City of Topeka, KS, Building Permits Index, 1880-1925

What are building permits?

Building permits are written authorizations from the city, county or other governing regulatory body giving permission to construct or renovate a building. A building permit is specific to the building project described in the application.

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Please note the following search results conditions:

The database currently contains permits issued through 31 December 1925.
North/South, East/West may or may not have been recorded with the street name. Verification of proper address may require searching the County Register of Deeds records or consulting city directories.
Lot number(s) usually correspond to the actual address. For example, lots 109 and 111 S.W.Taylor St. comprise 111 S.W. Taylor St. However, this is not always the case, and some Topeka streets have been renumbered since these permits were issued.
Some fields may be blank, or contain "error", "cancelled" or "no permit issued" which are original clerical notes.

The Kansas State Historical Society archives contains the city of Topeka's:

Street Indexes to Building Permits 1880-1926. Located in Archives Stacks (31-05-04-07) and microfilm reel MS 954.

Records of Building Permits 1880-1968. Located in Archives Stacks (25-10-10-02 to 25-11-02-01) and microfilm reel MS 954-956 (1880-1925 only).

Building Permit Applications 1885-1955. Originals, 17 folders, located in Archives Stacks (67-08-03-05 to 67-08-03-06).

The permits index and corresponding permits microfilm can be viewed in the reference room, copied by reference staff, or borrowed through interlibrary loan.

If you find what you're looking for in the database and want more detailed information from the source, contact our reference staff for a copy of the complete text of the index entry or corresponding building permit ledgers entry. Reference staff can also search the varied applications correspondence, different from the actual permits issued. Make certain to include the permit number, location/address, applicant, and date as applicable.

Completion of this database was made possible by volunteer Rowena Horr.