(video by S Jason Cole).
The Superior Well Office at 610 Roosevelt Ave in Excelsior Springs was demolished today as part of a planned cleanup of blighted properties. The long-neglected structure was the last remaining office known to exist in Excelsior Springs. There had been some efforts by citizens seeking historic restoration and reuse for the property but no viable plan was conceived. Economic Development Director, Melinda Mehaffy said crews did their best to salvage any of the historic architectural elements from the structure before demolition began. Mehaffy said the decision to demolish was made because the property had been a problem for the city because it was both dangerous and an eysore for the neighborhood. The City of Excelsior Springs worked with local non-profit group Friends of the Wells to try and establish a plan for the structure, but it was determined that even if the one-room building had been renovated it would have been too small and isolated to be used in any revenue generating capacity. According to the Friends of the Wells website, the building was particularly significant because it served the Superior Well No. 1 which is the last remaining original well structure.
The other structures scheduled to be demolished are not as historically significant. Crews will begin working at 1216 Curtis Ave., 703 Summit St., and 508 Summit St. later this spring to remove the abandoned and neglected structures.
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I worked for Orville Mayes when I was younger and he told me that when he was about ten years old he would go to this well and help a man that worked there pumping water by a hand pump. Orville was born in 1902 so it would have been 1912-1915 approximately. People would pay ten cents for water. Joe McAtee