Historic Neighborhoods of Topeka

Auburndale

• Auburndale's boundaries are Elmwood Street on the East, MacVicar on the West, I-70 on the North and 6th Street on the South.
• The Topeka Daily Capital announced the beginning of Auburndale on May 22,1888. Ground was platted and broken shortly thereafter.
• Auburndale originally was from the West side of Elmwood to the East side of Franklin then in 1889 Cross' Addition which ran from the West side of Franklin to the State Hospital Grounds was added .
• The Topeka Land and Development Company headed by George F. Pamelee (President of National Loan and Trust Company) and backed by a group of investors called the "Boston Syndicate" purchased more than 1,000 acres of land in 1887, the first of which to developed was Auburndale.
• Ernest William Bowditch, a city planner from Boston designed the street and plat layout of Auburndale. Among Bowditch's other clients at the time were the Cornelius Vanderbilt and the Robert Goelets.
• Rectangular lots sold for $225 to $375 each, and irregular shaped lots sold for $15/ft.
• A horse car line extended to Auburndale but in order to get gas, water, sewers and fire protection Auburndale joined Potwin Place in order to avoid annexation into the city of Topeka in 1890. (The city of Potwin was annexed into the city in June of 1888.)
• Auburndale had a population of 475 in 1890.
• A group of ladies from Auburndale began the Westside Forrestry Club which among its projects raised the money to buy what is now Willow Park and donate it to the city. Prior to this Willow Park had been somewhat of a swamp, dumping grounds and a pig farm. The West Side Forrestry Club was in existence until 1944.
• The bungalows on the West side of Edgewood Park are known as the "Japanese bungalows". These bungalows were predominantly built by L.F. Garlinghouse. A number of these bungalows have architectural details in them that came from the Belvior mansion that stood at the corner of Woodlawn and Grove, this mansion was torn torn down in the early part of the century, and it is said that the wood salvaged from the mansion was used to build seven houses.