Endangered – Kansas Preservation Alliance & Abandoned Atlas Foundation

Endangered:
Boulevard Plaza

Year(s) Listed: • 2025 | City/Town: • Wichita

Boulevard Plaza opened in 1951 as a vibrant shopping destination in Wichita, Kansas. Developed by J.W. and R.W. Womer and designed by architect S.S. Platt, the center hosted a grand opening that drew thousands. Its diverse lineup of businesses included grocers, pharmacies, beauty salons, camera shops, and even a Medical Arts Center. It quickly became …

Endangered:
J. B. Cook Mansion

Year(s) Listed: • 2025 | City/Town: • Chetopa

Jeremiah Brown Cook (1834–1921), a Civil War cavalry commander, became a successful real estate businessman in Chetopa, Kansas. In 1886, he began building a grand brick home, which cost around $10,000 (equivalent to $335,000 today). Though its architectural style is debated (Italianate or Second Empire), it became a local landmark. Cook retired in his 50s, …

Endangered:
Home State Bank – Longton

Year(s) Listed: • 2025 | City/Town: • Longton

October of 1917, the plans for this building were finally coming to fruition when the Home National Bank purchased the lot on Gates Corner at 5th and Main Street. A contract was let to Harry Duckworth for the erection of a one-story 22 x 54-foot brick bank building. Materials were shipped and work was expected …

Endangered:
Thacher Building

Year(s) Listed: • 2025 | City/Town: • Topeka

The Thacher Building is a three-story Richardson Romanesque commercial building in downtown Topeka. Built in 1888 at a cost of about $40,000, the stone structure is a two-part commercial block form. The stone balustrade capping the building contains a nameplate inscribed “THACHER.” The Thacher Building was constructed for Timothy Dwight Thacher, a local businessman, using …

Endangered:
Kirwin Building

Year(s) Listed: • 2025 | City/Town: • Brewster

The Brewster post office building and senior center share the first floor of The Kirwin building. Easily one of the oldest buildings in Brewster, it has stood firmly at the corner of Main St. and Kansas Ave. since 1919. Originally a limestone school house in Kirwin, Kansas—built in 1880—it was disassembled and the bricks moved …

Endangered:
Girl Scout Little House –

Year(s) Listed: • 2024 | City/Town: • Independence

In July 1872, the Church of the Epiphany initially planned to rent City Hall for services but canceled the contract due to financial constraints. They began building a small chapel on August 26th 1872, 20 feet by 40 feet in size. Over the following year, as funds were raised, the congregation met in various public …

Endangered:
Stafford Santa Fe Depot

Year(s) Listed: • 2024 | City/Town: • Stafford

Photo Credit to https://kimscountyline.blogspot.com/2016/11/is-sun-setting-on-stafford-depot.html Built in 1911, the Stafford Depot is a historic ATSF train depot located in Stafford, Kansas. While many passenger depots have been abandoned in these smaller towns, some have found new life as museums or even residential homes. This is the hope for the Stafford Depot, but time is running out. The Historic Preservation Alliance, Inc. …

Endangered:
Ft. Leavenworth Garrison Homes

Year(s) Listed: • 2024 | City/Town: • Leavenworth

Photo credit to The Kansas State Historical Society As many as 185 homes are on the chopping block in Fort Leavenworth. These properties include grand, gabled homes and multi-family barrack housing for soldiers, dating back as far as 1919. The reason given for their proposed demolition is due to raising costs to maintain them. Originally …

Endangered:
Elmdale City Hall

Year(s) Listed: • 2024 | City/Town: • Elmdale

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided the labor for the construction of the now-former city hall in Elmdale. As of 2023 the building appears to be abandoned. According to a historical marker, the city hall was built between 1936 and 1937 and funded jointly with the city of Elmdale providing $1,500 and the “Federal Government” …

Endangered:
Nick Chiles Buildings

Year(s) Listed: • 2024 | City/Town: • Topeka

These three Topeka buildings were owned by Nick Chiles, an African American entrepreneur, political and civil rights activist, and editor who moved to Topeka in 1886. Chiles founded, edited, and published the Topeka Plaindealer, which had the largest circulation of any Black newspaper west of the Mississippi River, from 1899 until he died at age 61 in …

Current Status: Endangered