Grand Wichita home, built in 1887, has been turned into an elegant Victorian event venue
The towering Queen Anne revival home at 1109 N. Topeka has seen a lot of life during its 137 years — and most of it wasn’t exactly glamorous.
The 3,800-square-foot home was built in 1887 as a home for local lumberyard manager E.H. Anawalt and his wife, but they didn’t live there for long. The house eventually was broken up into apartments, and then, in the mid-1980s, its upstairs bedrooms were converted into offices, and it was used as a home base for a copy writing company then for an endowment association then for an environmental consulting firm.
Then 10 years ago, the house — which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places — was purchased by a woman who dedicated herself to returning it to its former glory. She worked on restoring the house for more than four of those years then lived in it the next six.
Now, the house — called the Anawalt House in honor of its builder — is ready to be enjoyed the way that people living in Midtown Wichita during the turn of the century did — lounging on plush Victorian furniture, enjoying tea in the formal “courting room,” then ascending the ornate wooden staircase when the evening comes to an end.
The Anawalt House has just been transitioned from a private residence to a lavishly decorated event venue. Dubbed Victorian Lady Venue, it is now booking small parties for up to 35 people, who will be able to use the main floor for things like bridal or baby showers, birthday parties, office parties or other special events.
The five bedrooms that occupy the second floor are also available to rent: The business owners imagine a bride reserving the whole house to prepare for a wedding, using the house for photos, then staying there with her bridal party.
Jamie Koontz, who will run the new business, likes to tell the serendipitous story of how she ended up finding the house in one of Wichita’s oldest neighborhoods and how she became inspired to turn it into what she’s calling a “celebration venue.”
“I call it a celebration venue on purpose, because that’s what it is,” Koontz said. “It’s to celebrate gifts — the gift of life. It’s to celebrate each other — moms, especially —and to celebrate daughters and babies and brides. If you can celebrate it, celebrate it here.”
A perfect fit
Koontz, who lives in El Dorado with her husband, said that back in 2020, she was searching for a venue where she could put on a surprise 70th birthday party for her mother, and she wanted something that felt a bit more special than a restaurant or her own home.
She started searching online for a “small, little, unique place,” she said, but all she could find were big wedding venues or giant spaces advertised for corporate events. Eventually, she landed on a venue set up in a little cottage, less than 1,000 square feet, in Overland Park.
“It was a great time,” she said. “And I walked away from there, and I said, ‘I want to do that.’ I love this whole idea about celebrating loved ones but having just an intimate space where you could have birthday parties, bridal showers, baby showers, a small graduation party. So I became obsessed with looking for a little house to do that.”
She expanded her search from El Dorado to Wichita and hunted for houses for more than a year. But she couldn’t find anything that would work. In the meantime, she was collecting furniture for her dream venue, filling her own home with it.
Then, in June, she was on Google when she came across a listing for the Anawalt House. The owners — BJ Sheu and her husband, Alan Adam — had put the home up for sale. The couple had already left for Taiwan, where they’d decided to retire, and asked their close friend and regular handyman, David Howard, to handle the details of the sale.
The sprawling, historic home was not what Koontz had in mind for her venue, she said, but there was something about it.
“I began to look at the pictures, and it took you through the front door, and the staircase was the first picture I saw,” she said. “My jaw just dropped, and I kept looking at the pictures, and I just fell in love with it.”
The house could be perfect for what she had in mind, Koontz decided, but she couldn’t afford the price tag of $380,000.
The next day, she was poking around on Facebook Marketplace when the Anawalt House popped up again. This time, it was listed for rent. She couldn’t afford that, either, but decided just to send a message to the homeowners and explain her vision.
“I said, ‘Hi, my name is Jamie Koontz. I cannot afford to buy your house, nor can I afford to rent your beautiful home, but I have this vision for a Victorian venue, and I have collected several pieces of furniture already. And so if that’s anything that you would consider, please reach out to me,’” she said.
Howard immediately texted her back and said he was intrigued by the idea. The house has been on the market off and on for some time, and Sheu and Adam already had gotten one offer that had fallen through. Howard met up with Koontz to talk about her idea further and decided it was the best thing for the house — and for its owners.
“Her vision was to make it more beautiful, and that’s exactly what this house needed,” Howard said.
Old house, new life
After that, things moved quickly. Just a few weeks later, Koontz rented a U-Haul and loaded up all the furniture she’d amassed, including a grand piano, a Victorian settee and an antique buffet. She moved it all in on July 4, she remembers.
Everything fit perfectly.
“I just almost couldn’t believe it,” Koontz said. “I was like, ‘Wait a minute. Is this real? This doesn’t happen. Through all of this, the Lord really revealed to me that he is always, always, always working behind the scenes in people’s lives, orchestrating people’s details and helping them toward the next step.”
Koontz, who has an eye for decorating, not only moved in furniture, but she transformed the house into a purple, gold and teal showplace, adding plush draperies, era-appropriate artwork, mirrors, rugs and decor. Howard helped by installing dramatic chandeliers throughout the house.
To prepare for a recent home tour, Koontz also decorated the house for Christmas, adding lighted trees and festive garland throughout.
Howard has been helping out and has polished the original wood floors to a glossy sheen. He loves to point out some of the house’s original details that are still intact, including the original copper-etched glass over the wooden double doors at the entry way, the sliding pocket doors that separate the courting room from the dining room, and the colorful stain glass windows in the attic that catch the eyes of people who pass by.
Koontz and Howard recently got the venue’s website up and created its social media pages. Now, the house is ready to be rented, she said.
Sheu only recently returned from six months in Taiwan and met Koontz for the first time. But she says she’s loved seeing the transformation of the home that she’s loved for so long. Sheu had the same feeling Koontz did when she first saw the house a decade ago.
“I just hate to see beautiful things decay,” Sheu said. “I just wanted to bring it back to life.”
Sheu spent four and a half years restoring not only the Anawalt House but also the historic Purdue House right next door at 1103 N. Topeka, which she’d also purchased. She’s already sold the Purdue House, though, and it’s being used by its new owners as an Airbnb rental.
People who want to rent the Victorian Lady Venue for events can do so in two-, three-, four- or five-hour blocks of time. (Four-hour blocks cost $395 on weekdays, $495 on weekends). Those who use the venue will have access not only to the multiple rooms on the first floor but also to the grand piano near its entrance and the fully functional kitchen that Howard renovated in the back of the house. Renters will provide their own food and beverages.
The five upstairs bedrooms also are available, and Koontz is still working out exactly how they’ll be rented.
Koontz is planning a Nov. 30 Christmas open house at the venue. Watch the Victorian Lady Venue Facebook page for more details.
This story was originally published November 8, 2024 at 1:38 PM.
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