The Emily Rockwell Love House is a historic home located at 5029 Sunset Drive in the Country Club District of Kansas City, Missouri. Visit here to see some remarkable photos of the interior.
The Love House is recognized as one of the Residential Structures by Mary Rockwell Hook which became a part of the National Register of Historic Places on September 8, 1983. Mary Rockwell Hook was a prominent architect in Kansas City and Emily Rockwell Love was also her sister.
The Love House was made of coursed rubble fieldstone. It's a three-level home that was constructed into a hillside. The first level is underground on two sides. There's also an attached garage.
A French-styled door is on the third level that opens into a small ironwork balcony. The initial plan of the home has been remodeled and enlarged by subsequent owners. It is a private residence and isn't open for touring.
The front door is at the second level through an extended and enclosed porch but was originally at the lowest level, leading into a rustic room with exposed beams on the ceiling and exposed brick and fieldstone walls. In that room was a fireplace containing copper hood accents which reminded Mary of what she had seen in Spain.
The first floor contains a bedroom and bathroom. On the second floor, there's a central hall that divides a large living room from the dining room and kitchen. Interestingly, the roof of the garage was a railed deck that became an extension of the dining room. On the third floor is a large master bedroom suite containing two bathrooms and a small sitting room.
The planning of this home by Mary for her sister began in 1915. It was about the time Emily married John Byers Love. Originally, the house was going to be a frame structure, but when the excavation for the home started, they came across a lot of stone. They decided to build the house from the stone that was quarried on its site.
The house is a reflection of Mary's style incorporating European elements. In 1922, the house was sold for $40,000 to Gerald Parker who was the vice president of Commerce Trust Company. At that time, the dining room and terrace were enlarged and a two-car garage was added.
According to the Redfin real estate website, the house was on and off the market in 2020.
The Rockwell sisters were the daughters of Bertrand Rockwell, who was a key figure in Kansas from the end of the Civil War until he retired from business.
Emily died on January 12, 1974, at age 84. Her first husband, John Beyers Love, died on September 4, 1917, at the young age of 35. This would have been shortly after their house was built. Emily's second husband was Isaac Thomas Cameron who passed away on June 4, 1955, at age 70.
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