Kennedy Brothers Garage Then and Now

100-102 W Chestnut Street/Wyatt Earp Boulevard

I wrote about the Walnut/Gunsmoke Street side of this building in my post about Sandy’s Cafe. As mentioned previously, this building was constructed in 1915 and the Kennedy Brothers Garage opened in their new building in January of 1916.

In addition to the garage, George Cochran and Emery Beck had an automobile sales agency in the new building.

Here’s what the building looked like before the stucco was applied:

I’m not sure how I’d feel about going 80 miles per hour in that Buick but Chick Logan and his brother, Cook, did all right. They won the 30-mile race in Cochran’s stripped-down Buick and took home $100. The fact that only two cars qualified for the 30-mile race is irrelevant.

Cochran and Beck amicably dissolved their partnership in 1916 and Emery Beck teamed up with George Martin. In case you’re curious, the Monroe Motor Company was very short-lived.

This photo shows the front of the building after the stucco had been added.

The postcard below shows a better view of the Kennedy Garage. For context, the City Garage building was situated about where the Wyatt Earp Statue is currently located.

In addition to Chevrolets, the Kennedy Brothers also sold Paige automobiles and Case kerosene tractors.

George Cochran bought the Kennedys’ half-ownership of the building for about $20,000 in April of 1923 and the Kennedy siblings moved on to other ventures. Archie and James Owings and partner T. B. West moved their Buick dealership to the old Kennedy Brothers Garage.

To refresh your memory, the 1926 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows the dealership and garage with the car elevator.

J. D. Owings bought the Tatum Service Station at First and Santa Fe Trail in October of 1929. Plans were in place at that time for Julian Parham’s company to completely remodel the building. The stucco exterior gave way to modern red brick. It was announced in November of 1929 that Western Union Telegraph Company would occupy the southeast corner of the building and Argus Gas Company would be located next door to the west. The building was ready for its new occupants in February of 1930.

The 1932 Sanborn shows the newly created storefronts.

By 1942, Lorraine Beauty Shop was located in the east storefront at 505 Central Avenue. The gas company had moved to the Gluck Building at First and Chestnut and Southwest Furniture Company took its place at 102 W Chestnut Street.

Weaver Music Company held their grand opening at 102 W Chestnut in March of 1952.

At that time, the east storefront on Central was home to Kerkhoff Real Estate Company.

By 1953, Key Print Shop had moved into 102 W Chestnut and they were joined in that space by Underwood Typewriters around 1955. Around 1957, the business machine company was called Dehart Sales Agency. Yellow Cab moved into the Central storefront around 1959. Chestnut Street became Wyatt Earp Boulevard in the late 1950s.

All that time, Western Union operated in the corner space.

Yellow Cab and Uptown Taxi shared space at 505 Central Avenue in the 1960s.

By 1970, Uptown Taxi had given way to City Cab. They and Yellow Cab shared space with Dodge City Answering Service. That spring, Western Union announced they would be closing the Dodge City office.

Rather than closing altogether, Western Union scaled back and service was provided in the taxi/answering company space on Central.

The US Navy Recruiting Office moved into the old Western Union space in January of 1972.

By 1980, the corner spot was occupied by Electronic Service Company.

A decade later, Buffalo Emporium was at the corner of Central and Wyatt Earp.

American Family Insurance Mike Lewis Agency was at 501 Central Avenue and Charlie’s Quilt Shop was in the storefront next door to the north. The Hobby and Craft Center next door occupied the space at 102 W Wyatt Earp.

By 1995, Glass Etchings of Dodge City occupied the old Western Union office.

In the mid-2000s, the corner spot was home to Noah’s Pet Shop. Around that time, the Ban Lao restaurant moved into the west room at 102 W Wyatt Earp. By 2012, Noah’s had been replaced by a shoe store, which was then replaced by Mony’s Nail Spa. The business is not currently located in this building but their Facebook page is still up and has some interior photos. That space was empty by 2019.

El Rodeo Bar & Grill has been in the west room for several years and they do have very good food, in case you’re wondering. Building Solutions has opened an office on the corner during the Streetscape Project.

Speaking of which, you may notice a continuity issue with regard to the wooden awnings. These photos were obviously not taken at the same time. But close enough!

The Google Street View for this building is better than most. You can actually see right inside the windows.

This building has a very interesting history. I would love to see the second floor get some attention to possibly help alleviate our ongoing housing shortage. If we have more people living downtown, there will be more pressure to keep the area cleaned up and then it becomes more attractive to business owners and tourists. The cycle feeds itself. We already know the reverse is true.

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