Southern Kansas – Page 6 – Kansas Preservation Alliance & Abandoned Atlas Foundation

Endangered:
Sedan Opera House

Year(s) Listed: • 2006 | City/Town: • Sedan

The 1904 Sedan Opera House was built on the ruins of the original 1885 Opera House which was destroyed by fire. The Opera House occupied the upper floor and the lower level was used originally for mercantile. The building has had multiple uses through time including a roller skating rink and an armory. The lower …

Endangered:
Caldwell Opera House

Year(s) Listed: • 2004 | City/Town: • Caldwell

Nominated by Karen Sturm and the Caldwell Historical Society. The town of Caldwell is known as the “Border Queen” being near the Oklahoma state line, it was the first Kansas town cattle drovers came to on their way north. The Opera House is now owned by the Caldwell Historical Society and their goal is to …

Endangered:
Brick Streets of Kansas

Year(s) Listed: • 2004 | City/Town: • Central Kansas • Eastern Kansas • Northern Kansas • Southern Kansas • Western Kansas

What first tells you that you have arrived in an old town more than Brick streets. In the early 20th century, there were many brick-making plants across Kansas and residents were happy to go from dirt to paved brick streets. This nomination was submitted by Von Rothenberger of Osborne where heavy equipment used to remove the …

Awards of Excellence:
Sedgwick County

Year(s) Listed: • 2004 | City/Town: • Wichita

The effort to save the Arkansas Valley Lodge was led by Commissioner Carolyn McGinn and the Board of County Commissioners funded the rehabilitation effort to the tune of $1.9 million. The County’s Facility Project Services with Stephanie Knebel, Manager and Jim Osterland, Senior Project Manager, coordinated the project. The County is deserving of recognition for …

Awards of Excellence:
Arkansas Valley Lodge

Year(s) Listed: • 2004 | City/Town: • Wichita

Constructed in 1910, Arkansas Valley Lodge was home of the Prince Hall Masons, the only Masonic group that Blacks could join at the time. Purchased by the Urban Renewal Authority in 1974, the building was used for storage and by 2000 had become dilapidated making rehabilitation urgent. In 2000, the Sedgwick County Commissioners endorsed a …

Awards of Excellence:
Santa Fe Depot – Dodge City

Year(s) Listed: • 2003 | City/Town: • Dodge City

City of Dodge City Boot Hill Repertory Company. Stehlik-Holt Fundraising, Kansas Department of Transportation, Gossen Livingston Architects of Wichita, D&D Builders of Garden City, General Contractors Historic Dodge City Santa Fe Depot completed in 1898 housed a Fred Harvey Hotel and the “El Vaquero” dining room. The largest Rail Depot building in Kansas renovated to …

Awards of Excellence:
Rock Island Depot Complex

Year(s) Listed: • 2002 | City/Town: • Liberal

The Liberal Rock Island Railroad Depot, Cimarron Hotel and Grier Eating House are the single intact hotel and restaurant facilities managed by the J.J. Grier Hotel Company still remaining in Kansas. A local organization Depot Heritage led efforts for the rehabilitation of the complex. The project was made possible by grants from the Kansas Department of Transportation …

Awards of Excellence:
Kansas Firefighters Museum

Year(s) Listed: • 2002 | City/Town: • Wichita

Photo by Visit Wichita Constructed in 1909, Engine House No. 6 was the last horse-drawn fire station in Wichita. Not used as an active station since 1953, the building had been used primarily for storage. The Kansas Firefighters Museum was formed in 1993 and has rehabilitated the building, primarily through volunteer efforts. The museum is now open, exhibiting …

Endangered:
Ark Valley Lodge

Year(s) Listed: • 2000 | City/Town: • Wichita

Photo by Judy Handley Listed on the National, State and Local Registers of Historic Places this is an important African-American site in Kansas history. It is the only remaining building in Wichita’s early African-American business district and was reportedly designed by local African-American architect Josiah Walker. Sadly, the building is currently vacant and in disrepair. …

Awards of Excellence:
Frisco Water Tower

Year(s) Listed: • 1999 | City/Town: • Beaumont

The 1885 Frisco Wooden Water Tower was built to service the steam locomotives, supply water for feeding stationary boilers, washing cars, and floors, cleaning out boilers, cooling ashes, fire protection, and similar purposes, at shops, engine houses, and station buildings. Friends of the Beaumont Water Tower was founded in 1989 and raised funds to preserve …

City: Southern Kansas