| Year(s) Listed: • 2017 |
| City/Town: • Cottonwood Falls |
| Location Class: • Commercial |
| Built: 1905 | Year Saved: 2016 |
| Awards: • Merit Award |
| Contributor: Kansas Preservation Alliance |
The Commercial Building at 308 Broadway in Cottonwood Falls was begun around 1884, and around 1900 the original wood framed building was destroyed in a fire, being replaced by permanent office buildings on the previous building’s site and adjacent parcel to the north by 1905. In the 1970s the building was remodeled with the installation of a plastic veneer that drastically changed the appearance of the building’s facade and the interior was remodeled into an office with typical 1970s finishes installed over the historic walls and ceilings. In 2016 the building was purchased by Luke and Christy Davis who began a major rehabilitation of the complex. The project has added the much-needed service of a laundromat to downtown Cottonwood Falls, and represents the largest single investment in the downtown area in two decades, a successful example of entrepreneurship hand-in-hand with historic preservation.