Feature 197: 622 West Lexington Avenue (in 2011)

Classification: Contributing.
Historic Name: Peiser/Alexander House.
Architectural Style: Prairie School.
Construction Date: ca. 1900.
Period 2 of Harry S Truman's Life: Establishing Community Roots, 1890-1919.
Tax Identification: 26-340-12-12.
Legal Description: Moore Addition, part of lot 15.
Description: Contributing two-story brick dwelling; rectangular in shape; hip roof with composition shingles; brick exterior; one-over-one double-hung sash vinyl windows; porch across facade with hipped roof supported by square brick columns; brick foundation. Lot with lawn slightly elevated.
• Alterations: Vinyl windows replaced original.
• The property also includes a contributing one-story brick garage in rear with hipped roof [Feature 198].
History/Significance: This house may have been built in the early 1900s for brothers Maurice M. and Rudolph Peiser. Maurice Peiser apparently moved to a new house built next door at 616 West Lexington [Feature 196] around 1910. Maurice Peiser arrived in Independence in 1865 and bought half of the Uhlinger Bakery. In 1879, he added a saloon to his establishment and became the sole owner of the business. Over time, he deepened and enlarged the wine vaults in the cellar of his business.
Maurice's brother, Rudolph, joined him in the saloon business, located at 111 West Lexington Avenue [Feature 173], in the early 1900s. The business operated for two generations. Maurice Peiser also became involved in real estate from around 1911 to 1934. Rudolph Peiser continued to occupy this brick house until the early 1910s. By 1916, James L. Gray, a grocer at 114 South Main Street [Feature 231], lived in this house. Four years later, Arthur J. Stoenner lived here. Walter G. Alexander and his family occupied the house from the early 1920s into the 1930s. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, William C. Tyler lived here.