Two western Kansas buildings have been removed and one has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Kansas Historical Society announced the newest National Register of Historic Places listings, which include two former hospital buildings, an early 20th century photography studio, a public school complex, a former railroad depot, and a Jewish cemetery.
St. Thomas Hospital – 210 S Range Avenue, Colby, Thomas County
St. Thomas Hospital was constructed in 1941 through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a federal program that funded the construction of 130 new hospitals nationwide and improvements to 1,670 more. There were only two new hospitals in Kansas constructed with WPA funds, one in Colby and the other in Oswego. The three-story Colby hospital was designed by Kansas City architect Joseph Radotinsky in the Georgian Revival style utilizing brick salvaged from the old high school on the same site. The facility was expanded in 1948, under the supervision of Wichita architects Overend and Boucher, to include a four-story addition housing a new polio ward and emergency facilities and a two-story chapel.
National Register of Historic Places – REMOVALS
Brookville Hotel – 204 N Perry Street, Brookville, Saline County
The Brookville Hotel was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 for its local significance in the area of commerce. The building was built in 1870 during a local boom period when Brookville served as a railroad division point on the Kansas Pacific Railroad and one of the terminals for the cattle drives from Texas. The hotel was famous for many years for its family-style fried chicken dinners. The building has been vacant for several years and an attempt was made to renovate it. These renovations have negatively affected the historic integrity of the building, and it no longer qualifies for listing in the register.
Krueger Building (Opera House) – 811 Fort Street, Hays, Ellis County
The Krueger Building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2006 for its local significance in the areas of architecture and entertainment history. The building was built in 1878-79 by William Bryon for pioneer merchants Henry Krueger and his brother Fred. They wanted a building in which they could operate a general store on the first floor and host performances and community events on the second floor. The building had been vacant for many years and attempts by the owner to rehabilitate it were unsuccessful. It was demolished in August 2012.