K0136 - The State Historical Society of Missouri

THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI 

RESEARCH CENTER-KANSAS CITY 

K0136 

Lyle Welles Underhill (1890-1983) Architectural Records 

ca. 1911-ca. 1959 

27 folders, 34 rolls of architectural drawings (microfilm) 

Architectural records of a woman architect from Kansas City, MO. 

Architectural drawings, specifications, contracts, photographs, correspondence, 

and related memorabilia of Underhill, a woman architect in Kansas City, MO who 

specialized in school buildings in Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. However, other types 

of buildings are also included. 

BIOGRAPHY: 

Relatively little information is available about the life and work of the Kansas 

City architect, Lyle Welles Underhill. She was born Anna Lyle Welles, 

presumably in Kansas City, Missouri, about 1890. She graduated from Westport 

High School in 1909, and attended the Alabama Polytechnic Institute and 

University of Illinois - Chicago studying architectural design. It is likely that 

while in Chicago, Lyle met and married Harold W. Underhill, also a student of 

architecture at the University. 

Sometime prior to World War I, the couple returned to Kansas City and were 

associated with the firms, White, Underhill and Dean, and also Underhill and 

Dean (April 1915?). However, by late 1915, they had established the office of 

H.W. Underhill and Company. By late 1917, Harold Underhill reportedly "retired 

from business during the duration of the War." Lyle Underhill continued to 

operate the company alone. There is no additional information concerning what 

became of Harold Underhill after this date. 

Lyle Underhill is known to have also been an architect associated with the 

Kansas City Southern Railroad Company and with A.O. Beattie, an architect in 

Hutchinson, Kansas; and as a designer with the Kansas City Show Case Works 

Company. 

SHSMO-KC July 12, 2013 FINAL

K0136 Lyle Welles Underhill (1890-1983) Architectural Records Page 2 

Mrs. Underhill died at her home in Kansas City, Missouri, on December 24, 

1983, at the age of 93 years. 

PROVENANCE: 

The papers were received as accessions KA0232 (February 27, 1984) and 

KA0244 (May 11, 1984) as gifts from Mr. Louis Cicotello. 

COPYRIGHT AND RESTRICTIONS: 

The Donor has given and assigned to the University of Missouri all rights of 

copyright which the Donor has in the Materials and in such of the Donor’s works 

as may be found among any collections of Materials received by the University 

from others. 

PREFERRED CITATION: 

CONTACT: 

Specific item; folder number; Lyle Welles Underhill (1890-1983) 

Architectural Records (K0136); The State Historical Society of Missouri Research 

Center-Kansas City [after first mention may be abbreviated to SHSMO-KC]. 

The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City 

302 Newcomb Hall, University of Missouri-Kansas City 

5123 Holmes Street, Kansas City, MO 64110-2499 

(816) 235-1543 SHSofMO-KC@umsystem.edu 

http://shs.umsystem.edu/index.shtml 

DESCRIPTION: 

The papers contain architectural drawings, specifications, contracts, 

photographs, some correspondence, and related memorabilia concerning the 

career and work of Lyle Welles Underhill, a woman architect in Kansas City, 

Missouri. The largest group of architectural drawings pertain to school buildings 

in Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri, designed by Mrs. Underhill and her husband, 

H.W. Underhill, however, other types of buildings are also included. 

The papers are divided into two sections: textual materials such as 

correspondence and specifications; and, architectural drawings. Special reference 

notes direct the user from items in one section to related items in the other section. 



INVENTORY: 

TEXTUAL MATERIALS 

Folder 1 

Folder 2 

Folder 3 

Folder 4 

Folder 5 

Folder 6 

Folder 7 

Folder 8 

Folder 9 

Folder 10 

Folder 11 

Folder 12 

Folder 13 

Folder 14 

Lyle W. Underhill Memorabilia 

Miscellaneous items pertaining to Lyle Underhill. 

Lyle W. Underhill class notes 

Class assignments from the University of Illinois - Chicago 

requiring sketches and drawings. These drawings are included as 

Architectural Drawing Series 1 following this folder. The 

drawings may not be in the order of the assignments. 

Harold W. Underhill Memorabilia 

This folder contains materials related to H.W. Underhill including 

items related to his training as an architect. Following this folder is 

Architectural Drawing Series 2 which contains work done by 

Harold Underhill as part of class assignments at the University of 

Illinois - Chicago. 

Photographs 

Photographs and renderings -- unidentified buildings 

Sample specifications and contracts 

Job files -- Bonaparte, Iowa - High school and grade school 

building 

Job files may include specifications, contracts, correspondence, 

clippings, and photographs related to the design and construction 

of a specific building. 

See Architectural Drawing Series 11. 

Job files -- Cedar, Iowa - School building 


Job files -- Douds-Leando, Iowa - School building 


Job files -- Henry County, Iowa - Pleasantlawn School 


Job files -- Little Sioux, Iowa - School building 


Job files -- Mt. Pleasant, Iowa - School building 

Job files -- Selma, Iowa - School building 


Job files -- Van Wert, Iowa - School building 




Folder 15 

Job files -- Larned, Kansas - Combined Grade and Junior High 

School building, addition 


Folder 16 Job files -- Leona, Kansas - Model school for District #45 


Folder 17 

Folder 18 

Folder 19 

Folder 20 

Folder 21 

Folder 22 

Folder 23 

Folder 24 

Folder 25 

Folder 26 

Folder 27 

Job files -- Liberal, Kansas 

Job files -- Osage City, Kansas 

Job files -- Amity, Missouri - School building 


Job files -- Kansas City, Missouri - Residence for John and Estella 

Jordon, 61st and South Benton 


Job files -- Kansas City, Missouri - Apartment at 204-6 West 34th 

Street 

Job files -- Lamar, Missouri - Lamar High School addition 

Job files -- Liberal, Missouri - School building 


Job files -- Monroe City, Missouri - Carnegie Library 


Job files -- Raymore, Missouri - Addition to school building 


Job files -- Weatherby, Missouri - School building 


Job files -- Westboro, Missouri - School building 


ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING SERIES 

Series 1 and Series 2 were placed in the earlier section and therefore are not in 

the following listing. 

Series 3 

Series 4 

Series 5 

Series 6 

Unidentified building, no location 

[Lyle W. Underhill/H.W. Underhill], 1 sheet 

Unidentified building, no location 

Lyle W. Underhill, 2 sheets 

[Dormitory], no location 

H.W. Underhill & Co., 2 sheets 

Two Residences, no location 

[Lyle W. Underhill], 8 sheets 



Series 7 

Series 8 

Kansas City Southern Railroad Company proposed Section House, 

no location 

Lyle W. Underhill, 1 sheet 

Drawings and details 

Miscellaneous drawings relating to several buildings, various 

locations 

11 sheets 

Series 9 Ft. Smith, Arkansas -- Kansas City Southern Railroad Company - 

Union Passenger Station 

D.H. Burnham & Co., July 1911, 4 sheets 

Series 10 

Series 11 

Mena, Arkansas -- Passenger Station 

Lyle W. Underhill, September 1917 

Bonaparte, Iowa -- High school and grade school building (See 

Folder 7. 

Underhill & Dean, April 1915, 11 sheets, specifications 

Series 12 Cedar, Iowa -- School building (See Folder 8. 

H.W. Underhill & Co., July 1916, 28 sheets, specifications 

Series 13 Douds-Leando, Iowa -- School building (See Folder 9.) 

H.W. Underhill & Co., September 1916, 27 sheets, specifications 

Series 14 Henry County, Iowa -- Pleasantlawn School (See Folder 10.) 

H.W. Underhill & Co., September 1916, 6 sheets 

Series 15 Little Sioux, Iowa -- School building (See Folder 11.) 

H.W. Underhill & Co., 18 sheets, specifications 

Series 16 Selma, Iowa -- School building (See Folder 13.) 

H.W. Underhill & Co., W.W. Huff, engineer, June 1916, 22 sheets, 

specifications 

Series 17 Shreveport, Iowa -- Kansas City Southern Railroad Company – 

Proposed car repair shed 

[Lyle W. Underhill], March 1918, 1 sheet 

Series 18 Van Wert, Iowa -- School building (See Folder 14.) 

H.W. Underhill & Co., August 1917, 41 sheets, specifications 

Series 19 Kansas City, Kansas -- Doloros Watson Nursing Home, 1038 

Kansas Ave. 

Lyle W. Underhill, March 1959, 3 sheets 

Series 20 

Larned, Kansas -- Combined Grade and Junior High School 

building, addition (See Folder 15.) 

Ralph O. Beattie & Co., (Hutchinson, KS), January 1922, 15 

sheets, specifications 



Series 21 Leona, Kansas -- Model school for District #45 (See Folder 16.) 

H.W. Underhill & Co., June 1915, 9 sheets, specifications 

Series 22 

Parkville, Kansas – High School building 

White, Underhill &Dean, pencil sketch, 2 sheets 

Series 23 Amity, Missouri -- School building (See Folder 19.) 

Series 24 

Series 25 

Kansas City, Missouri -- Drug store - Armour and Troost 

[Lyle W. Underhill?], sketch, 2 sheets 

Kansas City, Missouri -- House for Dr. Carl Jackson - 74th and 

Askew 


Series 26 Kansas City, Missouri -- Residence for John and Estella Jordon - 

61st and South Benton (See Folder 20.) 

A.L. Huber, November 1939, 4 sheets 

Series 27 Kansas City, Missouri -- Swope Park Community Church - 4401 

East 59th Street 


Series 28 

Kansas City, Missouri -- Kansas City Southern Railroad Company 

proposed office building - 2nd and Main 

Lyle W. Underhill, 1917, 26 sheets 

Series 29 Liberal, Missouri -- School building (See Folder 23.) 

H.W. Underhill & Co., 14 sheets 

Series 30 

Lisle, Missouri -- Kansas City Southern Railroad Company 

remodeling for a tank 

Lyle W. Underhill, February 1918, 1 sheet 

Series 31 Monroe City, Missouri -- Carnegie Library (See Folder 24.) 

H.W. Underhill & Co. / Lyle W. Underhill, June-October 1917, 15 

sheets, specifications 

Series 32 Raymore, Missouri -- School building (See Folder 25.) 

H.W. Underhill & Co., J. Goldberg & son, April 1917, 7 sheets, 

specifications 

Series 33 Weatherby, Missouri -- School building (See Folder 26.) 

H.W Underhill & Co., May 1917, 7 sheets, specifications 

Series 34 Westboro, Missouri -- School building (See Folder 27.) 

H.W. Underhill & Co., 16 sheets, specifications

K0136 - The State Historical Society of Missouri

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