Merle's Opens Patio

Merle's Place, located at 440 N. Seneca, recently expanded and added an outdoor patio on the north side of the building.  The expansion doubles their space and they have added more tables as well as another pool table and some other games.

Of course, they still have their tasty menu of sandwiches and snacks.  Stop by and check it out.

Ghosts in Delano!

We have been approached by a Paranormal Investigator.  His team would like to come to Delano and investigate any buildings or homes that might have some "unusual" activity.  An area can be investigated too, and we were told that they have monitored some activity along the river.

There is no cost for their services.  They would like to put together a walking or possibly a trolley tour for a couple weekends in October.  We already have more than 10 people signed up.  We will be meeting with the team on Wednesday, July 30th at 6:00 p.m.  The meeting will be at The Secret Gallery - 300 N. Meridian and anyone interested is invited.

If you are interested in having your building investigated, please contact Nancy Lawrence at Central Plains Novelty at 267-1260 or 640-2453.  You may also e-mail her at nancy@historicdelano.com.  Please respond by September 1st so that they will have time to do their investigations before October.

The Palette

The newest place to eat in Delano is The Palette located in the Academy of Fine Art.  The address is 535 W. Douglas, Suite 130 -- just west of Hertz, Bungalow 26 and The Perfect Touch.

Anyway, Z and I have gone there a couple of times already. The grilled meatloaf sandwich and the chicken salad on croissant are wonderful.

Sandwiches come with a side salad (not the bagged kind) or chips.  They have other sandwiches but I am hooked these two.  The atmosphere is artsy and just a neat/different place to eat.  They are open for breakfast also.  I haven't tried that yet but will soon.

Delano Fall Fair

Mark your calendars now!

Delano Fall Fair

Sunday, September 28, 2008

High Noon - 5:oo p.m.

The Delano Fall Fair is a Chisholm Trail event celebrating the Old West.  Step back in time and see how the early settlers and cowboys lived.

For more information on the 2008 Delano Fall Fair, visit our website at www.historicdelano.com/fallfair.

Pizza Hut Returns

The Delano Pizza Hut (located at 1016 W. Douglas) closed several years ago after a fire, and never reopened.  The building was eventually torn down along with a small office building next to it.  Now a brand-new (in 2000) Subway restaurant sits there.

Now, after an 8 year absence, there are plans for Pizza Hut to return to Delano.  No official word on when the new store will open, but it will be located in the old Wichita Billiard Supply building at 700 W. Douglas (corner of Oak and Douglas).  There will be limited seating available, and the store will offer carryout and delivery.

Watkins Steel Demolished

On Wednesday, July 9th, workers began demolishing the Watkins Steel building at the intersection of 2nd Street and McLean Boulevard.

The building is being torn down to make way for a new City Library

which is expected to be completed in 2011.

Here are a few pictures of the demolition in progress:

Railway Corridor

There are plans to develop the abandoned railway corridor from Seneca to the river into a park-like trail.  The plan includes some areas (near Seneca) which will be useable for overflow parking when there is an event in Delano.  The other end of the trail would connect with the new city library being planned for the old Watkin's Steel property at 2nd and Sycamore.  From there it would continue to the river and connect with the bike trail.

These plans are not new.  In fact the concept was included in the Delano Neighborhood Revitalization Plan which was adopted by the city in 2001.  The proposed plan was completed soon after and has been waiting on funding ever since.  The project has been submitted for a transportation enhancement grant for the past several years but has consistently not been chosen to receive any of the limited funds available.

On Tuesday, July 15th the planning department received approval from the City Council to submit the project to a different funding source.  Hopes are high that it will finally be approved so that the project can be done along with the new library, which is projected to be completed sometime in 2011.

We should know in the next few months and will keep you posted.

Welcome to the Historic Delano Blog

This blog is intended to be a discussion forum for a wide variety of topics relating to Delano.  Topics will include such things as historical tidbits, current events and our hopes and plans for the future. We will also post news items of interest; and a calendar of events is in the works.

If you have a topic for discussion, you may e-mail us at blog@historicdelano.com and we will post it and open a discussion about it.  Readers may submit their own comments on any topic, but this blog will be moderated to reduce spam and off-topic posts.

This blog is our first attempt at blogging, so please contribute; let us know how we are doing.

We are certain that the blog will grow and mature as we go, so let's get started!