Focus on Preservation

2012 LOCAL PRESERVATION NEWS

Topeka City Council to consider demolishing historic landmark —Tim Hrenchir, Topeka Capital-Journal, 2/4/2013

Buildings may be donated for preservation. Emergency stablization loans are possible. Read about it on the Kansas Preservation Alliance web site:http://kpalliance.org/Pages/01_programs.html

From the AASLH Historic House Affinity Group committee, this Technical Leaflet may help forestall the decline in historic house museums in peril and outline a path back to a health and vigorous future:
How Sustainable is your Historic House Museum?
http://aaslh.org/documents/TL244Autumn2008.pdf
—George Laughead, Kansas Heritage Group —1/31/2009

SCHS seeks additional funding for its Educational Programs, such as continued support of local and state history curriculum development for third and seventh grades.

Visit our Photo Archive
of historic Shawnee County properties.

St. Francis Hospital of Topeka purchased property on Menninger Hill in Topeka. Concern over fate of the historic Tower Building, once the Security Benefit Association Hospital, has been put to rest. St. Francis Chief Executive Officer Mike Schrader voiced plans preserve the clock tower. Read article in the Topeka Capital-Journal, Apr. 14, 2008. —4/17/2008

More Preservation News

HISTORIC PRESERVATION WEB LINKS:

Kansas of Olde —site for owners of historic properties
http://kansasofolde.com/default.aspx
THE KANSAS PRESERVATION PLAN - Planning for the Future: Historic Preservation is Public Policy
http://www.kshs.org/resource/kspreservationplan.pdf
Kansas Preservation Alliance, Inc.
http://kpalliance.org/
KPA's Directory of Preservation Resources
http://kpalliance.org/Pages/10_resourcedirectory.html
Preservation Action: Grassroots Preservation In Our Nation's Capitol
http://www.preservationaction.org
WWW-VL: US Historic Preservation
http://www.vlib.us/history/preservation.html

A BRIEF HISTORY

In January 2003 the Shawnee County Historical Society merged with Historic Topeka. The combined organization is called Shawnee County Historical Society . SCHS is dedicated to the preservation of Topeka's historic neighborhoods, buildings and sites.

Giving Topeka's Past a Future!

he evolution of a community, its history and personality, is reflected in the architecture that remains from the past. Preservation of Topeka's landmarks and significant places is a recycling that encompasses the rehabilitation, restoration and adaptive reuse of individual buildings, whole blocks and entire neighborhoods.

By recycling landmarks and structures for uses which are appropriate now, a link is forged that connects our present community to the foundations of our heritage.

The Shawnee County Historical Society seeks to heighten awareness of Topeka's rich past and of the need for preservation of historic landmarks not based solely on architectural detail, but based on significance to the community.

The common sense wisdom of preservation is that communities should be a mix of the old and the new. That the fabric of a city is tied to the idea that all of its buildings were not created yesterday and that they will remain beyond tomorrow. These buildings are remnants of earlier times and are the irreplaceable footprints of our heritage stitched together in a harmony that includes entire blocks and neighborhoods.

We wish to encourage public participation in local preservation, to educate the community about the rich history of the city, and to provide leadership for all preservation activities. Many of Topeka's greatest treasures, such as the former Governor's Mansion, the Arthur Capper home, the Grand Theater, the Dickinson Theater, the library on the Statehouse grounds, and the old courthouse have been lost to progress.

The economic benefits of preservation make the adaptive reuse of buildings not only sensible but logical. Dollar for dollar a rehabilitated building provides more square footage, creates more jobs, and the end product features craftsmanship and materials that cannot be duplicated today. Discarded buildings and entire neighborhoods can be regenerated with whole new lives that often renew their integrity and utility in ways more profitable than their original use.

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Neighborhood Virtual Tours
Archive, Historic Topeka Newsletters
Photo Archive

Past Community Projects:

Restoration of the Ross Row Houses, 513-521 Van Buren
Restoration of Ward-Meade Home and Park
Organization of the Apple Festival
Founders of Railroad Days
Supporter of the 1908 Herschell-Spillman carousel in the park restoration
"Magic Moments in History"- historical sketches of places and events in Topeka history
Retrieval of the WREN bird and its placement in a city park
Leadership and support of Save The Jayhawk Theater
Presenter of annual preservation awards
Organizer of bus and driving tours of Topeka's historic neighborhoods and sites
Endorsement of Preservation Ordinance for Topeka

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