11 Most Endangered
Eisenhower VA Medical Center
Year Listed: 2000
Location: Kansas
Current Status: Saved
Threat: Development
Today, the handsome red brick facilities on a bluff high above the Missouri River form the core of the National Home of the Disabled Volunteer Soldier Historic District. Constructed in Georgian and Romanesque Revival styles by master builder James McGonigle on grounds carefully landscaped by acclaimed designer Horace Cleveland, the architecturally distinctive buildings have remained essentially intact. That, however, could soon change. The Department of Veterans Affairs wants to demolish 39 of the buildings as part of a downsizing project in what is now known as the Dwight D. Eisenhower VA Medical Center. In addition to McGonigle's buildings, other structures, including the famed Amusement Hall once visited by prohibitionist Carrie Nation, would go. The cleared land would be used for cemetery expansion.
Update
In 2005, the 38 historic buildings were saved when the VA signed a long-term lease with Pioneer Group, Inc. The Topeka developers are rehabilitating the buildings to provide veteran-related uses, including senior housing. The first phase, currently underway, includes the rehabilitation of eleven buildings into forty-five 1 and 2 bedroom apartment units and the conversion of garages to laundry, exercise and meeting rooms. The project is funded through state and federal rehabilitation tax credits and housing tax credits.
