Liberty Hall/Memorial Auditorium - Downtown Wellington Historic District - Wellington, KS
Posted by: YoSam.
N 37° 16.034 W 097° 23.891
14S E 642028 N 4125720
Built as a Memorial to World War I veterans
Waymark Code: WMNJ1K
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 03/21/2015
Views: 6
County of building: Sumner County
Location of building: 208 N. Washington, Wellington
Item # 55 on NRHP Contributing List
"“The Memorial Auditorium originated from an idea by Wellington Attorney Ed Hackney in December of 1918. Mr. Hackney realized that Wellington needed to have “a building that will be of service to the people of the city”. He stated that, “above all things, we need an auditorium and a gymnasium”.
In January of 1919, a committee was formed to guide the building of an auditorium to serve as a memorial to Wellington and Sumner County soldiers. In April of that year, the Mayor signed a resolution for the voters to issue $140,000 in bonds. That same month, the people voted to build “Liberty Hall”, which later came to be known as our Wellington “Memorial Auditorium”. Construction began November 13, 1921 and was completed approximately one year later for a cost of $137,488.41." ~
Source: Wellington Recreation Commission, November 2008
""The auditorium was built in 1922, it was the focal point of the community for many years," Tracy said. "I believe during the early 70's, they just locked the doors and it wasn't used, it was in a great state of disrepair." In 1980, Tracy said citizens voted for a million dollar renovation of the building. Officials are hopeful the venue can be used for more events and gatherings with news of the grant money." ~ Wellington Daily News