Central Kansas is actually quite interesting if you are willing to stray from Interstate 70 for a few miles. Most people don’t, so I’ll show you a little bit of what they’re missing. A few more scenes from the road less traveled!
Root cellar / storm shelter built of native limestone. Many of these cellars served as homes for settlers as they built their permanent houses. Paradise, Kansas.
Art Deco water tower. Bogue, Kansas.
Art Moderne theater building. Natoma, Kansas.
Corner entry on house of native limestone with column of unusually original design. Paradise, Kansas.
Mid-century Modern building. The entry area was likely originally comprised of glass. Paradise, Kansas.
Well house, siren, and garage. Bogue, Kansas.
Self-portrait with weathered door and native limestone wall. The wall’s beaded mortar joints are common in this area as the technique helped to square the appearance of blocks which were not consistently uniform in shape. Waldo, Kansas.
Guard for former gas meter location. Natoma, Kansas.
The space between two buildings. Waldo, Kansas.
Cupola atop metal-sheathed building. Waldo, Kansas.
Former fuel tank location. Paradise, Kansas.
Grain elevators and backside of former lumber shed. Natoma, Kansas.
That theater sign is awesome!
So is the self-portrait.
😉
Documentation meets Vanity!
Cool photos!
The last image is particularly beautiful. So graphic!
It’s my favorite, too… I saved it for last!
We can see that cement mortar on limestone is not a good idea. On the pic “the space between 2 buildings”, you can see that the limestone is badly erroded in this tiny passage that must be humid and dark. Lime mortar must be used so that humidity can get out of the stone and the stone can breathe. Cement mortar traps it inside, causing stone disease. Same for old bricks buildings.
So much damage has been done to native limestone buildings by well-intentioned people failing to understand historic masonry. And the sad thing is, after more than a half-century of botched repairs, the same mistakes continue to be made even today. That would make a good subject for a future post – thanks for caring!