenue, German avenue, Roosevelt
street, woodward avenue, Washburn
avenue, West Tenth street, Mulvane
street, and Huntoon street.
Brisk Real Estate Sale.
zone of the most encouraging
things that I have discovered in this
work is the fact that many Topeka |
people are buying real estate-es- !
pecially in the southwestern sections
of the city, says Aaron Green, in
charge of the files
In the transfers which we have |
noted in the past year or So prac-
ticaIly all purchasers have been To-
peka people who doubtless intend to /
build homes on the lots which they |
have purchased"
Green laid stress on the fact that /
the records are not up to date at the /
present time. Each spring they are
rechecked as the park department ar
ranges for keeping down the weeds on
the vacant. lots.
One of the means of accomplishing
this is to permit some resident of
the city to raise garden on the lots. /
rent free, under agreement with the !
down.
Applications for vacant lots for gar
den purposes are now reaching the +
park department. and are being filled I
by the score. The department also j
has on hand a number of packages of /
garden seeds sent out from Washing /
ton by Senator Arthur Capper, as well /
as comprehensive treatise on gar /
dening which was prepared by the war \
garden commission during the world I
war. The garden seeds and the man !