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Sally Dorr Hatcher
Leavenworth
To the editor:
The demolition of the former Leavenworth High School is the story of more than the bulldozing of an old building. Although the legal process has been completed by the owner of the building and the demolition permit was duly granted, there are lessons to be learned.
First, the school district was allowed to dispose of a large building as expediently as possible. They were not required to take any responsibility for reuse or disposition of what taxpayers of the 1930s paid for in a time of economic hardships. The building replaced the previous high school which had been destroyed by fire in 1932.
Second, while the Leavenworth Preservation Commission unanimously denied the demolition permit, the owner appealed the decision to the City Commission as they have the right to do. LPC was overturned by a vote of 3 to 2.
I don’t believe the commissioners gave appropriate consideration to the alternatives. The building could have produced taxes. The parking lot that will soon be at 4th and Chestnut will produce no new tax revenues.
After the school district vacated the building in 2000, it was sold for $15,000. The new owner did not present a plan other than a wish to control the property to prevent something like a convenience store being built there. Several attempts were made to educate the new owners as to the potential of the building. On three different occasions over nearly a decade, the owners, city officials and representatives of the Carnegie Arts Center and First Presbyterian Church were invited to meet with different qualified architects and developers to discuss new uses.
These discussions included information about the financial incentives that would be available either to the owner or a new non-profit owner who would accommodate the owner’s needs for classrooms, kitchen area and meeting space. Parking issues were also included in these discussions. The meetings were to no avail. Out of more than 20 responses, the only architectural firm answering their request for proposals calling for demolition was chosen.
What could this city have had if a different path had been chosen? There could have been a theater for performing arts with a 500 seat capacity.
The gymnasium has space for 1,000 people, larger than most other spaces in the city. We could have had a heritage trades training program in the former shop class area. Artisans of this type are in demand with all the historic buildings in Leavenworth.
Sally Dorr Hatcher
Leavenworth
To the editor:
The demolition of the former Leavenworth High School is the story of more than the bulldozing of an old building. Although the legal process has been completed by the owner of the building and the demolition permit was duly granted, there are lessons to be learned.
First, the school district was allowed to dispose of a large building as expediently as possible. They were not required to take any responsibility for reuse or disposition of what taxpayers of the 1930s paid for in a time of economic hardships. The building replaced the previous high school which had been destroyed by fire in 1932.
Second, while the Leavenworth Preservation Commission unanimously denied the demolition permit, the owner appealed the decision to the City Commission as they have the right to do. LPC was overturned by a vote of 3 to 2.
I don’t believe the commissioners gave appropriate consideration to the alternatives. The building could have produced taxes. The parking lot that will soon be at 4th and Chestnut will produce no new tax revenues.
After the school district vacated the building in 2000, it was sold for $15,000. The new owner did not present a plan other than a wish to control the property to prevent something like a convenience store being built there. Several attempts were made to educate the new owners as to the potential of the building. On three different occasions over nearly a decade, the owners, city officials and representatives of the Carnegie Arts Center and First Presbyterian Church were invited to meet with different qualified architects and developers to discuss new uses.
These discussions included information about the financial incentives that would be available either to the owner or a new non-profit owner who would accommodate the owner’s needs for classrooms, kitchen area and meeting space. Parking issues were also included in these discussions. The meetings were to no avail. Out of more than 20 responses, the only architectural firm answering their request for proposals calling for demolition was chosen.
What could this city have had if a different path had been chosen? There could have been a theater for performing arts with a 500 seat capacity.
The gymnasium has space for 1,000 people, larger than most other spaces in the city. We could have had a heritage trades training program in the former shop class area. Artisans of this type are in demand with all the historic buildings in Leavenworth.
The classes of the Carnegie Arts Center could have been greatly expanded. There could have been arts exhibition space and artist’s studios. There could have been living space for artists-in-residence.
We could have had a culinary training program to enhance the hospitality industry of Leavenworth which we hope will expand.
The whole square containing two churches, the first Carnegie Library built in Kansas and the former high school could have become a National Register Historic District and one of very few squares of this importance remaining in Kansas.
Hopefully, better education of the school board and the City Commission will prevent the wasteful destruction of another valuable Leavenworth as
