Staff writer
At 117 N. Locust Street, there is a house unlike any other dwelling in Marion.
The white stucco structure with its red Spanish-tile roof looks like it was plucked out of the southwestern U.S. and indiscriminately placed between colonial and Victorian homes more common in Kansas.
“A lot of people comment on it,” current owner Sarah Waddell said of conversations with friends. “They think it is interesting. I love my house.”
Engineer R.K. Walters built the house in 1927. Waddell said the outside of the residence has changed little over time. She bought the house in March 2004 from Mike and Cheryl Connell.
The inside of the residence is also unique. It features high arches for each of the entryways and a fireplace hidden inside of the front wall of the living room. The stack rises in the front of the house, another unique feature.
Waddell has painted the rooms, re-done the floors, put in new light fixtures, and added a protective wall outside the staircase.
With its age, the house is not without problems. The flat roofs at the peak of the residence, beyond the slanted Spanish tile, have leaked.
“They say you can never win with flat roofs,” Waddell said.
Waddell said it is difficult to find contractors to work on the stucco exterior.
“Maybe in the southwest it would be different,” Waddell said.
Waddell is a fifth-grade teacher at Marion Elementary School. She has two boys, Hap and Anderson. One of the original appeals of the property was the backyard it opens up to a wooded area with a small creek. Waddell installed a tree house, complete with a zip line for her sons.
She said she might not be done making improvements to her house.
“That’s why I love having a house because I can do whatever I want to do,” she said.