Southern Kansas – Page 4 – Kansas Preservation Alliance & Abandoned Atlas Foundation

Endangered:
Rural Downtowns Statewide

Year(s) Listed: • 2012 | City/Town: • Central Kansas • Eastern Kansas • Northern Kansas • Southern Kansas • Western Kansas

Due to depopulation, the bustling late 19th and early 20th century downtowns across Kansas are becoming increasingly vacant. The 2010 census revealed 75 of Kansas’ 105 counties experienced population loss, with 23 of them losing 10 percent or more of their residents. With farm consolidation and migration to urban areas, the economic base required to …

Endangered:
Ark City Office Building

Year(s) Listed: • 2012 | City/Town: • Arkansas City

This 1929 Art Deco style office building is the tallest building in downtown Arkansas City. The structure served as the commercial anchor downtown for much of the 20th century. It was a hub of activity with street-level cafes and shops and upper-level professional offices. It is listed in the National Register as a contributing resource …

Endangered:
Whitewater Falls Stock Farm Barn

Year(s) Listed: • 2010 • 2012 | City/Town: • Towanda

This unusually large and ornate barn is threatened by deterioration, especially a leaky roof. The Whitewater Falls Stock Farm was established by Scottish immigrant, J. W. Robison and his son, James C. Robison. The barn was constructed to house a prize-winning Percheron draft horse breeding operation and, later, was used for a Hereford cattle breeding …

Awards of Excellence:
Kansas Aviation Museum

Year(s) Listed: • 2011 | City/Town: • Wichita

The original Wichita Air Terminal and subsequently the main administration building for McConnell Air Force Base and then administration and training facilities for the Kansas Air National Guard had fallen into disrepair with imminent demolition. Closed in 1982 and severely deteriorated, this historic Kansas aviation landmark was threatened with destruction when a small group of …

Awards of Excellence:
Sedan Opera House

Year(s) Listed: • 2011 | City/Town: • Sedan

Constructed around 1904, this historic commercial building housed a hardware store with an opera house on the second floor. The street level was the site of a car dealership, a tank company in World War II and the first hardware store in the area, known as Ackarman Hardware, until approximately 1980 when it was sold …

Awards of Excellence:
St. Joseph Church

Year(s) Listed: • 2011 | City/Town: • Mount Hope

The existing St. Joseph Church is the third structure to be built at this location as expansion of the local congregation required it in 1913. Built of red brick and trimmed with Carthage stone, the structure is 46 feet wide and 130 feet long with Roman Renaissance and Gothic architecture combined. The Andale “Globe” featured …

Endangered:
W. H. Sternberg Mansion

Year(s) Listed: • 2010 | City/Town: • Wichita

The Sternberg mansion was nominated for the Endangered Historic Places list by the present owner, Ken Elliott, because the property is threatened by deterioration. Elliott has tried to rehabilitate the ornate building on his own, but has been unable to qualify for municipal and state assistance. Constructed for his personal residence in 1886 by William …

Awards of Excellence:
Carnegie Library – Wichita

Year(s) Listed: • 2010 | City/Town: • Wichita

The Wichita Carnegie Library is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and stands as a connection to Wichita’s cultural history. Opened May 14, 1915, the building served as Wichita’s main library until 1967. Today, the fully-restored Wichita Carnegie Library is part of Fidelity Bank’s headquarters and houses the bank’s commercial lending division. Fidelity …

Awards of Excellence:
Minisa Bridge

Year(s) Listed: • 2009 | City/Town: • Wichita

The Minisa Bridge Project in Wichita received an Honorable Mention Award for Preservation. To preserve the colored Carthalite ornamented parapets required construction of a new bridge within the shell of the original structure.

Awards of Excellence:
Eagles Lodge #132

Year(s) Listed: • 2009 | City/Town: • Wichita

Photo by Jeffrey Beall The Eagles Lodge #132 Project in Wichita received an Honorable Mention Award for Rehabilitation. Constructed in 1916 and enlarged in 1921, the building was vacant and threatened with demolition before it was rehabilitated.

City: Southern Kansas