City: Topeka

Kansas State Office Building, renamed Docking State Office Building in 1987, is one of the first examples of Modern Movement architecture effectively applied to a public building in Kansas. It was also one of the earliest buildings in the region to utilize an aluminum and glass curtain wall. The building clearly expresses the ideals and …

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A landmark in the western Topeka skyline, the building was constructed in 1930 to house the Securities Benefit Association Hospital.  The design of the building was inspired by Independence Hall in Philadelphia and represents collaboration between a Chicago firm, Schmidt, Garden and Martin and Topeka architect Walter E. Glover.  In 1961, the Menninger Foundation purchased …

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Awards of Excellence:
St. Joseph Catholic Church

The Church parish involved with the present preservation effort are descendants from the original founding German parish who had the Church constructed in 1900. Many of the same German names are still found in the Church registry. The Catholic Church is still planning to use the Church as it was designed in 1900. Changes to …

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Awards of Excellence:
Parkhurst Davis Mercantile

The Parkhurst Davis Mercantile Building anchors the south end of the small Mill Block Historic District in Topeka, KS. The building stands on the site of Topeka’s first cabin constructed in December 1854, as indicated on a cornerstone dedicated by the Topeka chapter of the D.A.R. and inscribed “This building marks the site of the …

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Awards of Excellence:
Assumption School

The Assumption School was built in 1954, opening the first Catholic elementary school in Topeka for the Church of the Assumption parish. Built during the height of the baby boom, the school accommodated a growing demand for Catholic education and provided additional housing space for the growing convent, making it the only combined school and …

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Awards of Excellence:
St. Joseph German Catholic Church

St. Joseph German Catholic Church was constructed in 1900, by a German-speaking parish founded in 1887 and populated with Volga German immigrants who first arrived in Topeka in the 1870s. Despite being well maintained throughout its 117 year existence, time was taking its toll on the historic brick masonry building. The current parish members decided …

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Awards of Excellence:
Santa Fe Hospital

Madison Street Apartments was originally known as the Santa Fe Hospital, with the oldest portion of the existing building constructed in 1930 adjacent to the original 1896 structure, later razed for further additions.  The hospital in the Santa Fe’s hometown of Topeka became the largest of 9 throughout the railroad’s transcontinental system. After many subsequent …

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Awards of Excellence:
718 South Kansas Avenue

The three-story commercial building at 718 S. Kansas Avenue was constructed in 1910 by local real estate man J.E. Frost. The building held professional offices and a small theater (the Cozy Theatre) into the 1950s. Two days into the new year of 2015, fire engulfed the building that shared a stone party wall to the …

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Awards of Excellence:
Dillon House

“None come too early, none stay too late,” Hiram Price Dillon inscribed on the entry hall fireplace mantel of his 1913 home at 9th and Harrison Streets in Topeka. He had swapped his existing home and an undisclosed amount of cash for the location. After the swap, Dillon worked to design and build a new home on the …

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Awards of Excellence:
Kansas Statehouse

Standing 304 feet tall, the Kansas Statehouse is a prominent feature of the Topeka skyline. The pride Kansans took in the building of the capital is evident in the decoration and scale. The Kansas Statehouse exterior masonry restoration project began in 2007. The four-year construction project began in early 2008 and was completed December 2011. …

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