1100 Central Avenue

Dodge City’s schools have evolved drastically since the 1870s. Before we really had our act together, overflow classes were held in churches, store buildings, and pretty much wherever there was extra space. Most of those buildings have come and gone. The Central Elementary School property is unique in that a school has been located on it continuously for nearly 140 years.

The Third Ward School at the top of Boot Hill was bursting at the seams so plans were made in February of 1886 to build a new four-room school on Division Street between what was then Railroad Avenue and Avenue A. This $10,000 building in the Second Ward was expected to be completed by June 1.

You may not be surprised to learn it was not, in fact, completed by June 1. 1886 was a big year for brick construction and there weren’t enough materials to go around. Brick work was completed in July and the contract for purchasing new furniture was approved in August of 1886.

Because the Second Ward School wasn’t ready for the start of the academic year, some students were homeschooled until they could attend classes in the new building.

The school finally opened in October of 1886. High school was held at Second Ward before the new Third Ward School was completed but it only went to tenth grade. For context, the first Dodge City High School graduation was held for three students in 1887.

The original Second Ward School was set back from Division Street with numerous trees at the south end of the building.

A lightning strike in July of 1888 caused only minimal damage. The cupola required minor repairs but because the school had no electricity in those days, no equipment was in place to be ruined.

Four rooms were added along Division Street in 1905. This required all of those beautiful trees to be removed and people were quite upset. However, the school was jam packed with kids and that was the most logical place for the addition.

The new Second Ward addition is shown here from Division Street looking northwest.

Electricity and steam heat were finally installed at Second Ward School sometime between 1911 and 1918. Unfortunately, lightning struck the school again in May of 1918. In addition to the cupola structure, the electric meter and heat regulator were damaged.

The school is shown here around 1922 from Central Avenue (changed from Railroad in 1909) looking southeast.

Severe overcrowding persisted and a successful 1926 bond election provided for the new high school on First Avenue and a Second Ward replacement. Mann and Co. of Hutchinson designed the new Central School in the Collegiate Gothic, or more broadly, Gothic Revival style.

Plans included 15 grade rooms and one kindergarten room. This was unique because Central was the first school in Dodge City to implement the kindergarten concept. The school was designed to accommodate 600 students. A gymnatorium extended eastward from the back of the building with a seating capacity of approximately 1,200.

Contracts totaling $127,255 were awarded in April of 1927 with hopes of the new building being ready before school started in the Fall. That was completely unrealistic and by November, only four classrooms were ready: one kindergarten, two first grade, and one second grade. As a result, only half-day sessions were held until the building was completed in November of 1927. Demolition of the Second Ward School began that same month.

Central School’s north entrance is shown here from Oak Street looking southeast.

In the beginning, Central School had no dedicated library. Books were initially stored in the principal’s office and later on a moving cart to be delivered to the classrooms. Later on, students and teachers created a more permanent space in the south end of the upper hallway. A proper school library was established in February of 1934.

In December of 1956, arsonists gained entry in the southeast area of the school. One fire was set in a trash can under a teacher’s desk in the southwest area of the building, causing severe damage to that classroom. A similar fire was set in a classroom near the point of entry but only the trash can was damaged in that room.

Hot meals were served at Central beginning around 1969. At that time, they were shipped over from the high school. A school kitchen was completed shortly after the hot lunch program began. It appears to have been added to the north end of the cafeteria at the back of the building.

Although Central was built to accommodate 600 students, that wasn’t nearly enough. Modular classrooms were added at the south end of the property along Division and those structures came with problems of their own. Leaky roofs and mold problems around 2008 displaced students for about a year.

The district started buying adjacent lots around 2010 to prepare for possible expansion. That process continued for six or seven years while public meetings were held to determine the wants and needs of the community. Expansion plans were approved in April of 2016 to build a new gym and cafeteria, kitchen, music rooms, storage, restrooms, and offices. The old gym was converted into a library and office space. Several old homes were removed. The block of Division between Central and Avenue A was vacated in addition to alley right of way south of Division for parking.

An open house was held on August 12, 2018 with the work mostly completed. The office remodel and playground would be completed soon after.

This is how Central School looks today:

The school district did an amazing job of matching materials. In the past, new additions were just tacked on to historic structures with jarring results. Central is a beautiful school. The windows are beautiful. The landscaping is beautiful. That tile roof creates major headaches and I am so grateful that it was not only kept but is being maintained. We’ve lost some historic schools in this town and we should be thanking our lucky stars Central isn’t one of them.

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209-211 S Second Ave

I know I say this all the time, but I have a weird obsession with this building. Going to school every day, I would stare and wonder why it looked the way it did. Like a lot of buildings on South Second, its awning was rotting and some of its windows had been covered over. Never in a million years would I have guessed this place had been a Lincoln dealership!

The lots at 209-211 South Second were residential until the 1940s. After the homes were either moved or demolished, an agency called RTS Commission Sales Co. sold used cars on the lots.

Edward J Farlow of Kinsley opened a new Lincoln-Mercury dealership and garage at 312 South Second on December 20, 1948. This would be where GMC of Dodge City is today.

Farlow Motor Company sold their used cars one block north on the opposite side of the street at 211 South Second.

A few months later, construction began on a new brick dealership at the used car lot measuring 70 by 115 feet with a curved front.

Hundreds of visitors attended Farlow’s open house the weekend of August 5-6, 1949.

A large concrete block addition to be constructed at the rear of the building for a body shop, paint room, and upholstery area was approved in November of 1949.

Lester Durr and Marcus Meng bought the dealership in March of 1952 and it became known as Durr-Meng Motor Co.

Durr-Meng Motor Co. is shown here with curbside parking on South Second.

However, the partnership was short lived, and the dealership held a quitting business auction on June 5, 1956.

The building sat idle for about a year. In May of 1957, the Southwest Kansas Art Association held a “Rockhound Roundup” for rock collectors at the former Durr-Meng garage. Goff Auto Auction began advertising at that location the following month.

In 1958, Harold and Maxine Houff moved their implement company into the former dealership.

Due to the various additions, there was plenty of space so D. V. Lippoldt reopened his appliance business in the showroom area.

Floyd Smith’s body shop was located in an addition out back. Hawley Brothers also had their showroom in the building at that time.

The B.F. Goodrich store moved to the old dealership in November of 1959. They didn’t just sell automotive parts and accessories in those days. You could also pick up Kelvinator and Sunbeam appliances as well as Motorola televisions and Schwinn bicycles.

By 1961, C & W Motor Service had one of the back shops and another was occupied by Dave’s Kustoms. While Dave Parks was a legend in the automotive world, he was also a gifted guitarist and just a fascinating man.

The showroom interior is shown here as flood water receded in June of 1965.

Clingan Tires, Inc. of Liberal bought the Goodrich store in March of 1973.

Clingan moved around 1976 and it sort of became a revolving door. There was a woodworking business and a Volkswagen repair shop. Mr. B’s Bargain Barn Auction and Sales Co. operated there and it was also a warehouse for Rent-Buy Furniture in the late 1970s.

Carpet Barn occupied the building in the early 1980s and it also housed a home improvement company in 1985.

The old dealership appears to have been used for storage until around 2004, when Brad Maxwell Racing Products had the showroom and main shop. Pineda’s Auto Repair and Security Communications also had space at the facility. New Hope on the Plains used the building briefly around 2008.

BJ’s Auto Service and Repair moved in around 2010. By 2018, the brick had been painted and windows restored. Discount Auto Sales Truck and Equipment Division has used the building for the past several years.

This is how Durr-Meng Motor Co. looks today:

You already know I hate painted brick. However, it still looks amazing compared to the 1980s and ’90s. I love that curved wall and the whole mid-century automotive aesthetic. It’s a great building and I’m so happy to see it being used.

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1310 Central Avenue

It’s kind of amazing to realize the intersection of Central Avenue and Hickory Street was considered suburban until the 1920s. Earl and Marie Zweig bought a six-room bungalow at the southeast corner of that intersection around 1922. In those days, Earl owned a Franklin automobile dealership with Robert Rath and he also operated the projector at the Beeson Theater.

The Zweigs built the Fairview apartments next door to the south and decided to add another building in the Spring of 1925. The firm of Arthur R Mann and Co. was hired to design the Monterey Apartments. Initial plans called for a three-story building with a total of 12 apartments, four on each floor.

Mann’s final design consisted of a two-story brick building with eight apartments and a basement. This new structure would occupy the lot where the Zweigs’ home stood so the bungalow was moved to the northeast corner of the property at 103 E Hickory Street. Construction began in August of 1925.

Newspaper accounts of construction costs always vary and I’ve seen estimates anywhere from $30,000-$40,000 for the Monterey, which is equivalent to $541,000-$726,000 in today’s money. That’s even with Earl installing all of the electrical since by that time, he owned Z-Y Electric Shop.

The Monterey is shown here as construction was wrapping up with the Fairview to the right and the Zweig home to the left.

This modern building boasted electric refrigerators and ranges, both Simmons automatic day beds, which were basically futons, and disappearing (Murphy) beds. There were oak floors and linen window shades throughout. The building had a garbage incinerator and a private garage for each apartment out back. It was a nice place!

An open house for the Monterey was held on June 13, 1926 almost exactly one year after the Zweigs’ plans were announced.

In July of 1932, the Zweigs sold the Monterey along with the Fairview building next door and the exact sequence of events is a bit murky. It was reported that Mrs. Emery R Ray would be managing the apartments after the sale.

United Investment Company handled the sale and it just so happened Emery and Sadie Ray were the primary officers of that firm.

United Investment Company went into receivership in November of 1932 and legal notices for a December 24 Sheriff’s sale began appearing in the Globe the same month. The Rays were arrested for making false financial reports which made the company appear more solvent. When auditors arrived, they were told the Rays had discarded the records because they needed to make room in the office. Who among us…am I right?!

Emery pled guilty, probably to spare his wife, and received a sentence of one to seven years in a state prison.

Meanwhile, Norval White managed the Monterey in the mid-1930s and early 1940s. The building was sold to brothers Maurice and J. D. Mullin in October of 1942. Property values hadn’t yet recovered from the Great Depression so the purchase price was only $30,000.

Aside from a small furnace explosion in 1956, things were pretty quiet until the 1970s.

That’s when the arrests of Monterey residents for petty drug offenses started popping up in the newspaper. In those days, your address would appear in the paper if you were arrested or even got a speeding ticket. Bob Johnson managed the Monterey in the mid to late 1970s followed by Laurin Jones in the 1980s.

During junior high and high school, I drove by the building every day and it didn’t look great. The whole neighborhood has really turned around over the past several years and the Monterey seems to be in pretty decent shape. I love that most of the windows are the correct size and understand why concessions may have been made in the bathrooms.

This is how the Monterey Apartments look today:

In case you’re curious, Emery and Sadie Ray lived in Wichita after he served his time and Emery became an award-winning car salesman. He also operated his own real estate agency. The Rays later divorced and Emery moved to Arizona with his third wife, where he worked for A BANK until his retirement.

If you like what you see, be sure to subscribe (way at the bottom of the post on mobile devices) to receive an email each time a new post is published and share on social media. You can also support my work by donating below. This content is 100% funded by history fanatics such as yourself. Thanks for reading!