Do you remember this little gem of a building? I stopped by about a year and a half ago, wondering if the building would be impacted by the city's upcoming flood control plan. I met the staff working there and they assured me the owner of the building said it was safe and not threatened. Well...the building was razed two weeks ago...a friend asked if I had noticed it was torn down...
Above and below- Great views of the building straddling the creek, probably couldn't build it today! The creek takes a hard turn to the north behind the building.
Below-Indoor view of lobby, front door is to the left.
I drove by and this is what I found...this was a cool building completed in 1965 as a Credit Union for Shawnee Mission School Teachers and designed by an educated hand... with the massing of the entry/foyer and the scale of the span over the creek. The employees didn't know the architect or builder names. Another example of mid-century modern architecture being the most at risk for demolition. The city of Mission, Ks. has seen a few
MCM buildings demolished in the last few years...Mission Center and the "Circle" building to name a couple.
Do you remember this little gem of a building? I stopped by about a year and a half ago, wondering if the building would be impacted by the city's upcoming flood control plan. I met the staff working there and they assured me the owner of the building said it was safe and not threatened. Well...the building was razed two weeks ago...a friend asked if I had noticed it was torn down...
Above and below- Great views of the building straddling the creek, probably couldn't build it today! The creek takes a hard turn to the north behind the building.
Below-Indoor view of lobby, front door is to the left.
I drove by and this is what I found...this was a cool building completed in 1965 as a Credit Union for Shawnee Mission School Teachers and designed by an educated hand... with the massing of the entry/foyer and the scale of the span over the creek. The employees didn't know the architect or builder names. Another example of mid-century modern architecture being the most at risk for demolition. The city of Mission, Ks. has seen a few MCM buildings demolished in the last few years...Mission Center and the "Circle" building to name a couple.
3 comments:
That totally sucks! I have always loved that building. There is still a place for preservation efforts evidenced by this... dang it!
Thanks for your comment Joe and Michelle...It was a cool building and we don't see many built over creeks around here. I heard it sustained some pretty bad damage back in the 1977 flood putting it on a blacklist probably when it came to creek improvements...while this building probably couldn't be saved it does sound the alarm for all preservation-minded people to let us know what they hear. The info helps when you hear it early!
My grandfather, Richard Wells, designed the building. I am his granddaughter. I live in New York. The last time I came home, I had my mother drive by to check out grandpa's "award winning building", as she likes to call it. We were heartbroken to see that it was DEMOLISHED! My grandfather also designed the now demolished Glenwood Movie theaters, the still standing sign for the Glenwood Theaters (in the Metcalf South parking lot) and the huge chandelier that hung inside the grand foyer. I am not sure of the fate of the chandelier. Thanks so much for your kind recognition of his building!!
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