Dwight D. Eisenhower, who grew up in Abilene, Kansas, stayed so often at that city’s Historic Hotel Sunflower during his presidency that it became known as the “Little White House.”
A “presidential suite” was created on the building’s sixth floor, and redecorated and furnished before each Eisenhower visit, said the form submitted in 2001 to get that building placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The eight-story, 94-year-old former hotel, now the site of Sunflower Apartments, is among attractions present in downtown Abilene, a city of about 6,400 people in north-central Kansas.
The home improvement network HGTV last month picked Abilene as having one of the 40 most charming small-town downtowns in the U.S. Abilene’s downtown was the only Kansas downtown to make the list.
Why did HGTV urge caution?
“Nothing charms like a small downtown that beckons visitors with historic architecture and boutique shops, or local culture and tree-lined streets,” HGTV said in a Sept. 17 article listing the cities involved.
“In creating this list of the best small downtowns in America (and it was tough to narrow this list to 40), we looked for vibrant towns that invite you in and encourage you to stay and explore,” HGTV said.
It added: “Caution: You may want to add all of them to your travel bucket list.”
Why was Abilene picked?
Abilene is “a place where vintage treasures, historic landmarks, and warm small-town hospitality come together to create an unforgettable getaway,” said the website abilenekansas.org.
“The small town of Abilene, Kansas, has received a boatload of accolades over the years, from coolest small town to most beautiful small town,” the HGTV article said. “There’s so much to love about the hometown of 34th President Dwight D. Eisenhower.”
More than 150 antique shops and booths are located throughout historic downtown Abilene, HGTV said.
“Ride on a 100-year-old steam engine on the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad, stand in awe as you watch a massive cattle drive and get a taste of the Old West during summer gunfight re-enactments,” it said.
Downtown Abilene is also the site of the former Abilene Union Pacific Railroad Passenger Depot, from which Eisenhower departed in 1911 to become a student at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York.
What other U.S. cities made the list?
The following other 39 U.S. cities made HGTV’s list:
- Athens, Georgia.
- Bar Harbor, Maine.
- Bastrop, Texas.
- Bend, Oregon.
- Breckenridge, Colorado.
- Cape Charles, Virginia.
- Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
- Charlottesville, Virginia.
- Concord, North Carolina.
- Conway, South Carolina.
- Covington, Kentucky.
- Dahlonega, Georgia.
- Deadwood, South Dakota.
- Fernandina Beach, Florida.
- Franklin, Tennessee.
- Galena, Illinois.
- Greenville, South Carolina.
- Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
- Ketchum, Idaho.
- Lake Placid, New York.
- Lewes, Delaware.
- Lewiston, New York.
- Livingston, Montana.
- Marquette, Michigan.
- Medora, North Dakota.
- Middleburg, Virginia.
- Montpelier, Vermont.
- Mystic, Connecticut.
- Pacific Grove, California.
- Park City, Utah.
- Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
- Solvang, California.
- St. Michaels, Maryland.
- Taos, New Mexico.
- Virginia City, Nevada.
- Wickford, Rhode Island.
- Fish Creek, Wisconsin.
- Williams, Arizona.
- York, Pennsylvania.
As reported in the Topeka Capital Journal
