Ormiston Building

212-214 South Summit Street

The Graves Self-Service Drug store held its formal opening at 212 S. Summit St. in April 1948.

It opened in a rebuilt, redecorated and refurnished building previously known as the Arcade Building.

(It was the 11th drug store opened by Graves.)

The business also had stores in El Dorado, Winfield and several other towns in Kansas.

Prominent Arkansas City businessman Guy Arthur Ormiston planned to build the Arcade Building after a devastating fire in May 1931 destroyed the Commercial Block building, a three-story structure with bay windows that was constructed in 1884 and as recently as 1925 had housed the Leland Hotel upstairs.

Ormiston’s father, George, purchased the south portion of the Commercial Building in 1914 and later bought another 75-foot portion.

It was occupied by several businesses, including a clothing store, Kirkpatrick’s Furniture and a shoe store, and later renamed the Ormiston Building.

After the devastating 1931 fire — the second major fire on the east side of the 200 block of South Summit Street that year — Guy Ormiston decided to rebuild. The new Ormiston Arcade Building opened in early 1932.

Before Graves refurbished the building, it was occupied by O.W. Fox, a druggist who relocated from 222 S. Summit St.; Clarence Bartell, a barber; C.H. Sanderson, who operated a ladies’ shoe and hosiery store; and Grant Sears, men’s furnishings.

The American Legion occupied a portion of the building at 214 S. Summit St., possibly as far back as 1952, as recently as 1983.

The architectural style of the Graves building is late 19th/20th Century Classical/Italian Renaissance Revival.

It is a single-story buff-brick structure with nine bays featuring palladian and arched upper windows, a stepped parapet at the roof, stone detailing, a cornice band and small circle panels between the upper windows.