Walt Hall Then and Now

Kansas Soldiers’ Home, Fort Dodge, Kansas

People who think history stopped with the Old West frustrate me to no end. Also, people who point out old buildings have asbestos. “This Old House” premiered in 1979 so we all know about asbestos!

By now, you’re probably all aware that the State of Kansas has included funds for the demolition of Walt Hall in their draft budget for Fiscal Year 2025. If you haven’t seen the document in question, it’s available online at https://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/committees/ctte_jt_bldg_constr_1/documents/testimony/20240125_02.pdf

Of note, “The Governor recommends $3.5 million, including $201,980 SGF, for capital improvements for FY 2025. This is an SIBF increase of $600,000, or 18.3 percent, above the agency’s FY 2025 request. The increase is for the demolition of the Junior Officers Quarters and Walt Hall at the KSH on Fort Dodge.”

A committee is working on the Junior Officers Quarters, which is being addressed separately so I’m focusing on Walt Hall. This is the old hospital on the hill which everyone asks about. The general consensus is that people love it, they want it saved, but they don’t really know much about it.

The Kansas Soldiers’ Home outgrew its first permanent hospital located in what is now known as the Pershing Barracks and the State made plans for a larger facility. State Architect Charles D Cuthbert of Cuthbert and Sons designed the $120,000 building featuring two 100-foot wings with a total of 34 beds. Contracts were awarded in October of 1927 to businesses in Oberlin, Hays, and Fort Scott.

The new hospital was dedicated in August of 1928. Local newspapers reported more than 1,000 celebrants in attendance.

This photo from a retrospective article in the Dodge City Daily Globe was taken shortly after the hospital was completed. You can see the landscaping hadn’t even been finished and the building originally had a tile roof. The style is listed as Italian Renaissance on the Kansas Historical Society survey.

In the early days, the hospital doctor lived upstairs. You can see the large front porch was screened in so patients could enjoy the fresh air.

This hospital was also outgrown and it was converted to a dormitory after Halsey Hall was dedicated in 1970. This dormitory was named Walt Hall in January of 1971 after General Lewis “Big Lew” Walt, who retired the following month. General Walt was born in Wabaunsee County, Kansas in 1913. Big Lew appeared on the cover of Life in May of 1967. He became Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps in 1968 and was buried at Quantico National Cemetery in 1989.

Walt Hall was at full capacity as late as 1979. At some point, the tile roof was replaced with asphalt shingles and the top story was closed by the fire marshal due to code issues. Occupancy dwindled throughout the 1980s, with only 15 residents by December of 1989. Walt Hall finally closed in January of 1990 and has been vacant ever since.

I took these photos in December of 2021. It’s not great but I’ve seen worse.

I understand why history buffs focus on the buildings in existence when Fort Dodge was in operation. In my opinion, the history of the Kansas Soldiers’ Home is equally deserving of our care and concern.

To every person who still laments the destruction of Downtown Dodge City during Urban Renewal, I say this: Walt Hall is older today than the buildings on Front Street were in 1970.

Walt Hall still has a lot of life left in it. There are avenues for restoration which do not require an additional tax burden on the residents of Ford County or an additional hassle for the Kansas Commission on Veterans’ Affairs. Tell your elected officials to stop the demolition of Walt Hall.

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