Topeka Renewal

National Renewal

Livelihood

Then and Now

Livelihood

The edges of the old Bottoms district include buildings and businesses that survived. The northeast edges include the Hills Pet Nutrition plant and BNSF properties (previously Santa Fe), two prominent employers for former Bottoms residents. These two properties were left out of the urban renewal district and are still in use. A large smokestack on the BNSF property can be seen in some of my photographs and stands out in some of the archival photographs I found. I can only imagine that smokestack stood as a landmark for many going to work or finding their way around.

Hills Pet Nutrition was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Topeka. A production facility is still in operation just north of The Bottoms. The facility was a prominent employer of Bottoms residents.

The Santa Fe Shops employed many Bottoms residents. Now owned by BNSF, much of the land east of the original Bottoms district still belongs to the railroad.

An abandoned Santa Fe building that was spared destruction during Keyway.

A railroad was a good sign your town was going to make it in the late 1800s. Railroads required a large workforce, and in Topeka's case, many workers came from Mexico and settled in neighborhoods like in The Bottoms.