Alston Home Gallery: January 2010

Bud and Rebecca Alston added a contemporary style to their 100-year-old home, all while keeping its century-old character.

It was a little more than two years ago when Bud and Rebecca Alston bought a piece of Springfield history. The couple purchased the Busiek house, a 100-year-old home on East Walnut Street that’s a part of the National Historic Registry. The home’s namesake owner was Dr. Busiek. “We were told he was the first pediatrician to practice in southwest Missouri,” Rebecca says. Dr. Busiek was also the originator of the Springfield Tennis Club, which began on the courts in back of the home.

“We still have people stop by and say he was their doctor or that he delivered them, or that they used to play on the court,” says Rebecca, who is a mortgage broker and practices design work. “The tennis court is still there, but our dogs use it more than we do,” says Bud, a sales and marketing consultant.

But despite the home’s century of existence, it looks brand new. The two used their creative spirits and completely restored the place, both inside and out. “We took great care blending our modern sense of design with the original style of the house,” says Rebecca. The home’s exterior looks very similar to its original style. They added a garage and a Japanese garden, and they completely restored all of the porches, with the front porch being their favorite part of the home.

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