Fallen on hard times

Not all Ness City’s buildings are as well preserved as the bank and courthouse. This pair of buildings across the street from the court house is sadly deteriorating.

This lion on the roof of the building on the right has decayed so much that it is hardly possible to discern what it once was. How sad.

The building features beautiful decorations in its native limestone masonry. Most of it is in good condition.

These beautiful wrought iron embellishments surround the entrance.

The iron was wrought by Capitol Iron Works of Topeka, which is still in business today. This building is a pretty good advertisement for their workmanship. I hope someone has taken an interest in preserving at least the building on the right. If it is too far gone for preservation, I hope someone will be allowed to salvage the beautiful stonework and ironwork. Note: I have since learned that the Lion Block Building is on Kansas Preservation Alliance’s 2009 list of Endangered Historic Places.

Ness County Courthouse

Ness County Courthouse’s architecture is far simpler in design than its near neighbor Ness County Bank Building. (One of its turrets is visible to the right of the courthouse.)

Building began in 1917 and was finished in 1918. I am not conversant enough in architectural history to tell what style this is and the Internet is frustratingly silent. Understandably, the Ness County web pages focus more on the bank building than the courthouse, but their silence on their courthouse is aggravating. I can find only that the decorative wall around the courthouse was a Depression-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) project and that J.C. Holland was the architect.

Courthouse has one unusual feature, little paintings on each side of the building.

The Kansas state seal is depicted above the main entrance.

Windmills, as in this painting, dot the plains. They were the main way to bring water to the parched land. Thank God for the Ogallala Aquifer!

The western meadowlark and the wild sunflower are the Kansas state bird and flower.

The American buffalo is the state animal. Since we now have a state insect (honeybee), a state reptile (ornate box turtle), as well as a state bird, perhaps the buffalo should be reclassified as the state mammal. The Legislature has plenty to do these days, so I hope they don’t bother which such a triviality.

The courthouse has other interesting details also. This is on the railing for one of the stairways.

This is the roof line. I like these. Not every interesting building in Ness City is as well preserved as the two I’ve already discussed, but that topic belongs to my next post.

Cpl. Noah Van Buren Ness

Ness County, Kan., is named for Cpl. Noah Van Buren Ness, the only corporal to be so honored. His statue was unveiled in 2000, the first Civil War statue in Kansas for 60 years. Ness, who served with the Seventh Kansas Cavalry, died in 1864 of battle wounds received in Mississippi.

I could find no actual photograph or other contemporary image of Cpl. Ness in my Google image search, so have no way of comparing his sculpted face to his actual face. I often wonder how artists determine someone’s face with no evidence. I’d love to see any contemporary image of him if anyone has one.

Ness County Courthouse’s signature architectural feature is shown through the statue’s sword handle. More about that tomorrow.

Moorish attorney's office

This hand-carved door is beautiful in its own right, but looking at it through the wrought iron adds to its charm.

An attorney’s office is immediately adjacent to Ness County Bank Building. Even though the architectural styles differ, they complement each other.

Here is the sunburst in greater detail.

The bottom of the door features panels showing six of the 12 zodiac signs. The libra panel is very appropriate for an attorney’s office.

This tile fountain was on the west side of the entrance. Unfortunately, it was not running at the time of our visit. It must sound very refreshing in the scorching dry heat of a High Plains summer.

A narrow courtyard separates the attorney from the bank building. It looked so inviting, but we didn’t enter.

Here is a slightly different view. I’d love to have an oasis like this next to my office, wouldn’t you?

Ness City Bank

I love architecture, especially architectural detail. We had read about Ness County Bank Building, a/k/a “The Skyscraper of the Plains”. Since we were just a few miles away this weekend, we decided to look at it. It is beautiful and looks as pristine as a 120-year-old building can be.

Since we were there on Sunday, the building was closed to the public. Someone was hosting a graduation reception there, which this lady was apparently attending.

The carvings are incredible. These are acanthus leaves on the front entrance. Note the gorgeous rounded corner detail just above the main entrance column.

The beautiful front door reflects the entrance and some of the Ness City business district. The balloon is inside.

All those years of use have rubbed the front door latch to a beautiful finish.

This carving is on the front of the stairway to the main entrance.

This carving is on the landing.

Merrill Trust Company’s logo is above the south — or Chamber of Commerce — entrance.

This supports a column at the Chamber entrance.

This is the back door handle.

This is detail from the Chamber entrance’s archway.

This is the corner of the building above the Chamber entrance. I highly commend this community for rescuing and preserving their great treasure.