It’s really hard to post a side-by-side of an old postcard and a recent photo and just move on to the next one. I end up going down a rabbit hole on each one and want to know everything about everything and then my dog wants to know why he hasn’t eaten yet.
It’s also depressing to look at all the interesting architecture that has been lost so I’m making a point of including buildings we’ve treated well and can still enjoy.
Carnegie Library Building
701 N Second Avenue
No disrespect to the Lora Locke, which I also love, but this is the prettiest building in Dodge. My grandmother, Irene Beeson, took me there several times when I was anywhere from four to nine years old and I remember thinking it was so small. Like, it’s a super cool building but it definitely isn’t large. I remember walking through when it was being renovated prior to opening as the Carnegie Center for the Arts and it just really looked like a lot of work.
That was nothing compared to the work that went into making a public library in Dodge City a thing.
The ladies of Dodge City started working on this *at least* as early as 1905. I would bet the idea was bounced around for quite a while before it became an organized effort.
It wasn’t as simple as getting Andrew Carnegie to foot the bill for the building. Municipalities were also required to have a maintenance fund amounting to at least ten percent of the construction cost. That meant winning taxpayer support for a permanent levy. Nothing in the history of the world has changed. People were outraged that the library would be free to use for those who didn’t own property. The letters to the editor were just as intense as the crap you see today and the issue went before voters in 1905.
Voters approved the levy and Carnegie agreed to provide $7,500 for construction of the new library, meaning Dodge City had to raise at least $750 for the maintenance fund. Between all the private fundraisers and tax receipts, they were able to raise $850 and Carnegie approved a total gift of $8,500.
The Library Board selected the site of the old “Public School” at the northwest corner of Second Avenue and Spruce Street. Here’s the 1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map showing the school.
Architect CW Squires delivered plans and the Library Board requested bids in August of 1905. My great-great grandfather, Chalk Beeson, was a Kansas Representative at the time and he was never shy about talking up the big things happening in Dodge.
Unfortunately, supply chains happen and construction was delayed several times due to long lead times for materials. The building was scheduled for completion in August of 1906 and then this happened.
Even with all of the headaches, construction of the building was completed in September of 1906.
That may have been a tiny bit premature. The building was finally turned over to the Library Board in October before electric fixtures were even installed. There was also some interior finishing that needed to be done and the whole thing had to be furnished. They hadn’t even selected a librarian at that time. By the end of November, they were still waiting for the bookshelves to be delivered.
The public was “expected” to attend the grand opening in February of 1907 and they were still waiting for the actual books to be delivered. People had donated hundreds of books but that wasn’t going to cut it.
The first librarian was Iva Nelson and her salary of $30 per month included janitorial services. Library hours were 9:00 am to 9:00 pm.
Here is the 1911 Sanborn map showing the library building. Information about Carnegie Center for the Arts can be found here.
Dodge City Milling and Elevator Company
300 Second Avenue
You’ll note in the photo I took a couple weeks ago, the most recent retaining wall and ramp are still there. Yes, I’m old enough to remember when things were happening there and being a passenger in a truck driving up that ramp seemed like the scariest thing in the world. I’m not sure if I was even in kindergarten yet and it just seemed really narrow and steep. Looking at it now makes me laugh.
Construction began in 1907 on a facility that expanded and contracted operations many times over the decades.
Here’s the 1911 Sanborn map showing the mill with its rail siding, forge, oil tank, engine, scales, dust collector, etc.
The 1918 Sanborn map is very colorful! Dodge City Flour Mills had expanded quite a bit and was pretty damn high tech.
It’s strange to me that they had a phone number listed in their 1908 advertisement but not in the county or city directories. Even into the 1960s, I never saw a phone number for them listed in a directory.
By 1926, the layout hadn’t changed much but the Sanborn map shows more detail.
It should be no surprise that fire was an ongoing concern due to the dust generated by handling grain and milling flour.
The Hutchinson News-Herald, April 4, 1949
So that last one pretty much said it. They had no plans to rebuild the mill. One thing I found interesting was a report that firefighters were delayed by a freight train. So I guess that means the fire station south of the bridge either wasn’t open yet or wasn’t enough due to the size of the blaze.
I don’t remember why we went there when I was a kid. The door at the top of the ramp was open and people were there doing things. I guess the undamaged buildings were used for warehousing? Not sure if the elevators were used after the fire. It was always just a big behemoth sitting there along the tracks…until it wasn’t.
First Presbyterian Church
803 Central Avenue
My great-great grandmother, Ida Beeson, taught Sunday School here and was instrumental in the building’s construction in 1924. I believe Chalk even taught a class or two at the previous site, which must have been interesting. After Chalk died, Ida bought a house at 705 Central Avenue, which is now part of the Landmark National Bank parking lot. Super convenient for Sundays!
Post Office
700 Central Avenue
This is another example of a slow process. It’s obvious by looking at the design that this building is relatively new. Construction was completed in 1931 and I still roll my eyes every time I see the name of a Treasury Secretary etched onto a cornerstone. Like, come ON.
But the process began all the way back in 1926, which was a completely different world. At least financially.
The Southwest News, December 30, 1926
In addition to run-on sentences of epic proportions, that last paragraph is a sight to behold. Anyhoo, this gem from 1930 is extremely confusing.
Rather than try to determine how the sausage was made, here are a couple postcards showing the old Weather Bureau building, which was demolished to build the new Post Office.
If you look at the 1926 Sanborn map for the site, you’ll have a better understanding of what all was in play. The jail was next to the Weather Bureau and the new building wouldn’t fit without tearing down the jail as well.
Also, here’s the 1926 Sanborn map showing the Post Office building at 612 Second Avenue which was in use while this debate was taking place.
Prior to that location, the 1911 Sanborn map shows a “PO” at Second Avenue and Walnut (Gunsmoke) Street. I believe that would be the building below.
They finally got the show on the road in March of 1931.
I would say this stylish beauty was worth the wait.
Speaking of wait…a minute…please don’t tell me this “modernization” project had anything to do with the soul-crushing paneling that was hung in the box alcove and behind the counter. Gross.
Next time, I’ll take a look at a couple Dodge City schools. Until then, you can check out Parts I through III below:
Part I – First National Bank Building
Part II – First Baptist Church, Walnut Street, Masonic Temple, First Avenue, and O’Neal Hotel
Part III – Merritt Beeson House
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Here...this is you. 