There’s no place like Main Street
Kansas and Missouri communities enjoy their restored downtowns
By Margaret Dornaus
Published: Sep/Oct 2001
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Victorian-era architecture (above left) is the hallmark of a restored downtown in Peabody, Kan./ Kansas Tourism photo
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Main Street, USA. It’s a phrase that summons up America’s romance with a seemingly simpler time and place, when people strolled tree-lined downtown streets browsed shops where storekeepers knew customers by name. But as towns branched off from their homegrown roots into outlying suburbs, the vision of Main Street–and all it encapsulated–began to fade.
Now, thanks to the National Trust of Historic Preservation’s Main Street Program (aimed at helping to revitalize downtowns in communities under 50,000), Americans are rediscovering the treasures that these downtown streets have to offer. Efforts to make Main Street districts viable and exciting neighborhoods are paying off. Here are Main Street success stories from Kansas and Missouri.
“A downtown is the living room of any community,” says Jean Warta, assistant coordinator for the Kansas Main Street Program. Since its initiation in 1982, her state’s program has helped preserve and restore the downtown districts of 21 Kansas towns.
Northeast of Wichita, Peabody, with a population of approximately 1,400, is the smallest Main Street community in Kansas. What Peabody lacks in population, it makes up for in heart.
In the 1870s, Peabody opened its doors to large numbers of Mennonites who settled in the surrounding countryside. Russian Mennonites who settled here in 1879 are credited with introducing a hard-shelled winter wheat called Turkey Red that forever changed the agricultural face and fortune of Kansas. Other historians report this grain was furnished by the railroad to farmers.
Peabody’s fortune is reflected in downtown’s victorian-era architecture, the cornerstone of which is the former 1874 public library (Kansas’ first) and present-day historical museum. Other historical buildings boast a myriad of architectural styles, including gothic revival, queen Anne, victorian gothic and neo-classical, to comprise a downtown district (one of only two in Kansas) named to the National Register of Historic Places. Volunteer Marilyn Jones leads walking tours of the district. Call (620) 983-2815.
East of Peabody and north of Interstate 70, Wamego this spring added new sidewalks, flower planters and vintage-style lampposts to its downtown.
Wamego also is the birthplace of Walter P. Chrysler, founder of the Chrysler Corporation. The town’s annual Independence Day celebration includes an antique car show in Chrysler’s honor.
Other Wamego sites include Kansas’ only authentic Dutch Mill, built from stone in 1879, an historic backdrop for the city’s annual tulip festival held each spring and the renovated 19th-century Columbian Theatre, featuring murals that were first exhibited at Chicago’s 1893 World Fair celebrating Columbus’ discovery of America. Call the Main Street program at (785) 456-7849.
Just south of I-70, Salina has one of Kansas’ most successful Main Street programs, raising more than $50 million for improvements to its downtown district since 1999. Salina’s downtown boasts a large collection of victorian architecture, as well as art deco beauties like Sacred Heart Cathedral, with an exterior that depicts the importance of wheat to the people of Kansas. Another Deco-era property, the Historic Fox Theater, is currently undergoing restoration to return it to its former 1931 grandeur. Call the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, (785) 827-9301.
In Hutchinson, another Fox Theater completed its multi-million-dollar renovation about one year ago. The theater provides residents with a grand performance space for visiting artists and touring Broadway shows.
The town of 40,000 is also home to one of the Midwest’s most impressive attractions, the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, the only aviation museum outside of Washington, D.C., that enjoys an affiliation with the Smithsonian. Its recently opened Apollo exhibit includes the lunar module that Neil Armstrong piloted toward his historic 1969 landing and moonwalk. Call Hutchinson’s chamber of commerce at (316) 662-3391.
Kansas’ oldest city, Leavenworth, was established on the west banks of the Missouri River in 1854. A frontier army outpost and site of Kansas’ infamous federal penitentiary, Leavenworth has a wealth of history. Through a Main Street initiative, visitors can walk through the historic riverfront district, stopping at 21 audio stations that describe historical highlights. During the tour, visitors will learn about Abraham Lincoln’s 1859 address to Leavenworth residents, as well as Susan B. Anthony’s fight for women’s rights. Call the Leavenworth Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1-800-844-4114.
Missouri joined the Main Street partnership in 1989, and boasts 12 Main Street communities. Like Peabody in Kansas, the smallest of the Show Me State’s participants is also one of its most successful.
Clarksville, between St. Louis and Hannibal on scenic state Route 79, is like “a small Brigadoon,” says Missouri Main Street Coordinator Randy Gray. Its natural beauty situated on the bluff-lined banks of the Mississippi, and its residents’ dedication to preserving its cultural identity combine to make this town of 485 people a contender for numerous national awards and recognition.
Downtown shops feature a working blacksmith, woodworker, silver and pewter artisans. The Big River Days festival, Sept. Sept. 22–23, brings in crowds, as does Eagle Nest Days in late January, when throngs gather to witness bald eagles feeding along the Mississippi. Call Clarksville Main Street for information, (573) 242-3993.
Another great river town and successful Main Street community is Washington located on the banks of the Missouri off state Route 100 west of St. Louis. Washington is a 19th-century town settled by German immigrants. One of those founded the still-operational Missouri Meerschaum Company that fashioned Gen. Douglass MacArthur’s signature corncob pipe.
Today, Washington’s victorian-era downtown bustles with antique shops, bed-and-breakfast inns and art galleries. The Katy Trail State Park rambles through the verdant river valley’s countryside. Call the Washington Chamber of Commerce, 1-888-7WASHMO (888-792-7466).
Two other Main Street towns linked to the Katy Trail are Clinton, where the 185-mile trail ends, and Sedalia.
Clinton, featuring a beautiful town square, has won national recognition with an All American City Award for its historic downtown. And Sedalia’s picturesque 19th-century architecture is the backdrop for an annual ragtime festival, held in June, that honors one-time resident Scott Joplin. Call Clinton Main Street, (660) 885-2121, or Sedalia’s Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-827-5295.
Branson in southwest Missouri’s Ozark Mountains region, is another Main Street town. Known for music/variety shows and attractions like Silver Dollar City, Branson’s charming downtown is lined with restaurants and boutiques. It’s a nice change of pace from busy Highway 76.
Lake Taneycomo and nearby Table Rock Lake offer outdoor recreation for both anglers and divers. Call Branson/Lakes Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1-800-214-3661.
Editor’s note: This is the final story in a two-part series about communities in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, and Missouri that participate in the Main Street Program.
Margaret Dornaus is a contributor from Springdale, Ark.
