Dr. Gregory and Anne Jeneary moved into their new home at 620 First Ave. S.W. less than a year ago. The house reflects some of the "new" development in the Foster Park district in the late 1940s and 50s. [Click to enlarge]

The area has recently been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places.

The home of Dr. Gregory and Anne Jeneary at 620 First Ave. S.W. is the only house on the tour not directly facing Foster Park.

The two-story front-gabled roof house is an example of vernacular architecture. This term is used broadly to describe housing forms that include true or folk vernacular houses (houses that imitate academic styles) and houses produced by industrialization and cultural standardization. It also describes homes more easily built without skilled artisans, as were used in the early Victorian era.

The Jeneary house is typical of Bungalow Style houses built with continuous front-gable porches or short wings. The main house has a broad front-gabled roof with narrow eaves and a tall shed-roofed dormer on the south side (a later addition).

The welcoming entrance leads guests up brick-faced steps onto a wide front stoop, with the front door camouflaged to the side.

Once inside, visitors will note the entertaining room to the left which boasts a new oak floor. It blends well with the original birch woodwork found throughout the home. Cute loop drapery was crafted by Anne Jeneary when she and her husband moved into this lovely home less than a year ago. Anne is eagerly looking forward to see what flowers appear in her front flower gardens. This large living space is its original size, with it also serving as a dining area for guests in earlier days.

A small interior hall features a handy telephone niche.

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Traveling back through the hallway, visitors enter a slightly later addition, which originally held a bathroom and two small bedrooms at the end of the hall. Previous owners altered the walls to provide for a massive bath and one large bedroom. The huge master bedroom, created out of the two smaller bedrooms boasts a wonderful walk-in cedar closet that extends the width of the room. The earlier, narrower width oak floors are found throughout the remainder of the home.

The stairway to the second floor features a birch railing and slender tapered spindles, typical of the 1940s to 50s.

Upstairs a former bedroom now serves as an office as well as a bedroom, with a second bedroom serving as a guest room. Here a massive storage area over the front entry extends more than the width of the bedroom.

The main floor features a family kitchen, featuring original birch "Curtis" cupboards, simply rearranged and painted. Although remodeled, original features such as the traditional bread drawer and handy metal rack drawers remain in the "state of the art" cupboards of the 1950s.

A back entry leads to the basement with its tongue and grooved knotty pine paneling. The large recreation room there is also finished in knotty pine and features a massive storage wall, also put in place in the 1950s. Former owner Randy Kurth, an amateur wine-maker, built wine-racks into the area under the front stoop, with the adjoining sink and counter-top providing work space. The counter also provides a folding area for the nearby washer/drier.

The garage on the property was built in 1957. Crossing over an iron sill, visitors will notice many different pieces of cement on the floor. Midway on the north wall visitors will see where plumbing had once been in place, confirming the lore that a small house once stood here. Greg is in the process of insulating so that he can use part of the garage as a workshop.

The property was platted in 1871 by Benjamin O. Foster and his wife, Martha. Foster was a wealthy landholder and flour and general commission merchant at the time. Although many houses in the district were built well before the date of this house, this house appears to be part of the first wave of redevelopment in the neighborhood that saw large houses on several corner lots razed and multiple houses built in its place. In this case, three houses were built on two lots.

This parcel was first sold for development as a distinct lot in 1949 when John Allen Dorr acquired it. The Dorrs lived in a small house for two years, where the garage is now, while building the new house about 1954. It could be that same smaller structure was moved and attached to the back of the house, since no basement is under that part.

The Dorrs sold it two years later to Le Roy and Grace Albert. The present garage was built in 1957 by Le Roy Albert. After Le Roy died, Grace later married George Dunn, a Le Mars minister, and they continued to reside here.

It passed out of Grace's ownership in 1991 when David Calhoun and fiancée, Pamela Olson, acquired it from Grace's estate. In 2001 the Calhoun's ownership was transferred to Randall and Elizabeth Kurth. This lovely home is now owned by local dentist, Dr. Gregory Jeneary and his wife, Anne.

This year's Tour of Historic Homes tour begins at the Le Mars Arts Center, 200 Central Ave. S.E. Tours leave from the Arts Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the houses closing at 5 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under age 12.

For information, call 712-546-7184 or e-mail lemarsarts@frontiernet.net.