Over time throughout the history of Great Bend, the building that serves as the anchor of what is known as Allen’s Corner in the 1400 block of Main Street has endured. It has seen many occupants and worn many faces.
With her purchase of the building in 2016, lifetime resident Chelsea Mitchell Morris is now seeing her vision take shape. And as the scaffolding of the building’s latest exterior remodel was removed last week, others can see it too — the Allen building, the first brick and stone structure constructed in Barton County, reborn.
For Morris, who hopes to have the exterior finished by the end of the year, the destination is in sight on a long, long road.
“I bought the building in late 2016 to house my photography studio, said Morris, whose photography career was influenced by longtime lensman Dale Riggs since childhood. In October 2022, she relocated to Riggs’ 1217 Main Street studio which she had purchased the year before. Her lens, however, remains focused on the project developing two blocks north.
“We’ve had many unforeseeable obstacles and hiccups along the way — far too many to mention — but we could not be more thrilled to see this progress,” Morris noted.
The first owner
Great Bend’s Main Street was still in its infancy when Albert S. Allen (1846-1911) arrived in town in May 1872. A veteran of the Civil War, enlisting with Company F, 82nd Ohio Infantry at the age of 15, he was a survivor of the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Gettysburg and the Siege of Atlanta. At the end of the Civil War, he made his way back to Cleveland to pursue an education in business. He then returned to his hometown of Mansfield to operate a drug store from 1869-1872.
After hearing of the promising land reports in Kansas, he visited several towns and set his hopes on Hutchinson, but discovered there was already an established drug store there. While in Hutchinson, he befriended D.R. Smith, who was traveling to Great Bend to homestead. Allen’s arrival in Great Bend had an immediate effect, and with August Schaeffer as contractor, built the first masonry and stone building in Barton County at the corner of Curtis and Maggie Streets (now known as Main Street and Forest Ave.) in 1875.
Allen was elected as city councilman in 1872 and 1874 and served as city treasurer throughout most of the 1880s.
Building evolution
While setting up and operating his drug store for the next 33 years, Allen also launched the town’s first circulating library. Brinkman’s Bank was added with an extension to the structure in 1878. In 1921, the building underwent a complete design change, giving it the blond brick Classical Revival style that mostly is seen today to accommodate First National Bank, which included enhancing the original Italianate masonry with Neoclassical cornices in the facade.
In 1955, when the bank moved to another location, the Allen Building was purchased by L. F. Harper, who then removed the lower part of the awning to the front, covering the upper windows and concealed the windows on the south side of the building with channeled sheet metal. In 1998, a downtown development project remodeled the sidewalls and filled in the outside access points to the basement of the building.
Back on track
After purchasing the building, Morris began immediately on interior restoration and renovations. While that was going on, “I got the building listed on the state and national historic registries,” she said. It started with a Preliminary Site Information Questionnaire (PSIQ)). “They determined that I had a building that met the requirements and I could then formally apply for the state and national historic registry,” she said.
But, before it could be finalized, the metal awning (installed in 1955) and tin over the windows had to be removed.” The building was accepted to the national and state registry by early 2018.
Her idea for the project came to her while visiting a store near Alma, Kan,, that had been completed utilizing the state and national historic renovation tax credit programs. “I had my eye on the Allen building prior to my return to Great Bend in January of 2016; seeing the Volland Store made me feel as if my dreams for the Allen building could be possible,” she recalled. “I intended all along to restore the building to its former glory, even though I knew I would not start right away.”
With the help of Economic Development Director Sara Arnberger, who worked to establish a downtown historic district, more doors were opened. Morris applied for and received a facade restoration grant from the county.
Her second architect on the project effectively captured her vision for the exterior. The Historic Renovation program has strict rules about matching existing vintage materials. As existing brick and mortar materials could not be duplicated, Morris’s team — which includes Andy Mingenback of Brentwood Builders as general contractor — opted for a synthetic stucco application to the columns. The stucco, known as an Exterior Insulation and Finish System (EIFS) — fit the bill. “The remodel from 1914-25 used real stone; we would have liked to use real stone and considered using cast stone, but the EIFS turned out to be the best fit all around. While the version we are re-creating is not as elaborate, the character will be evident.”
Windows and doors have been ordered and will be installed following the completion of the EIFS.
“We hope to have the front facade completed yet this year,” Morris said. “We will move forward with the interior entrance area in early 2025. If I get my wish, we will host a 150-year anniversary celebration, acknowledging the work done and the life of the building.”
It goes without saying, that the celebration will include a large photo display.
