CAPTION: The East entrance of Memorial Hall at 101 South Walnut in Downtown Hutchinson. CREDIT MICHAEL GLENN/THE HUTCHINSON TRIBUNE
By Michael Glenn
The topic of what to do with Memorial Hall is tricky, but there’s one clear answer I think most of us can agree upon.
Demolishing the famed and historic 110-year-old building is not an option. It can’t be.
I attended the City of Hutchinson’s public meeting asking citizens to give their two cents on what they think the best option for the hall would be. It was a good meeting that saw lots of Hutchonians share ideas and beliefs on the historic building.
Now admittedly, I am very young as most of you may know. I am 18 years old and don’t know much of Hutchinson’s history past the last 25 years or so, at best. But plenty of people at the meeting remember discussions the City had with its residents in 1995 about the hall and its future, with demolition as an option then.
The sentiment then and now was very similar: Don’t tear down that hall!
Most people understand that the hall is not in good condition. The total amount of funds needed to make the hall what it should be is $5.02 million, at least.
Even though that number may be large, it’s not the fault of the taxpayers of Hutchinson that the city dragged its feet on the hall’s condition for decades, leading to a large bill due today.
Regardless of how dilapidated it may be, it still gets good use. Even though we can’t use the hall in the summer time currently due the lack of HVAC, I’ve been in the hall for events numerous times, and it’s host to theatre productions, sporting events, dance recitals, corporate conventions, private celebrations and other fundraising events that would be hard-pressed to find a similar spot in Hutchinson.
If I were on the Hutchinson City Council, I’d bite the financial bullet to repair the hall to the best condition possible, then potentially lease the building to a promoter or manager who could make the hall money.
The hall should stay in city hands as a crown jewel of Downtown Hutchinson’s redevelopment and revitalization, not demolished or left as-is.
As a young person, I expected Memorial Hall to be a part of Hutchinson for the rest of my life. We have the opportunity to transform it and turn it into something people come into Hutch for.
Let’s not waste it and tear it down, sell it off or do nothing with it.
On the other hand, I wanted to share some fun information with you. I graduated from high school!
Well, at least if you’re reading this after 2 p.m. the day of publication, I have.
Trinity Catholic has made me the person I am today. The relationships I’ve been able to build with my peers, teachers and coaches at TC have been instrumental in my development and life. I am forever grateful to my school for giving me the tools to be successful in the “real world” after high school and college.
Speaking of college, I have made a decision to attend the University of Kansas and major in journalism. I was awarded the John P. Kaiser scholarship, which is a full scholarship to the university.
Congratulations to the Class of 2025. We did it!
Keith Richardson / May 11, 2025
Michael, there’s one point in your piece where I feel I have to disagree with you. The current plight of Convention (or Memorial) Hall is most certainly the fault of the city’s taxpayers. We taxpayers are also voters and in the last thirty years we obviously haven’t elected the city commissioners/council members who could or would provide the leadership, vision and foresight needed to ensure the future preservation and utility of the Hall. We have failed on this particular matter and there’s no one else to blame.
So what do we do now? Just add another park or parking lot to an already gap-toothed city-scape? Do nothing until the Hall sinks into the Cow? Sell it and let someone else neglect it into oblivion (remember the long-gone Central Junior High/High School building)? Or treat it like any other important piece of infrastructure and invest the time and money to make it a stand-out venue? It will always be “too much money.” It’s always been “too much money,” and that’s why we are where we are. It’s all up to us.
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Bart Kooiman / May 11, 2025
Michael, congratulations to you and all the TC graduates today. Forward!
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