HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Hutchinson City Council is holding a special meeting Wednesday, which is a stakeholders meeting regarding the Memorial Hall Historic Preservation and Reuse Plan.
Memorial Hall is located at the southwest corner of East Avenue A and South Walnut Street at 101 South Walnut Street and is in the city’s Downtown Core South Historic District.
Memorial Hall was originally known as Convention Hall and completed construction in 1912. President William Howard Taft was present at the laying of the cornerstone of the building in 1911 which was said to be the first time in Kansas history that a U.S. President had performed such a ceremony.
The building was designed to seat approximately 4,000 people, with 2,000 on the main floor, and another 2,000 in the balconies and galleries.
A major flood in 1941 damaged the building’s floor and discussions at the time included whether to condemn the building. The building was remodeled in the 1950s, but the building has continued to be the subject of local debate for many decades.
A unique feature of the building is that it is built on a bridge and pier structure that allows the building to straddle Cow Creek.
In 1996, a special election was held with the question of saving the building or tearing it down with Hutchinson residents voting to save the building.
Renovations were made following the special election and the building was renamed Memorial Hall.
Memorial Hall has been more widely used since its renovation, but a lack of air conditioning has been the major limiting factor to year-round use of the building.
The meeting Wednesday is at 3:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers Conference Room at City Hall.
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