Memorial Art Co. Then and Now

507 S Second Avenue – Dodge City, Kansas

Memorial Art Co. was founded in Salina by Vincent E “Pete” Peterson and Arthur J Cleveland in 1928*. Cleveland was killed in an automobile accident the following January and his son, Clarence, took over his stake in the partnership. Peterson bought out Clarence’s half of the business around 1937.

In January of 1946, the company announced it had opened a new location in Dodge City to be managed by Pete’s brother, Milton T Peterson. In addition to the main facility in Salina, there were also operations in Hutchinson, Kingman, Abilene, and Norton. Milton and wife Hazel moved their family into a bungalow which sat at the north property line of the one-acre lot just south of Lindas Lumber Company.

As with the other locations, this was a family business. Daughter Betty worked as a bookkeeper and son Rick worked as a salesman and stone setter. Milton and Hazel were listed as owners of the Dodge City location by 1950.

Memorial Art Co. was photographed on March 24, 1950 with its sample stones in front of the building.

The business and Peterson home were not spared from the big flood in June of 1965.

Rick worked his way up to shop foreman and later owned the business.

Rick and Joy (Cline) Peterson’s son, Kirk, represented the third generation in the family business, which closed around 2010. The Salina-based company founded by Milton’s brother is still in operation with locations in Great Bend, Hutchinson, Abilene, Minneapolis, and Ardmore, Oklahoma.

Sample stones still adorned the property in October of 2023.

Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King

I spoke to Kirk in October of 2023 and he indicated that the neighboring car lot was interested in purchasing the property for expansion. That sale went through and cars were soon parked along the sidewalk. A demolition permit was issued in August of 2025.

This is how the former site of Memorial Art Co. looks today:

When I was a kid, I was convinced the property was a real cemetery, despite my parents’ attempts to convince me otherwise. I tried (and failed) to preserve that glorious 1940s neon sign. Kirk had sadly passed and I was unable to get in touch with his sister, Kimberly, before it was too late. Hopefully, it ended up in a good place.

*The company website advertises being around since 1927 but an article in The Salina Journal on November 13, 1958 stated the company, founded in 1928, had just celebrated its 30th anniversary the day before.

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May 25, 2026 0

Guymon Petro Mercantile Co. Then and Now

314 Front Street – Dodge City, Kansas

Before you all start thinking I’ve lost my mind, this story is not about the building at Fourth and Trail. In March of 1884, the widow Anna Robbins bought a Front Street lot between Second and Third Avenues from Robert M Wright. There had once been a blacksmith shop on that site and Mrs. Robbins, mistress and business partner of the infamous Perry Wilden, had plans for a new grocery store.

The single-story wood frame structure faced Front Street and covered less than half the distance north to Chestnut. Wilden, sardonically nicknamed The Merchant Prince of South Dodge, opened the store that May.

Fraudster Wilden expanded rapidly and every single thing he purchased was on credit. His grocery store and around seven other buildings were destroyed by a fire on January 18, 1885.

Wilden was widely believed to have set the fire intentionally on a Sunday morning so it would burn undiscovered while most of the town was at church. Robbins carried insurance on the building and Wilden had a policy for the contents. Some of the neighboring business owners carried no insurance at all.

Within a week, newspapers reported Wilden planned to erect a two-story brick building on the same lot. However, Robbins was the one with the money and construction of her new building began in July of 1885. This new structure also faced Front Street and only covered about 60 percent of the lot space going toward Chestnut.

By August, creditors had seized the contents of Wilden’s South Dodge grocery. He left town with his wife and children later that month. Meanwhile, construction continued on the Robbins building and Ham Bell planned to use the main floor for his furniture and undertaking business along with the new Ford County Bank.

Bell did briefly occupy the Robbins building but he and Henry Sitler constructed the Sitler & Bell Block in 1886. The bank never really got off the ground.

Wilden fled to Syracuse to obtain a quick divorce from his wife, Mary, in June of 1886. He then married Anna Robbins in Colorado later that month, skipping the mandatory waiting period. The two were later arrested for bigamy.

T. C. Owen moved his barber shop from the Delmonico Hotel into the basement of the Wilden building in May of 1887. He closed the shop that August and it was reopened by Lawrence Leppert a couple weeks later.

The Wildens’ exciting personal lives left little time for property management and the Front Street property was sold to Fred T. M. Wenie in September of 1887, shortly after a cigar factory in the building failed to get traction.

Leppert’s barber shop moved to the main floor in the Summer of 1888 after a huge rainstorm flooded the basement.

The building was underutilized with Sims and Shinn (later Sims and Sims) using it as a warehouse for flour and feed. Fred Wenie moved to Kansas City around 1889 and stopped paying taxes. The building went up for sheriff’s sale in April of 1893 and creditor Charles Colladay took possession of the property at that time.

Patrick H Sughrue moved his real estate office to the second floor of what was being called the Sims building around 1902.

He and his wife, Margaret, owned the building for several years. It’s difficult to see but the sign at the far left reads “BUY TOWN LOTS & FARMS FROM P. H. SUGHRUE.” If you look closely, you can see the rear of the building didn’t extend to Chestnut.

James L Meairs moved his grocery store to the main floor of the Sughrue building around 1905.

Although he retained ownership of the building, Sughrue moved his office to the Hoover building in February of 1908. J. H. Evans moved his poultry, eggs, and hides business into a section of the Meairs grocery in 1911.

John Reynolds opened a general repair shop in the basement of the building in January of 1915.

In September of that year, the Sughrues sold the property to the Guymon Petro Mercantile Co. for around $6,300. An electric elevator was added along the east wall along with new office spaces. They just about rebuilt the entire structure.

Once that work was completed, L. J. Upp was awarded the contract to extend the building north to Chestnut Street. Over the years, space at 315 W Chestnut Street was rented to businesses like Drake Motor Supply Company, Noel-Ward Tire Service Company, and the Williams Cash Store.

The sign on the front of the light-colored building in the middle says “THE GUYMON PETRO MERC. CO. WHOLESALE GROCERS.”

By the mid-1940s, Guymon Petro occupied the former Dodge City Fruit Exchange building at 500 W Trail Street. Hall’s Home and Auto Supply then opened a second location in the former Guymon Petro building. The company owned by Jack and Lester Hall was more commonly known as Hall’s Firestone.

By 1950, Hall’s had consolidated operations in the location at 315 W Chestnut and 314 Front.

Photos by Hoover Cott, Ford County Historical Society Troy Robinson Collection

The store continued to operate in that spot until the building was demolished as part of the Urban Renewal project in 1970.

The 1990s demolition of the flour mill ruined this vantage point for everyone except drone operators.

This is how the site of the original Guymon Petro location looked in February of 2025:

Based on what’s been happening downtown over the past several years, it is clear that we’ve learned from the Urban Renewal disaster. I encourage everyone to patronize businesses in the surviving buildings so we can avoid losing more of our history.

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May 11, 2026 0

Brady Implement Co. Then and Now

400 E Trail Street – Dodge City, Kansas

In the 1920s, the area inside the Dodge City corporation limits was quite small. Driving east on the unpaved Santa Fe Trail Street, you would be in the County shortly after passing Juneau Avenue. Aside from the Santa Fe Railroad, the few businesses in this neighborhood were mostly industrial and agricultural.

International Harvester Co. needed a distribution warehouse to serve Southwest Kansas and points beyond. They chose Dodge City for their new location in late 1928 and selected a site on the north side of Santa Fe Trail just across the tracks from the freight house.

This new warehouse was longer than a city block and would service and ship the complete International Harvester line. It would also include an IH truck dealership at the west end, which was connected by a wooden platform.

The complex was completed in the Summer of 1929, just before Santa Fe Trail Street was paved.

On September 23, approximately 300 guests attended an open house luncheon served by the ladies of the Presbyterian Church.

International Harvester employed more than 50 people at the Dodge City location.

Nevins Implement Co., an IH dealer whose main location was at Fourth and Chestnut, used the complex from the mid-1930s until the early 1950s.

Brady Implement Company, Inc. was formed on December 15, 1952 by W. D. and Marie Brady. This new International Harvester dealership held a grand opening in the west building in February of 1953. The long building to the east was occupied by Minneapolis Moline in those days.

Photos: Ford County Historical Society Troy Robinson Collection

In addition to the full line of IH farm and home equipment, the Bradys also carried Graham-Hoeme and Schafer plows.

Around 1966, Brady Implement moved to its new location on Highway 283 just south of town. Dodge City Manufacturing, Inc. was formed in November of that year by Glenn Burnett, Dr. E. W. Shira, Cecil Maupin, Jr., Frank Epp, Carl Brecheisen, and Eugene Gurtner. This business occupied the former IH dealership until around 1976.

Newly formed Midwest Manufacturing and Supply, Inc. used the building from 1977 until a quitting business sale was held in June of 1980.

Curtis Machine Co. then used it as a warehouse for more than a decade. The facility has also been an auto repair shop. For the past several years, it has been used for chemical storage by the company occupying the rest of the old International Harvester complex, Omnium Manufacturing. Most of the windows and doors have either been boarded up or filled in completely.

This is how the former Brady Implement Co. building looks today:

Photo by Jan Shaw
Photo by Jan Shaw
Photo by Jan Shaw
Photo by Jan Shaw

You all know I love these old industrial buildings. This one is looking a bit haggard but at least no one painted all of the brick, unlike its long-suffering next-door neighbor.

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April 27, 2026 0

Buzz-Inn Then and Now

2307 Central Avenue – Dodge City, Kansas

As late as 1960, the west side of Central Avenue between Plaza Avenue and Kinkead Street was lined with trees and not much else. James and Lois Hart had it platted in June of 1957 but development took a while to materialize.

The Ku-Ku Burger Bar was a 15-cent hamburger restaurant with an exaggerated gable roof and an actual, functional cuckoo clock on the front of the building. The exact origin has unfortunately been lost to microfilm.

In August of 1964, Munroe Realty of Kearney, Nebraska advertised franchising opportunities with a minimum investment of $8,000 claiming to be the exclusive agents. However, William and Ferne Munroe relocated to Oklahoma City shortly after the brief ad run.

That November, Joe Secrest of Manhattan, Kansas ran a similar ad in the Globe but with a minimum $10,000 investment.

By December, Ku-Ku had locations in Salina, Great Bend, McPherson, Arkansas City, and Winfield with another ready to open in Emporia. Restaurants in Garden City and Olathe opened the following year.

Ku Ku of Dodge City, Inc. was formed on April 5, 1965 and began hiring that summer. Although there still wasn’t much happening commercially in that area, the restaurant was well situated between the old high school on First Avenue and St. Mary of the Plains College.

A management training program was in place for franchisees to learn the Ku-Ku system but it mostly consisted of working in another restaurant to gain hands-on experience. There wasn’t a big corporate support system. In fact, Ku-Ku Franchising Systems, Inc. wasn’t officially formed until September 17, 1965. This Missouri company had a registered address in Kansas City’s John Hancock Building, which was a franchise farm, selling “opportunities” for multiple entities. And after a year, the minimum investment had ballooned to $20,000.

At the chain’s height, there were reportedly as many as 200 Ku-Ku Burger Bars, mostly in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Missouri but a couple outliers existed in Nampa, Idaho and Lima, Ohio.

Ku-Ku’s corporate entity went bankrupt and so did many franchisees after they lost their supply of ingredients and branding support. Several had taken out small business loans to open the restaurants and many foreclosures took place with equipment sold for pennies on the dollar. Some franchisees had luck selling to other chains like Hardee’s. Others, like Waylan’s Ku Ku Burger in Miami, Oklahoma, continued the brand independently.

Ku Ku of Dodge City formally changed its name to Buzz-Inn, Inc. in January of 1967 and initially retained the quirky architecture.

Russell “Buss” Taylor and his wife, Mary, remodeled the building in 1972 and the front gable with the cuckoo bird was removed. By that time, inflation had raised the price of a regular hamburger to 19 cents.

The high school lunch crowd wasn’t enough to save the Buzz-Inn. A liquidation sale was held on February 28, 1978 and the corporation was dissolved that September.

The building was moved to what is now the BLUE RV Park behind Miss Kitty’s Cafe so that First National Bank and Trust Company could build a drive-thru branch on the corner of Central and Kinkead. Architects Gurtner and Robison designed a modern building which “offer[ed] new approaches in style.” That was quite the understatement.

Bank President John Harding is pictured below during the groundbreaking ceremony in June of 1978.

A grand opening event, which included a full parade from the main bank to the new branch, was held on April 21, 1979.

The bank was joined by a standalone Payless Shoes building just to the south around the same time. That store relocated to the Village Square Shopping Center by 1990 and was replaced by Curtis Mathes Home Center.

First National Bank was acquired by Bank IV Kansas in June of 1994. It changed hands a couple more times and became Bank of America around 1999. Bank of America exited Dodge City completely in 2014. Since then, the former north branch has had the appearance of a vacant building but it has obviously been in use. A number of businesses have occupied the former Payless including a Maytag store and a Credit Union of Dodge City branch. Marathon Health has been located there for a number of years.

This is how the site of the former Buzz-Inn looks today:

Apologies in advance to anyone this may offend but I laugh every time I see the former bank. It’s one of those places that cannot be beautified and it’s very close to the 50-year milestone for having it designated a historic structure. I guess it was considered edgy at the time but that property was better off with the wacky cuckoo clock.

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April 13, 2026 0

Dodge City Waterworks Then and Now

703 W Trail Street – Dodge City, Kansas

We take for granted that water in towns and cities comes from municipal plants but that wasn’t always the case. Dodge City gained a private waterworks operation in 1886 but the City didn’t get into the water business until after the turn of the twentieth century.

Dodge City Electric Light Company, which later became Midland Water, Light & Ice Company, operated both the electric and water utilities from their facility at the west end of what was then Locust Street as well as a couple different buildings downtown.

After years of debate, the City bought the waterworks part of the operation from Midland in December of 1909. This $29,000 purchase included three lots directly east of the Midland plant on newly renamed Santa Fe Trail Street, the existing standpipe, and water mains. The transaction did not include the pumping operation, however, so the City made plans to construct a pumping station and drill additional wells.

In February of 1910, the City made an agreement to sell bonds totaling $65,000 to a bank in Toledo for the bulk of the funding. Engineer J. S. Worley from Kansas City was hired to design the expanded waterworks system which included a one-story dark red brick Italian Renaissance pumphouse measuring approximately 40 x 12 feet with a clay tile roof and beautiful windows. Plans were accepted the same month and bids were due by March 22.

Unfortunately, the Ohio bankers thought they were financing the purchase of a fully functional waterworks operation rather than the construction of a new one and the deal was cancelled before the end of March. This meant the bonds would go up for public purchase, which meant a bond election was required. On April 19, 1910, voters were asked to decide on a $29,000 issue for the Midland purchase plus another $51,000 to construct the new pumping station and extend the waterworks system with the appropriate materials and machinery. Voters approved and the project continued.

The Roby Bros. company was hired to drill the first test well and the first samples sent to Dr. Samuel Crumbine in May of 1910 indicated the water was soft and pure.

The building and mains installation contract was awarded to Freeborn Engineering and Construction Co. of Kansas City. Local contractor William Foley oversaw the bulk of the building construction. Steam boilers and engines were ordered from Platt Iron Works of Dayton, Ohio.

Excavation for the pumphouse began in July of 1910. By August 26, the boilers were being installed. Dodge City’s approximately 600 customers were without water on November 12 while the new connections were attached to the pumphouse. The first system test was completed the following week and the new facility began pumping water for the entire city in December. The plant was finished in January of 1911.

The building is shown here prior to Santa Fe Trail Street being paved.

I remember being obsessed with the building’s windows as a child. My aunt worked there in the late 1970s or early ’80s and I would call and bother her at work because I thought it was so cool that she got to work in such a beautiful place.

Many more wells were drilled all over town as Dodge grew and although the building was still used, it was less important to the operation of the public works system. Those enormous windows were eventually replaced with tiny utilitarian inserts and the openings were filled in with wood paneling.

Katrina Ringler with the Kansas Historical Society photographed the building in June of 2015 for the Kansas Historic Resources Inventory.

Photos: Kansas Historic Resources Inventory, https://khri.kansasgis.org/index.cfm?in=057-1405. Used with permission.

The building was destroyed by fire in the early morning hours of April 15, 2021. Globe veteran Ed O’Neal was on the scene and posted a brief video on his personal social media accounts but I was unable to find any mention in the newspaper.

Overnight fire in Dodge City believe in City water shop on Trail St.@KWCH12 @ pic.twitter.com/ZoQZfrlMr8
— Ed ONeal (@EONeal51) April 15, 2021

Dodge City Fire Department posted a dramatic image of the completely engulfed shop area and noted there were no injuries.

The City issued a brief press release advising the Kansas State Fire Marshal was investigating the cause but I was unable to find any later updates. It took quite a while for the structure’s remains to be demolished due to the investigation and the lengthy insurance claims process. The Google Street View image below is from September of 2021.

The City Commission voted to sell the property to Winans Oil, Inc. in September of 2022.

This is how the former site of the Dodge City Waterworks looks today:

I suppose in the context of the horrific wildfires which plagued Southwest Kansas in the Spring of 2021, the loss of this historic utility building was relatively insignificant. However, a little follow-up would have been nice.

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March 30, 2026 0

Dodge Theatre Then and Now

106 Walnut Street – Dodge City, Kansas

I’ve avoided writing about this building for years. It’s where I saw the first movie I can remember (The Empire Strikes Back) and it’s where my grandmother took me to the library for the first time. I still remember sitting on the carpeted steps in the upstairs story pit. It’s where I attended kennel club meetings in a creepy, leaky basement as an adult. So, I have some feelings.

The north side of Walnut (now Gunsmoke) Street between Central and First Avenues was completely residential until the lots were cleared for construction of the Lora-Locke Hotel in 1927.

In January of 1928, Elmer C Rhoden of Midwest Theatres, Inc. announced the company intended to build a new theater in Dodge City.

George Howell and Otto Theis, partners in the Lora-Locke, knew the perfect spot and purchased the west half of the block adjacent to the hotel that July.

Architect Ellis Charles of Wichita, who also designed the Lora-Locke, created plans for a complex which included a theater with seating for approximately 1,200, a department store, and a smaller retail space. Prior to construction, the estimated cost for this dark brick Italian Renaissance structure with a clay tile roof and terra cotta accents was $140,000.

In January of 1929, the building contract was awarded to Eastergard & Bullard of McCook, Nebraska, the same company which built the Lora-Locke. Before construction began, the George S Howell Building Corp. had secured Montgomery Ward as a tenant and worked out an agreement for Midwest Theatres to operate the theater. The reason you don’t hear Otto Theis’ name associated with this part of the Million Dollar Block is because he transferred his half ownership to Howell that February.

A decision (which haunted later building owners) was made to connect the Howell building’s heating plant to the Lora-Locke. It saved money at the time but has been cursed many times over.

It was really important for Montgomery Ward to open before the start of the Christmas shopping season so contractors raced to finish the interior. Nearly 90 people were hired to staff the new store for the October 1929 opening.

The Dodge Theatre wasn’t quite finished when it opened on October 18, 1929. Silent films were still being shown in Dodge at that time but this theater boasted Western Electric sound equipment which cost around $15,000. Talkie features The Love Doctor and a Laurel and Hardy comedy called A Perfect Day were shown in addition to a newsreel with “natural sound” said to be the first in the city. Globe publisher Jess Denious delivered a dedication speech to a packed house.

The third building tenant was The Rendezvous restaurant located in the spot with the arched door just to the west of the theater entrance. I should probably note that the original address for the theater was 106 Walnut, as shown on the 1932 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. Numbers changed over time as doors were added and removed. The entrance is now officially 108 Gunsmoke.

Fox West Coast Theatres had purchased Midwest Theatres just before the grand opening but it took a while for the branding to catch up. By December of 1929, the theater was officially called the Fox Dodge but advertising sometimes just mentioned the Dodge.

One reason the theater season runs from fall to spring is because there was traditionally no air conditioning and the buildings would close during the summer months. That really wouldn’t have made financial sense for such an expensive facility so the solution in 1930 was to install fans which were said to be “silent” to avoid drowning out the entertainment. I sincerely doubt they were all that quiet.

The Cohens and Kellys in Africa played at the Dodge in April of 1931.

A cooling plant was installed in 1933 which drew water out of a well and iced it. The chilled air was then circulated throughout the building by blower fans. Those were apparently too loud so a new system was installed in June of 1934 which relied on six tons of ice to be delivered from Kansas Power Company every day.

In the Spring of 1935, the theater began using that cooling system to filter the air so patrons could get a bit of relief from the dust storms while they watched the shows.

The Dodge Theatre was famously one of the three locations in town to participate in the 1939 premiere of Dodge City. Each theater showed the film on repeat all through the night.

Former Dodge City Mayor Art Nevins is shown here cutting a ribbon at the exterior ticket booth in 1942.

These interior photos show the flooring changes over the years.

Photos: Kansas Heritage Center

Fox Dodge patrons could sign up for weekly Good Will Ambassador program drawings. The honorary position paid $200 in May of 1942.

Around 1946, Gussie Walker moved Walker’s Tot and Teen Shop into the former Rendezvous restaurant space. Clark’s Jewelry began occupying that spot around September of 1952.

Bwana Devil was the first 3-D film shown at the Dodge in June of 1953. Installation of CinemaScope equipment began toward the end of the year. This was the first widescreen movie format which required a much larger curved screen with stereophonic speakers behind it. The entire stage area was remodeled to accommodate this change.

It is unclear whether the CinemaScope screen is shown in these photos but it sure does fit the description.

Photos: Kansas Heritage Center

The Robe was the first movie filmed in CinemaScope and it was shown at the Dodge in January of 1954.

By now, you may be wondering about the marquee. Me too! I wish I could say I found the exact date the dignified original was replaced with that mint green and red thing but readers, I have failed you. It was still hanging in a 1954 photo of the Southwestern Bell expansion. Ted Page pulled a remodeling permit in October of 1957 so it could have been replaced at that time.

Hoover Cott’s circa-1959 Christmas photo shows the new Fox Dodge marquee which only covered the area above the entrance.

Montgomery Ward vacated the building and consolidated operations at what is now Military Plaza in the Summer of 1965. Dodge City Public Library leased approximately 12,500 square feet of the former department store space in March of 1969.

Janousek’s TV and Appliance held a liquidation sale at their store on Wyatt Earp in October of that year because the building was being demolished as part of the Urban Renewal Project. They secured a spot in the newly renovated space west of the theater.

Finance company The Associates was another business which relocated to the building after being displaced by demolition.

After months of remodeling, the Carnegie Library closed on December 24, 1969 so all of the books and furniture could be moved to the new location. The entrance was on First Avenue toward the north end of the building and a ramp led to the checkout counter. The adult section was on the main floor with the children’s department upstairs. Our new library opened on January 22, 1970.

This is where I received my first library card on my sixth birthday but that is not me tripping on the rug in the second photo.

Photos: Kansas Heritage Center

Cooper Theaters bought the Dodge in February of 1974 and began modernizing the facility. The ticket counter was moved inside as part of a complete lobby renovation. The balcony also closed in the mid-1970s.

Clark’s Jewelry held a big sale in December of 1973 and closed the store around March of 1974. Jack and Shirley Clark temporarily moved to Derby and their old space was occupied by the jewelry store of Worley and Irene Shultz, which opened in the Summer of 1974.

The Dodge Theatre exterior is shown in 1979 during the 40th anniversary showing of Dodge City.

After the library moved to its current location in 1982, the former Montgomery Ward space was remodeled again into office spaces. Radio station Q97 FM was located inside the First Avenue entrance for several years.

Mike Burkhart bought the entire building in 1984 and renamed it Plaza Professional Center. Cooper continued leasing the theater and Burkhart spent loads of money on needed repairs. The former jewelry store became a Navy recruiting station in the Summer of 1987.

Cooper closed the Dodge in November of 1989 after the heating system was finally decoupled from the Lora-Locke. This created another financial responsibility in a facility which wasn’t bringing in much revenue. Cooper intended to close for the winter as he and Burkhart worked out the particulars but it reopened shortly afterward.

The Dodge was closed by Cooper for the last time in the Fall of 1997. Mike and Mindy Burkhart began an extremely expensive restoration project at that time and were able to reopen on June 20, 1998 with a showing of Dodge City, of course. The Burkharts also had a coffee shop and Victorian mercantile in the building.

The building was listed for sale in early 2000 but the theater was still used for club meetings and other events.

In December of 2000, the Dodge held its third annual free Christmas movie for children. Although the theater wasn’t operating, class reunion events were held along with public tours of the building for several years. Efforts to preserve the Dodge have been ongoing ever since. The Downtown Dodge Association was formed around 2006 with one major goal being the restoration of the theater. The City considered purchasing the building in 2007 and probably every year since.

The Burkharts sold the entire building in 2010 after an auction failed to get past the first bid. Buyers Tony Woydziak, Ernie Breeding and Steve Vilaysing reportedly paid $30,000 sort of on a lark. Finding a real buyer was essential.

Meanwhile, the minty marquee was in danger of decapitating someone on the sidewalk below and was removed in January of 2013. Seeing it listed on eBay prompted Mark Vierthaler, Lewis Mize, and Monica Springer to form the Dodge Theater Foundation that spring. The foundation was able to secure donated materials and labor to address some of the water damage. Real progress was made for a few years.

Roger Maas generously shared these photos which he took during a public tour in 2017.

If you’re a member of the Facebook group Growing up in Dodge City, you can do a quick search to see loads of photos people have taken on the various tours. I took the interior photos below a few years ago.

I believe the property was sold around January of 2017 and that’s about when access to the building ended. To his credit, the current owner has done a lot of work and uncovered the entryway’s domed ceiling. The roof looks pretty good from the outside.

Any time you walk by, you will see ladders and building materials awaiting installation but the building is mostly empty. A small chapel is located in the former jewelry store. A nail salon tried to make a go of it in the old library entrance area a couple years ago. Mini Market Los Paisanos has been in the corner space for several years now and seems to do well.

This is how the exterior of the Dodge Theatre looks today:

Basic maintenance on this structure is extremely expensive. The only two paths I see toward complete restoration involve massive grants and/or developer cash. You can’t fault one person for not being able to get it done but you also have to wonder if a little cooperation might go a long way. It would be really great if the Million Dollar Block looked like it. This gaping wound in the heart of downtown just isn’t cutting it.

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March 16, 2026 0

Holiday Motel Then and Now

2100 W Wyatt Earp Blvd. – Dodge City, Kansas

Westlawn Addition, along the north side of US Highway 50S west of 14th Avenue, was platted in 1930 with all sorts of covenants and restrictions, many of which have been illegal for decades. The block between Westlawn and Gardner Avenues was pretty quiet until the 1940s.

The Hi-Way Cafe opened at what was then 2100 W Chestnut Street in October of 1947.

It is unclear whether she started the business, but Mary H Bledsoe operated the cafe at least as early as October of 1948. Florence Landrum was the manager in the early 1950s. New managers Wilbur and Dorothy Cunningham remodeled the cafe in the Spring of 1954.

After rebranding, Mary Bledsoe reopened the restaurant as The Car-Teria in June of 1956 serving chicken and shrimp boxes, sandwiches, malts, and shakes.

The Nicely family sold the Flamingo Motel in October of 1957 and immediately announced plans to build a new motel with 22 rooms on the site of The Car-Teria. The facility initially did not take up the entire block due to a drainage ditch at the west end.

Holiday Motel opened in February of 1958 without a pool or restaurant.

A small heated pool was added adjacent to the office shortly after the grand opening. In the early 1960s, the motel was expanded westward so that it outlined the entire block. Around that time, the Holiday Restaurant was constructed just west of the pool.

The building itself was unremarkable but the sign out front was a colorful mid-century classic.

Hong Kong Restaurant moved from the Lora-Locke Hotel into the former Holiday Restaurant space in the Summer of 1988.

In the early 2000s, the pool was removed so the restaurant could be expanded in its place. Hong Kong Restaurant closed when the owners of Osaki Sushi and Hibachi approached Kim Lee about renting the space for a sushi restaurant. Osaki opened in the Spring of 2015.

The motel doesn’t seem to have an online presence but the office was open when I stopped by. This is how the Holiday Motel looks today:

I really do understand why the big eye-catching signs have been replaced with plain plastic. I also hate them. These mid-century motels are old enough to qualify for the historic registers. Restoring the fun original signage from roadside America could be the next big trend!

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March 2, 2026 0

US Weather Bureau Then and Now

700 Central Avenue – Dodge City, Kansas

Weather observations and accurate forecasts have been pretty important to, you know, survival in Southwest Kansas. Much has been written about the history of the Weather Bureau, which started as part of the War Department, but we don’t talk a whole lot about their short-lived building.

The US Signal Service, under the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, occupied rooms in several Dodge City buildings prior to having their own dedicated quarters. After the devastating fire in December of 1885, the US Signal Office rented space on the second floor of the newly constructed Ida Beeson Building in the Union Block on Front Street between First and Second Avenues.

Meanwhile, a long frame dwelling occupied the lot on the east side of what was then Railroad Avenue just north of Spruce Street. A stone ice cellar was located just to the east at what was then 306 Spruce Street along with three homes given interesting fractions for addresses like 306 1/2, 306 1/3, and even 306 1/4, if you can believe it. These structures were owned by Henry Sturm at one time.

The property at Railroad and Spruce measuring 125×99 feet was deeded from Sturm to his in-laws Adam and Elizabeth Schmidt in the Spring of 1889.

Weather observation and forecasting operations were transferred to the Department of Agriculture on October 1, 1890. At that time, the name was changed to US Weather Bureau. Its central location was convenient but the Union Block just wasn’t tall enough for modern weather tracking. The height of the flour mill across the railroad tracks sometimes interfered with accurate wind measurements. US Representative Ed Madison, who had previously served as Ford County Attorney, worked in Congress to secure an appropriation for a dedicated Weather Bureau building.

After a bit of a process, the $15,000 building was approved in May of 1908.

The government selected the Schmidt site at Railroad and Spruce for this new building. It was a bit tricky, however, because there was an awkward strip on the east side of Railroad which had been labeled condemned since at least 1899.

That basically meant it was unclear whether the street would be widened or straightened and any structures in that strip might require removal. The newspapers decided the fact that the government purchased the property meant it was fine and settled, but the maps still listed it as condemned until at least 1918. The transaction was finalized in December of 1908.

Bids were solicited by the Department of Agriculture in January of 1909.

Plans called for a red brick two-story structure trimmed with Carthage sandstone. The observer’s workspace was located on the main floor as well as a kitchen and dining room. Upstairs living quarters for the observer and his family included a parlor plus three bedrooms and a bathroom. The basement had a laundry room in addition to storage for equipment as well as the furnace and coal storage. Views from the balconies over the south and west entrances must have been amazing. The roof had space for a tall tower and various instrumentation.

Twelve bids were received by contractors from as far away as Wichita and Topeka. The project was awarded to local company Parham and Upp and foundation work began in April of 1909. The building was completed that October.

It was inspected and accepted on November 11 and observer Harrison M Baldwin moved to the new quarters on November 22, 1909.

By most accounts, there was nothing wrong with the relatively young building to justify its replacement. The main issue was due to the lease terms and space available at the post office location in what became the Burr Building on Second Avenue. This problem was heavily debated in 1926 and its resolution was a slow process.

In 1929, the federal government decided to construct a proper federal building on the lots they already owned. The jail property to the east was also needed due to the size of the structure. Locals were generally displeased by the decision to use this location. However, changing it would have reportedly required a literal Act of Congress.

Speaking of which, legislation was required to transfer the property from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of the Treasury. The appropriation bill passed in the Spring of 1930 with preliminary plans received in Dodge that September. Weather Bureau offices would be located upstairs with observation equipment on the roof. Living quarters would no longer be provided for the meteorologist but a salary increase was offered in exchange.

The style of the building is technically Italian Renaissance but the interior includes Spanish-inspired elements. It was designed in the shape of a wide H with a beautiful tile roof. Newspaper articles at the time made reference to “Coahuila” tile, probably called that because Saltillo tiles come from Saltillo, Coahuila, México. There was an open balcony inside so the postal inspector could view all working areas from above.

Due to legal reasons, Ford County was awarded $9,000 for damages in December of 1930 for losing the jail lots to the feds. The property had to be condemned in order for the transfer to take place.

Before demolition could commence, temporary quarters had to be secured for the Weather Bureau. Rooms were leased in the First National Bank building.

Alonzo Justice moved his equipment in April of 1931 and the wind gauge was placed on the roof. It was said that wind readings would be increased due to the higher positioning of the equipment, which was reported to be exactly 100 feet from ground level.

Photos: Ford County Historical Society Sam Zygner Collection, taken shortly before demolition.

Demolition of the Weather Bureau building began on April 22, 1931.

Construction of the new federal building began in June.

The tower for the weather observation equipment was installed in February of 1932. A staircase led from the Weather Bureau’s second floor offices to the tower. Readings were fed down via cable so the meteorologist didn’t have to climb it every day.

Post office box keys arrived the week prior to opening. According to the Globe, Hiram T Burr was issued the first key to Box 87 because he just happened to be there checking out the progress. A public reception was held on May 21, 1932 and the post office officially opened for business on May 23.

In addition to the post office and Weather Bureau, the federal building had spaces for War Department recruiting offices, the Treasury Department including the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Extension Service, and Farm Bureau.

The area around the building was beautifully landscaped.

The Weather Bureau was tasked with aiding in air navigation safety and moved to the airport in July of 1942. Their space in the post office building was retained due to federal rules and because their new space at the airport could have been commandeered by the Army Air Corps during the war.

Bids were solicited in April of 1964 for a modernization project which included a large addition to the north side of the building.

Photos: Ford County Historical Society Studio de Lari Collection, taken prior to the addition on the north side.

That July, most postal workers were relocated throughout Dodge City so the work could get underway. However, box users and customers needing to visit the counter could still do so. Employees were able to move back to the building in August of 1965.

Birthright opened a pregnancy support center in Room 206 in May of 1976. Congressman Keith Sebelius and the United Way used offices in the basement. The building was also used by the Tumbleweed Girl Scout Council. In addition, US Marshal Ramon K House famously had an office upstairs.

This is how the former site of the US Weather Bureau looks today:

The post office building looks (and smells) pretty much the same as it has for as long as I can remember. In some places, you can see original green paint under the sad beige coating the wrought iron. I think it was wasteful to demolish the old Weather Bureau building but Dodge City couldn’t have gotten a more beautiful replacement.

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February 16, 2026 0

Texaco Service Station Then and Now

301-303 Military Avenue – Dodge City, Kansas

I know the title of this story seems oddly nonspecific considering how many Texaco stations Dodge City had at one time. However, this service station was originally owned and operated by The Texas Company. The white stucco mission-style building had separate bays for greasing and a car wash. A grand opening was held at the brand-new station on January 17, 1931.

The men shown here in 1931 may be manager Loren Wilks and attendants Paul Moore and Benjamin Otto.

Texaco leased the station to Bob Ogg in early 1934 and it was managed by H. Gordon McCollom. The business was briefly called Mac’s Certified Service.

By 1935, it was operated by Walt Neal.

Wholesale grocer John Pressney appears to have assumed ownership by the Summer of 1936. At that time, The Texas Company’s wholesale business was still located at Military and Avenue B.

By 1942, the station was operated by Josh Owens. World War II Veterans Ernest Brockhausen and Quincy Glotta bought the business in January of 1946 and called it B and G Texaco Service.

Brockhausen began operating as Ernie’s Texaco Service around January of 1949. The station was listed for sale in January of 1951 due to health reasons but appears to have continued operating as Ernie’s until at least December of that year.

Other names in the 1950s included Bill’s Texaco Service and Steele’s Texaco Service. By 1957, the building was vacant and it sat for a few years before being converted into commercial space for businesses such as Kansas Abstract and Investment Co. in the mid-1960s.

Maxine Salmans was a very successful representative for the cosmetics company Fashion Two Twenty. Her studio occupied the building for almost all of the 1970s.

The property was listed for sale in December of 1979.

A new building with frontage on Avenue B was completed around 1981 and was occupied by Fast Foods of Dodge City. This building was expanded and housed tenants such as Dodge Country Insurance, Firm One Securities, Stickney Realty, and Frigon Law Firm. Lucky Liquor moved to the space on the corner around 2000.

This is how the former site of the Texaco Service Station looks today:

I’ve always loved mission-style architecture with arched doors and windows. This replacement aesthetic is most definitely not that. On the bright side, some of the concrete curbing looks original. So we’ve got that going for us, which is nice.

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February 2, 2026 0

Delmonico Restaurant Then and Now

503-505 S Second Avenue

Dodge City had four lumber yards in 1926 but none further south than Trail Street. Carl G Heitman changed that in the Spring of 1927 when he opened South Side Lumber south of the Rock Island tracks between Sunnyside and what was then Bridge Street.

Lindas Lumber Company purchased the business in April of 1929 and expanded the facility. The series of structures extended almost halfway between Bridge and Sunnyside.

Company founder Edward S Lindas died in July of 1949 and the liquidation of his properties began shortly after his passing. By the time the company announced the closing of the Dodge City location on August 17, 1950, all of the inventory had already been sold.

William J Tawzer had been a salesman at McDowell Chevrolet. Tawzer Motor Company briefly occupied the old lumber yard from around 1951 to 1952.

This parade photo shows there was once an arch over the entrance to the parking area on the south side of the building.

An eatery called Travel Snack was established in the building in February of 1952. They sold chicken and shrimp boxes plus burgers to go.

At the same time, public sales were held regularly in an area of the complex with dirt floors.

Daniel and Lois Ducic moved from Pratt in 1953 and opened Ducic Upholstery that October. By 1957, the auctions were being held by Don Weece and his partners.

By 1959, the furniture business had moved and was renamed Don’s Auction. Louis and Ola Vernon had taken over the upholstery business they called Vernon’s Upholstery.

Vern and Ruby Collier sold the Boot Hill Grill around 1962 and turned their attention toward South Dodge. Delmonico Cafe opened in October of 1963.

Vern, a butcher by trade, had equipment installed in February of 1964 which allowed him to cut his own steaks.

As offerings expanded, the cafe became known as Delmonico Restaurant. A gift shop was located in the north end of the building. The Colliers were famous for their Sunday buffets.

When the Arkansas River flooded in June of 1965, the restaurant filled with four to five feet of water.

Cleanup of the flood mud was quite the operation but the Colliers managed to reopen Delmonico on July 31.

Delmonico closed in the Spring of 1975 and the furniture store which had become Rent-Buy of Dodge City, Inc. announced in May they would return to the building once it had undergone extensive remodeling. The Delmonico pink exterior was replaced with mustard yellow. Several windows were covered with metal siding.

Contractor T. J. Page had the project completed by September 3 and Rent-Buy held a grand opening event from September 12-20, 1975.

Around 1981, the business changed names again and became known as Furniture Outlet.

Although the building had shown its age for decades, heavy snow in March of 1999 caused its demise. That old lumber yard roof wasn’t meant to carry such a load and several rafters broke under the weight. Furniture Outlet was demolished by Gladden Excavating on June 17, 1999. Photos: Ford County Historical Society Dodge City Daily Globe Collection

Due to the outbuildings which had been added to the property over the years, the store remained open during reconstruction. The former lumber yard was replaced with a metal building set further back from the street with parking in front.

Additions continued and the group of metal buildings was basically united as one giant structure. Furniture Outlet became an Ashley Furniture HomeStore in 2013. Around 2024, the signage was changed from Ashley Furniture to Weece Furniture but now the Ashley branding is back. The Weece family sold the business to Miller’s of Claflin in the Summer of 2025 and they remodeled the building again.

This is how the former site of Delmonico Restaurant looks today:

Photo: Anna King
Photo: Anna King
Photo: Anna King

My family shopped at Furniture Outlet several times when I was a child and it looked like it was going to fall down the very first time I saw it. In retrospect, this is likely because I didn’t understand how stucco works but also because I hated the yellow color. Aside from being a bit ungainly and difficult to photograph, the property looks good now…for a metal building.

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January 19, 2026 3