Prelude to the Symphony in the Flint Hills

The evening of January 31^st was special for the Greenwood Hotel and Preservation Society. After years of hard work, time and planning, the Hotel was given the opportunity to host four members of the Kansas City Symphony. This four part string quartet performed a Prelude to the Symphony in the Flint Hills.

For a January evening the spring like weather could not have been more perfect. Greeters welcomed attendees at the door as they entered the Greenwood Hotel and the Eureka High School Pop Chorale served tasty hors d'oeuvres on silver trays. The trays were filled with, among other things, marinated mozzarella, garlic crostini with beef tenderloin topped with horeradish cream

and triple chocolate cake covered in a chocolate merlot mint sauce and fresh whipped cream. Several beautiful pieces of Flint Hill’s artwork were displayed throughout the Eureka Welcome Center, Hotel Lobby and Banker’s Lounge. A video presentation of the actual Symphony in the Flint Hills played continuously. The members of the string quartet mingled and visited with the crowd and enjoyed learning about the Hotel, our community and the area.

Those attending the reception listened to Emily Hunter Connell, executive director of the Kansas City Symphony, who explained the history of the Symphony in the Flint Hills. June 2012 will mark the 7^th year the event has been held. The Prelude to the Symphony in the Flint Hills allow those a taste of the whole experience.

Dr. Jim Hoy spoke about the significance of the Flint Hills as it is one of the only tall grass prairies remaining. He also touched on the history of the Greenwood Hotel and how millions of dollars were transacted in the Hotel between ranchers and businessmen years ago. Heather Fuesz, who orchestrated the evening for the Greenwood Preservation Society, introduced and thanked the generous sponsors who made the concert possible for Greenwood County and surrounding areas. She also recognized others who helped make the evening special.

Following the reception the string quartet performed Dvorak’s “American” at the Christ Lutheran Church. Prior to the concert, the symphony members introduced themselves. One member was from Hong Kong, another had family in Fredonia, and the other two were engaged to one another. The quartet featured a viola, two violins and a cello.

Special thank you to our sponsors Charles Hand, in loving memory of his wife Teresa Teichgraeber Hand, Keith and Virginia Moots, Joe Periera of Weichert Realty - Compass Point, Tom and Carolyn Perrier, and Art and Heidi Teichgraeber, We also appreciate all those who donated their time and resources 

 

A Prelude to the Symphony in the Flint Hills is coming to Eureka and the Greenwood Hotel Complex.

The Kansas City Symphony has performed for seven years for an audience of thousands in a different, remote area of the Flint Hills every year at an The Symphony in the Flint Hills. Tickets go very quickly for the annual event. As a way to share the event with as many as possible four Preludes to the Symphony are scheduled in different locations of the Flint Hills. A string quartet will be performing Dvorak’s “American” on Tuesday, January 31^st in Eureka for Free thanks to these special sponsors, Charles Hand, in loving memory of his wife Teresa Teichgraber Hand who loved music, Joe Peirera, Weichert Realty, Compass Point, Keith and Virginia Moots, Art and Heidi Teichgraber and Tom and Carolyn Perrier.  A reception featuring art work from the Flint Hills, horsdeovurs and a film show of the actual Symphony in the Flint Hills will begin at 5:30 in the Greenwood Hotel. At 6:45 the performance will begin at the Christ Lutheran Church. A shuttle will be available from the Hotel to the Church and back after the performance. Originally the reception and performance were to be held in the Hotel, but tickets went so quickly it was necessary to move the performance to a larger venue. FREE tickets for the reception and performance can be picked up at the Eureka Garden Center on River Street, the Eureka Welcome Center on Main Street, or Madison Telephone or call 620.583.5452. This is an exciting event for the Hotel to be host. Be sure to enjoy this exciting event, Tuesday, January 31^st.

Event Booking Information

Summer and Fall is always a busy time in the Flint Hills cattle country of Greenwood County, Kansas. I do apologize to anyone who has had trouble accessing information about the Greenwood Hotel Complex or has challenges contacting us.

For questions about booking meeting rooms at the Greenwood Hotel Complex the best way to get in touch is by calling 620-750-0278 or sending an email to gwhotelmarketing@gmail.com.

If a rental agreement form is what you need you can fill one out and submit it online by following the link below. If you would prefer to save a copy of the form to print and mail in that link is also below. If you are printing the form to mail it in please send it to the address below.

Room Rental Agreement Form

PDF Version

Address for Mailing Forms:

Greenwood Preservation Society

P.O. Box 301

Eureka, KS 67045

Additionally people have been asking how to find out if their date is available. You can access this information via the calendar on the blog. Dates that have been booked will be denoted with the room or the entire complex and if it has only been booked for a few hours the hours will also be denoted. If your date is available or you want more confirmation about the date you have in mind please send an email to gwhotelmarketing@gmail.com or call 620-750-0278.

Another question we have been getting is what are the rates. The rates are as follows:

One room (Specify Lobby or Corral Room)

$40 for 3 hours or less

$75 for 4-6 hours

$135 for the entire day

Entire complex

$115 for 4 or 1/2 day

$150 for an entire day

Please be advised that there is a $150 returnable deposit if alcohol will be served at your event. We do not hold your event date until we received your signed rental agreement and 50% of your rental fee. The remainder of your rental fee must be paid prior to your event.

We have 112 chairs available as well as 10 - 8 foot tables, 2 - 6 foot tables, and 3 - 60" round tables. At a recent event an individual had 100 guests for a reception and dinner. They booked the entire complex and indicated to us that the facility was just the right size for their set up.

We do not give capacity figure as room capacity varies dramatically based on how an individual sets up the facility. However, the Corral Room is 28.5 feet by 27 feet and the Black Gold Lobby is approximately 35.5 feet by 22 feet.

If you have booked an event and  need to make arrangements to pick up a key or drop one off please call 620-750-0278.

Thank you for your interest in the Greenwood Hotel Complex. Please let us know if there is more information that you need to know.

Walk of Legends Program Update

Matt Perrier, GWPS Vice President, wanted to clarify some details of the Walk of Legends Program.  Matt asked me to let everyone know that, yes, tiles are still available to purchase at $500 for the Greenwood Hotel Complex Walk of Legends. Tiles will be laid as orders are received, so get yours today!

The second point to make is that the tiles are not just for area ranchers to purchase. Any ranch or business in Greenwood County may purchase tiles. We have also had tiles ordered and given to others as a gift. A gift example and picture of the gift tile can be found on our Facebook page.

Getting the Bid

Thornton Backhoe Service removes old sidewalk.

Ever since construction began in March of 2010 citizens have wondered why local contractors were not being used for the project. We would like to take this opportunity to explain how our contractors were selected. Additionally, we would like to set the story straight. While limited, some local contractors and workers have contributed to the restoration of the Greenwood Hotel Complex.

So how were contractors selected? To answer this we have to go back to how the project is financed. Due to the nature of the ARRA grant dollars involved in the project, the Greenwood Preservation Society became responsible for following strict guidelines for soliciting contractors. Furthermore, contractors were not selected; they had to win the bid process.

The bids for the general contractors were submitted to our architect, Bill Morris by whom all the bids were determined to be “qualified”. The "qualified" part is to insure that the bidder is capable of doing the work required on a historic restoration project. At that point the contract was awarded to the lowest "qualified" bid; by Accel.

The general contractor is then responsible for hiring the subcontractors. For example, Thornton Backhoe Service was subcontracted to do some digging where the new sidewalk would be installed. As with the contracting procedures, there are also various requirements when soliciting subcontractors; things such as a requirement for multiple bids for work over a certain amount and following Davis-Bacon wage requirements.

As previously mentioned, our funding sources were the ultimate determinant on how the general contractor was selected. Local contractors had the same opportunity to submit their bid for the job. While the general contractor is not local, we would like to mention that the community is still benefiting greatly by having Accel performing their contract. While here they spend money in our community contributing to the retail sales tax and the transient guest tax for hotel rooms. They have done a phenomenal job on the complex and we appreciate their efforts in our community.

Funding Status

The Greenwood Preservation Society continues to raise funds locally, state wide and nationally to aid in the renovation of the Grand Princess of the Prairie.  The GWPS has been fortunate to obtain funding from a variety of sources. Using a base of cash donated by local residents and interested parties, the GWPS leveraged funds to obtain over $300,000 in Kansas Community Tax Credits through the Kansas Department of Commerce.  These funds were used as a matching source to obtain over $1 million from the Kansas Department of Transportation, Transportation Enhancement program. 

An additional grant through the Kansas Historical Society was obtained specifically for the basement. The Kansas Humanities Council is supplying funds to create a small museum area that will tout the transportation, cattle and oil industries that have been the economic and social backbone of Greenwood County and the Southern Flint Hills for decades.

Funds continue to be raised that will become an operating endowment fund to ensure there will always be money available to keep the Greenwood Hotel Complex in working order. If you want to know more about our operating endowment go to the Walk of Legends page on this blog. If you want even further information, please contact us at gwhotelmarketing@gmail.com and we will be happy to answer your question.

Additional funding sources will be obtained to finish upper floors of the building when our first phase of restoration is complete. If you would like to contribute to future phases of restoration please contact us today at 620-583-7271 and let us know how you would like to contribute.

In The Beginning

In October of 1883 the Greenwood Hotel was completed with 43 boarding rooms and 50 beds. Over the years she earned the name "The Grand Princess of the Prairie, Center of Everything". Built by The Eureka Hotel Company, a stock company consisting of prominent early settlers of the Eureka community the total cost of construction was $23,000.  The hotel was originally called "Hotel Greenwood" in honor of the county in which the hotel resided as well as the namesake of the county, Alfred B. Greenwood, who was noted for his work in Indian Affairs on reservations in Nebraska, Kansas and ‘the Indian Territories’ of Oklahoma. Commerce, horse drawn transportation and railroads were the main reasons the Eureka Hotel Company was founded. Eureka was a thriving metropolis.  The Greenwood Hotel is one of the oldest landmarks in Greenwood County.  In the Greenwood’s prominent years it is estimated that over $1,000,000,000 worth of cattle were traded in its lobby.  Million dollar oil deals were completed behind its walls.  It served Eureka, Greenwood County and the Flint Hills as the place to stay for over three-quarters of a century.

While the Greenwood Hotel currently is not offering a cozy place to stay for the night she has several new charms we are excited to tell you about. Stay tuned...follow along...as the "Grand Princess of the Prairie once again becomes the "Center of Everything".