Abandoned – Kansas Preservation Alliance

Endangered:
Marion County Poor Farm

Year(s) Listed: • 2022 | City/Town: • Marion

Picture from KSHPO The poor farm’s main building was constructed in 1889-1890 on a parcel of land once owned by W.E. Glover. Glover’s house is still standing. The poor farm’s cemetery is located a few hundred feet north of the poor farm. The buildings on the property have fallen into serious neglect since being abandoned …

Endangered:
Tiny Jails

Year(s) Listed: • 2022 | City/Town: • Central Kansas • Eastern Kansas • Northern Kansas • Southern Kansas • Western Kansas

It’s safe to say that Tiny Jails have become a niche at the Abandoned Atlas Foundation. Making it a journey to document tiny jails all over the state. Most built in the 1880-1920s era they were used as merely holding tanks in their later years. Some were able to survive into the 1960s but most …

Endangered:
Lincoln High School

Year(s) Listed: • 2022 | City/Town: • Lincoln

Since 1922, the former Lincoln High School has stood as a cornerstone of the community at the south end of 4th Street. Although it has largely sat vacant since the last class graduated from it in 1996, a group of local citizens organized the 1922 Foundation, a non-profit 501c(3), to purchase the building and work …

Endangered:
St Johns Hospital – Salina

Year(s) Listed: • 2022 | City/Town: • Salina

The idea for the St. Johns Salina Hospital was pitched by Rev. Father Maher of the Sisters of St. Joseph who then brought the idea to other non-Catholic citizens of Salina who agreed there was a need and banded together. Because of the strong belief in the cause donations came pouring in and construction ensued …

Endangered:
Docking State Office Building

Year(s) Listed: • 2014 • 2022 | City/Town: • 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 …

Endangered:
SBA/Menninger Tower Building

Year(s) Listed: • 2007 • 2008 • 2022 | City/Town: • Topeka

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 …

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:
Vermilya-Boener House

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

The Vermilya-Boener House is the only structure remaining from a historic farm in a scenic area of level fertile land in the Kansas River valley north of Lawrence. Elijah Wentworth Vermilya worked with Swedish stone masons to construct the stone farmhouse in 1867. It remained the family residence until 1948. Descendants of the Vermilya family …

Endangered:
Grace Bedell Billings Home

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

When Grace Bedell was eleven years old in New York state, she wrote to candidate Abraham Lincoln suggesting that he grow a beard so he could be elected president. Lincoln requested a stop when the presidential train headed to the inaugural so that he could thank his “Little Correspondent” as he called her. Later, Grace …

Endangered:
Lion Block

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

The Lion Block in Ness City, Kansas, serves as an excellent example of late 19th century Italianate design. Italianate styling was popular nationwide from the 1840s through the mid-1880s, spurred on by pattern books such as those published by Andrew Jackson Downing. Financed by the Shepard Brothers in 1887, the Lion Block retains its interior …

Current Status: Abandoned