Hays — With only rodents and pigeons attending the final performance, the last curtain likely will soon be lowered for the downtown landmark commonly known as the Opera House.

Built by Henry Krueger in the 1870s, the history of the Opera House or Krueger Building can differ greatly depending on who’s telling it.

“It’s called the Opera House,” said local historian Pete Felten. “But it was never an opera house.

“There was another building in town just across the railroad tracks. It was the Star Theater. … That was the opera house.”

Newspaper articles and advertisements from the 1910s and 1920s describe entertainment events at an opera house in Hays. Without addresses included in the articles, Felten surmised that readers decades later likely assumed the building referenced was the structure at 811 Fort St.

“Why would they go to the Krueger building, a dry goods store, with an opera, when the opera house was across the street?” Felten asked. “It doesn’t make sense.

“It’s one of these myths you can’t change.”

The Star Theater, located at 10th and Fort, served as an opera house at the turn of the century and was renovated into a movie theater in the 1930s.

The Krueger Building became commonly known as the Opera House, according to Hays City Commissioner Henry Schwaller IV, because transient performers sometimes put on impromptu performances there. However, he said, the building’s other uses included being a makeshift courthouse after the Ellis County Courthouse burned down.

Visually, the building “always surprised” Felten, who said he’s often wondered why Krueger built a three-story stone building in a small town such as Hays.

A rather ambitious undertaking, he said the structure was built with limestone from a quarry on what is now Fort Hays State University property. During the building boom of the 1870s, the county courthouse, churches and many other local buildings were constructed of the native limestone.

Its north side, facing the railroad tracks, created a fine impression for folks traveling by train. The smooth stones reserved for that side, which bore the Krueger Dry Goods sign, contrasted with the rough stones used for the building’s other three sides.

The mortar, which has somehow held together the Krueger building for more than a century, likely was made locally of a lye product consisting of burnt limestone, Felten said.

Attractive stones were placed on the outside of the building during the construction process, and debris resulting from cutting the stones was used as filler behind them.

“And after years, it just turned into dust,” Felten said. “It would just crumble.”

With a lack of maintenance throughout the years, the weathering of the building’s stucco, stone and mortar through freezing, thawing and rain led to cracking and falling of stones.

During the last month, the falling stones prompted the city of Hays to move forward with the condemnation process for the building, as city staff became increasingly concerned about public safety for pedestrians and automobiles traveling near Eighth and Fort.

‘The place to go’

In 1909, local businessmen purchased the building for $12,000 to create the Essex House, a place for meals and gatherings.

“My mother was a teenager,” Felten said. “And she always wanted to go to the Essex Club.

“It was the place to go.”

Felten’s grandfather, Harry, and Schwaller’s great-grandfather, Henry, both were members of the Essex Club. Thereafter the building sold to the Wolf and Rupp families in the early 1920s, and was home to a variety of family businesses, including Wolf/Rupp Motor.

From 1954-2001 E.J. Dreiling housed his businesses, Midwest Candy & Tobacco Co. and Midwest Distributors/Budweiser, in the building. Ornate details of the original building, such as dormers and wrought iron work were removed but left inside the building when it was covered in yellow brick in the 1950s.

The building’s distinctive Mansard roof is the last remaining example in Ellis County of Rural Second Empire Design.

The Krueger Building sold for the last time to the Liberty Group in 2001.

‘It did its job’

In 2002-2003, in an effort to document the historic nature of the building, the brick facade was removed so the building could be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and thereby be eligible for grant funding.

Although a grant was received to help with restoration of the roof and third floor windows, it was determined that the foundation required repair, funds for which were “very sparse,” according to Kelli Hansen of Liberty Group.

“With the current buildings in progress on Main Street and the dollars committed to those properties, coupled with the downturn in the economy, we decided for the good of the entire district, our focus needed to remain on completing that area rather than putting those dollars into the foundation of a building where no physical changes would be seen or realized and would still require millions of dollars to turn that structure into a usable property,” she said in an emailed statement.

With reluctance, the Liberty Group made the decision to proceed with the demolition process, Hansen said, documenting the historic and architectural elements of the building in the hope of recreating “bits and pieces in the Chestnut Street District.

“We also have hopes that much of the limestone from the building can be saved in order to be used elsewhere throughout the district as a reminder of Hays’ rich history and heritage that the Opera House embodied.”

Although the building has historic significance for Hays and has served as a window into the imagination of Hays’ founders, Felten is resigned to the fact that the building should be demolished.

“It was an overly ambitious building, and it got used a lot,” he said. “It did its job for a long time.

“Times change, and you have to go along with what you need and what you want to get rid of.”

Although demolition of the building likely is the only pragmatic option for its future, the thought of seeing open air where the once grand structure now stands might fill many residents with disappointment.

Schwaller said he has heard from Hays residents upset at the likelihood the building will be demolished, but said he believes most of them, although not happy about the situation, have come to understand the physical deterioration of the building is so extreme that demolition is inevitable.

“I’m going to miss the building,” Schwaller said. “It was so exciting to see the brick come off in 2003, and it was so promising.”