Neighborhood adds history to Salon 808
11:29 a.m. Wednesday, March 8, 2006
In this relatively quiet family-style Holliday Park neighborhood, you'll find stately homes—some built in the 1800s.
You'll also find Salon 808 housed in the historic Devon building, where you'll get a history lesson while being shampooed.
"Well its Prairie-style architecture is unique to Topeka and the neighborhood surrounding it,” said Jandi Terrell, salon co-owner and manager. "Originally it was built as Bennett Flats after the man that named the building after himself—Henry Bennett in 1887. Then in 1904 there was a fire. James Gleed bought the building and remodeled it in 1907 and turned it from a two-and-a-half story to a three story."
Terrell said the original building had five shops across the bottom, but the remodel left only two.
Around Town with Dana Davis
If you have a special event happening in your community, or if you want your town featured on Good Morning Kansas. Please e-mail your ideas to dana.davis@49abcnews.com or call Dana at (785) 215-8500.The salon occupies the space that was a grocery store for one hundred years.
“The last grocery store closed in 1986 and it's been a hodge-podge of different stores since then,” Terrell said.
Terrell and her sister Carrie Dinwiddie, stylist and co-owner, opened the salon in August of last year.
Their parents own the building and are in the process of slowly restoring it.
"It's got the old hand made bricks in it,” said Roger Young, The Devon owner. “It's kind of a soft brick it's not really very good."
And in the restoration process he's found some old letters.
"We found correspondence between somebody in Manhattan and somebody that lived here,” Young said.
What helps to make The Devon unique are the apartments.
Terrell said the architect Henry Bennett made each one different— some with French doors, and some windows taller than ones in other apartments.
Salon 808
You can visit Salon 808 in the Holliday Park neighborhood at The Devon building, located at 808 SW 12th St. If you'd like to get your hair styled, make an appointment by calling (785) 235-8808.
David Corwin and his wife live in the only apartment with pocket doors.
"I've always found them really interesting so when my wife and I wanted to find an apartment we thought this would be the right place to do it,” Corwin said.
The surrounding neighborhood of Holliday Park is named after Cyrus K. Holliday—founder and Mayor of Topeka. He also organized the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company.
Terrell said when she discovered the neighborhood 16 years ago it was pretty rough, but it has made a transformation with people renovating old homes and more families moving in.
Ron Moss is the unofficial Mayor of Holliday Park.
"Best part about this part of town is it's close to everything—Walgreens, Dillons downtown, the Capitol. You can go on foot around here if you want to,” Moss said.
When Terrell and Dinwiddie first thought about moving into The Devon, there were some reservations, but no longer. They both find it quite special.
"At first I wasn't real sure, but even from the outside of the building. Just the character there is no other character like this in town,” Dinwiddie said.
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