Historic Downtown Hutchinson Tour

This tour will lead you through downtown Hutchinson and see important landmarks and buildings on the National Register.

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Historic Downtown Hutchinson Tour

Hutchinson, Kansas 67501, United States

Created By: Reno County Museum

Tour Information

This tour will help you explore some of the most important locations not just of Hutchinson, but of Reno County. Through these stops you will learn more about the growth and development of the County. Some of them may surprise you! Every building has a story and we will explore a few of them in this tour. Some of them have been lost to time, but their history is no less important.


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What You'll See on the Tour

The Reno County Museum is currently located in two buildings joined together.  The longer red bricked building was formerly known as the Rosemont Apartments.  Built in 1913, it was considered an upscale complex for eligible bachelors.  T... Read more
The Salt City Business College has it's origins in 1879.  The school moved several times and at one point was located at the southwest corner of Ave A and Main Street.  The school continued to grow, and in 1910 moved into this building. ... Read more
At the turn of the century, Huchinson was quickly growing.  As the county seat, it was necessary that a convention center would need to be built to further business interests in the area.  President Taft was invited to lay the cornerstone... Read more
The first building in Hutchinson originally sat on this lot in1871.  A common way to encourage people to settle in new town was to offer a free plot to the first person to construct a building on the newly platted town land.  A.F. Horner ... Read more
On the site of Allie's Deli and Coffee shop was the Reno House. Built in 1871  The Reno House was the first hotel in Hutchinson, being built shortly after the city was founded.  In 1872 a report from Atchison wrote "The Reno House is kept... Read more
The building you see is actually the third Reno County Court House.  The current building is in the Art Deco Style, constructed in 1929 and finishing in 1930.  The building has marble detail throughout.  The northern elevator still reta... Read more
The original structure that housed the Hutchinson State Bank was built in 1887 and housed several different banks.  The Hutchinson State Bank operated at this location from 1936 to 1956 when it merged with American National Bank and formed... Read more
On this site stood the Wolcott Building.  Built in 1937 at the cost of $250,000 it was one of the first buildings in Kansas to have air conditioning.  Having 7 stories in all, the ground floor had businesses while the rest of the building... Read more
Between 1886-1921, Andrew Carnegie created a fund in order.  Kansas communities in particular were interested in this fund as the population expanded and towns began to grow.  Up till 1902, Hutchinson did not have a public library and the... Read more
John Graber was a German immigrant who came to the United States in 1874 and moved to Reno County in 1890.  In 1903, after having established himself in the farm implement business, Graber moved to Hutchinson to become an insurance agent.... Read more
St. Theresa was built in 1911 in the style of Romanesque Revival. Prior to this building, mass was held in a wood structure at the corner of Second and Maple. Since the establishment of the Parish in 1882, the Catholic community has often ... Read more
The Bisonte Hotel, Spanish for bison, was constructed in 1908.  The Bisonte was known as a "Harvey House".  Prior to the 1870s, travel by rail to the frontier was often unpleasant and accomodations, sparse.  Fred Harvey began his relatio... Read more
This building is all the remains of a vast commuter line that once ran between Wichita, Newton and Hutchinson.  Built in 1915, the line was originally designed to help foster growth between the three fastest growing communities in this are... Read more
The attraction of this building is not what is on the outside, but what is on the inside.  Upon entering, if you look to the right there is a mural measuring 18 feet by 8 1/2 feet.  Painted in 1942 by Lumen Martin Winter it is titled "Thr... Read more
Dedicated June 14, 1919, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument is a tribute to military personnell  of the Civil War.  At the top of the granite pedestal stands Abraham Lincoln.  He gazes down at at four figures representing, an infantryma... Read more
The Fox Theater is one of the most iconic theaters in the state.   Designed by the Boller Brothers, who were known for building grandiose theaters, it was constructed in 1931.  The flashing marquee was one of the first, and remains one o... Read more
After outgrowing his original location, dry goods dealer Vernon Wiley made plans for a bigger location.  In 1912, Wiley bought the Opera House, built in 1882, with plans to raze it.  He planned to make the building twice as tall as any ot... Read more

 

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