Boot Hill Grill Then and Now

604 W Chestnut St / Wyatt Earp Blvd

It seems impossible now but for many years, the north side of Chestnut Street west of the immediate downtown area was completely residential. In 1885, Nicholas B Klaine and Louis K McIntyre platted a narrow strip between Fifth and Seventh Avenues bordered by Elm Street to the north and Maple Street to the south. It’s a strange area where the streets don’t match up properly because the older part of Dodge City is crooked.

Various homes came and went from what was then the 100 block of Chestnut. Street numbers were standardized around 1909 and the 1911 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows a frame dwelling at 604 W Chestnut Street along with its previous number of 107.

The Hayes family’s Crystal Pool, which was nestled into the north hill between their house at the west end of the block and the home at 604, opened in June of 1915. By 1932, the home at 604 W Chestnut had been removed and the pool was replaced by a row of tourist cabins.

The Boot Hill Grill, operated by Mrs. Tena Anderson, was built in 1939.

By the mid-1940s, Boot Hill Grill was recognized as the most burglarized business in Dodge City.

The restaurant changed hands several times and was operated by Bill and Bessie Lethem, Troy Hunnicutt, and Art Corley before being taken over by Vern and Ruby Collier in the early 1950s.

The Colliers sold the restaurant around 1962 and it cycled through a couple proprietors before Ralph and Ailine Long of California assumed management in August of 1963, apparently to the delight of local pancake lovers.

This photo from May of 1964 (sorry, Mom) was taken in front of Mammel’s and shows the Boot Hill Grill sign in the background.

New owners changed the name to Pancake House in the Spring of 1965.

But by August of that year, the business was for sale once again.

By 1967, the building was home to water-based skincare brand Fashion Two-Twenty Studio.

Due to Urban Renewal, the building was running out of time. By 1970, the entire block had been cleared. Wyatt Earp and Front Street were replatted to create the Centennial Addition in 1973 with much larger commercial lots.

The larger lot sizes made it possible for Dodge Citians to enjoy fine dining establishments like Golden Corral and Montana Mike’s. Currently, the lot once occupied by the Boot Hill Grill is home to a Casey’s General Store.

This photo was taken in August of 2023:

You have to admit this stretch of Wyatt Earp looks a lot better than it did 40 years ago. The Boot Hill Grill building wasn’t anything spectacular but I would really like to know what happened to that neon sign.

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