1930 Kansas Power Company Building: Bringing Electricity to Rural America

1930 Kansas Power Company Building.

Corner of Grant St. and Francis St.

This building, with its grand opening on March 21, 1930, was constructed for $60,000 and housed the Kansas Power Company's new 650 horsepower diesel engine which it connected to its ever-expanding power grid to help power north central Kansas. During the period in which only 10% of rural America was electrified, the addition of this building and its large engine was a welcome addition to Smith Center and Smith County.

Kansas Power Company Building in 1930.

Another hidden gem in Smith Center, this building shows Classical roots, its architect(s) possibly influenced by the Beaux Arts Neoclassical movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The building has rounded arched windows, much of which have been bricked in, as well as a cornice extending outward along the roof line. Much time and thought was put into the colors and the patterns of the beautiful brickwork around the arches and around the building.  If you look at the photographs on this page, you can see how much the building and its surroundings have changed since it was first constructed. The building itself now serves at least in part as a garage. Additional structures have been built directly to the west of the original building.

1930 Kansas Power Company Building, c.1946.

1930 Kansas Power Company Building nameplate.