Buffalo Block and Buffalo Hotel
Nestled in beautiful downtown Garden City Kansas you will find a hidden treasure. This building holds so much history to Finney County and if you aren’t looking for it you might just pass it by. The Buffalo Block along with the Buffalo Hotel still stand. Located off Main Street on Grant Avenue the Buffalo Block is a grand sight. Walking down Grant avenue you can appreciate the two-story building made from native white limestone quarried at Kendall, Kansas. The Buffalo Block originally had a third story made of wooden that was later removed. The adjoining Buffalo Hotel is also three stories tall, all made of the native limestone.
The Buffalo Block is one of the few remaining landmarks in the downtown area. It derived its name from the appearance of the white stone. The planner of this grand project was C.J. “Buffalo” Jones, a founder of Garden City. As the building boom gained momentum, Jones laid the foundation for the two-story hotel cornering Main and Grant in April 1885. Before it was to open, he decided to erect a much larger hotel adjoining it. To design both buildings, Jones hired architects J.H. Stevens and C.L. Thompson of Topeka. It was called the “Jones Marble Palace”.
Buffalo Hotel
he hotel opened in April 1886 and was the first permanent business building in Garden City. The main floor was reserved for shops, the bank and the post office. The Buffalo Hotel was located on the second and third floor and was elaborately furnished in the Queen Anne Style. The innovative feature of the Buffalo Hotel was its opaque glass ballroom floor.
When the city’s building boom came to a halt in the late 1880’s, Jones’s real estate holdings were heavily mortgaged and he lost both the hotel and the Marble Block in the early 1890’s. The Hotel was closed early on, but the rooms continued to be used for lodging off and on. During W.W. II, the building was remodeled into apartments for the air cadets and their families.
Today, the upper stories are used for storage but the ground floor still house several local businesses. When in Garden City Kansas make sure to stop in to Traditions Soda and Sandwich Shop. Traditions opened in 1925 and moved into the Buffalo Block in 1943 where it remains. Walking down Grant avenue you can imagine the grandeur this Block once had. With seating areas and a small park this block is the perfect place to sit and relax while you are in Garden City Kansas.
Today, the upper stories are used for storage but the ground floor still house several local businesses. When in Garden City Kansas make sure to stop in to Traditions Soda and Sandwich Shop. Traditions opened in 1925 and moved into the Buffalo Block in 1943 where it remains. Walking down Grant avenue you can imagine the grandeur this Block once had. With seating areas and a small park this block is the perfect place to sit and relax while you are in Garden City Kansas.
