Shangri-La Motel Then and Now

1210 W Chestnut Street/Wyatt Earp Boulevard

When I was a kid, the Shangri-La Motel was kind of a rundown, junky place. It was difficult for me to imagine it being a respectable establishment with attractive landscaping and a restaurant where people held wedding rehearsal dinners. And what was the deal with that giant house on the hill behind the motel? I definitely would have remembered seeing that!

Morris Collar was one of the founders of Ford County in 1873. He was a successful merchant who was known for buying cheap and selling cheap.

The man was absolutely not trying to lose money.

Morris and Mary Collar began constructing a large home west of Dodge in late 1879. Work was finished in early 1880.

This plat map from May of 1886 shows Collar’s farm at the lower left. In those days, the north and south streets hadn’t yet been renamed to reflect the current numbered system.

The Collar farm was featured in marketing materials for land sales in Ford County.

In August of 1888, the farm was part of Mary Collar’s Enterprise Addition. You will notice Chestnut Street ended at what would become 11th Avenue.

Albert B Reeves bought the Collar property in January of 1898. As mentioned previously, Sam Stubbs traded residences with Reeves.

Albert and May Reeves had the old Collar farm subdivided in September of 1916. The house was basically right in the middle of Lots 11 and 12.

This part of Dodge was really borderline rural into the mid-1920s. You can see on the 1926 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map it had been annexed by the City but there was no separate page with any mapped structures.

Finally, the 1932 Sanborn shows the Reeves Addition between 11th and 12th Avenues and the Reeves House in the middle. Remember all those houses that once lined Wyatt Earp?

Ernest and Velma Nickels bought all of Block 22 (except the house) from May Reeves around September of 1945. Albert had died in 1925 and May continued to live in the home along with some boarders.

Nickels built the Shangri La Motel in 1946. The first units were used beginning April 29. By June 1, 22 units were in service with two more to go and all were completed by the end of July. They planned to add air conditioning to all units once the equipment became available. As part of the property purchase, the exterior of the Reeves House was changed to complement the modern style of the motel.

The Motel Service Station opened on the corner of 11th Avenue and West Chestnut in April of 1946.

The restaurant building was not far behind with a similar color scheme.

The Shangri La Motel Luncheonette opened in the Summer of 1947, managed by Mr. and Mrs. Sol Haar. The chef at that time was Jack Lee.

The selection was fantastic. Given the chance, I’d eat there today!

In the early days, the grounds were very neatly manicured.

The original motel sign was much simpler than the one in place when I was growing up.

I feel like I’m beating a dead horse with these postcards but the difference between this snazzy place and the one from the 1980s is just very stark. The back read, “Within west city limits on Highway 50S. 24 Air-Conditioned Units, with heated garages. Rooms fully carpeted, Living Rooms and Baths separately Panelray heated, Fluorescent Lighted, Combination Shower and Tub Baths. Simmons Beauty Rests, Modern three room Eating House, specializing in nice steaks, Fried Chicken, and Sea Food Dinners, in the foreground. Built to serve the Traveling Public (no permanents). Paid reservations accepted and held until arrival of guests, unpaid reservations used after 6 P. M. if needed. Phone 695.”

May Reeves sold the house to Mr. and Mrs. Nickels in September of 1951.

Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Dressler leased and operated the service station, which had been renamed Shangri La Conoco by 1959. The motel and restaurant were still doing quite well.

I’ve read local lore suggesting the Shangri La Motel with the Reeves House in the background was the inspiration for the setting of the Bates Motel in the movie, Psycho.

However, it is commonly believed the backdrop was inspired by Hopper’s painting House by the Railroad of a Victorian home in Haverstraw, New York.

This photo does look like the set of a horror movie, though.

In April of 1960, the entire property was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Schroeder of Wichita. Judging by the fun font below, they were hip and with it.

By 1962, the gas station had become a Rainbow Laundrette. And in 1967, disaster struck. The house had to go.

But why, you might ask. Because they were hip and with it and the house apparently was not.

I literally cannot even begin to process that answer. This photo was taken at the beginning of the process.

In this photo, you can see how close the sidewalk had gotten to the updated motel sign. Wyatt Earp Boulevard had been widened and it still had further to go. Since the signage evolved to include a dash in the name, I’ll do the same.

One very unique feature of the Shangri-La was each room had an attached garage. This was rumored to have been extremely convenient for extramarital activities. Clearly, people weren’t as stealthy as they thought or I wouldn’t be telling you about it.

At some point, the neon sign was replaced with cheap plastic and that fit nicely with the condition of the property.

The motel was still open in July of 1984 but there was a lot of crime happening on the premises. The Globe dispatch records were filled with emergency reports from crime victims at that address. The motel went on the market but there were no takers. Get a load of those interest rates!

The property was relisted with Coldwell Banker for $300,000 in July of 1985 but there still wasn’t a deal to be made.

I’m not completely clear about what specific issues the City of Dodge City had with the facility. Because of the steep grade and number of stairs, I can only assume there were serious accessibility concerns, which could have been expensive to address. It could have been a combination of several factors. The Schroeders still owned the motel and after making an agreement with the City, the Shangri-La was demolished in early 1987.

The location is currently a KFC and you can see the majority of the lot was leveled with a tall retaining wall at the north end of the parking lot.

In its day, the Shangri-La property was posh and modern, not to mention unique! Of course, it’s a shame that it wasn’t maintained and preserved but it’s difficult to criticize the decision to demolish without knowing the details. I remember it being an absolute eyesore and was glad to see it go. In those days, I had no concept of what we were actually losing.

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