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Commission endorses Dunbar School for listing on state and national historic registers
Summary
The City Commission unanimously supported a nomination to list the former Dunbar Elementary School on the Register of Historic Kansas Places and the National Register of Historic Places, after the Heritage Commission and the property owner urged recognition of the building’s historical and architectural significance.
The City Commission voted unanimously Jan. 27 to send a local-support resolution to the State Historic Preservation Office endorsing the nomination of the former Paul Laurence Dunbar School for listing on the Register of Historic Kansas Places and the National Register of Historic Places.
The nomination was prepared by the building’s owner, CKF Addiction Treatment, which bought the property in 2023 and is redeveloping the site for medical and treatment services. CKF’s representative noted the nomination draws on archival research, interviews and the Dunbar Alumni Association’s records.
Why it matters: the school, dedicated in 1922, served as Salina’s segregated elementary school for Black children until school integration in the mid-1950s. The nomination cites both the property’s historic association with Salina’s African American community and its architectural pedigree; the building was designed by architect William Schmidt, who also designed other Salina properties already listed on the National Register. The Heritage Commission met Jan. 22 and recommended the nomination, forwarding the recommendation to the city commission.
Public comment included alumni association members and representatives of CKF Addiction Treatment, who described plans for health-care uses in the building and said the listing would support preservation and adaptive reuse. The city will forward a signed resolution of local support to the State Historic Preservation Office ahead of the state board’s review.
Ending: With the city’s endorsement, the state review board will take up the nomination; if approved by the state board, the nomination will move to the National Park Service for final federal consideration.
