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City OKs agreement to repair historic Girl Scouts house

  • The Wichita Eagle
  • Published Tuesday, July 12, 2011, at 1:18 p.m.
  • Updated Wednesday, July 13, 2011, at 6:38 a.m.

Historic Fresh Air Baby Camp

A local group is trying to restore a shelter built in 1920. Nurses from Wesley Hospital staffed the facility, which acted as a nursery. The Wichita City Council votes today on whether to let the group raise the money for the city.

The house is on 11th Street in North Riverside Park.

The group wants to start work on the roof this fall. It must have $10,000 raised to do so.

The estimated cost to restore the building is $500,000. The group plans to raise it through donations and grant money.

To help, e-mail lea.mccloud@gmail.com. To find the group on Facebook, search for "Friends of the Historic Fresh Air Baby Camp."

The historic Girl Scouts Little House in North Riverside Park will likely be saved.

Wichita City Council members unanimously approved an agreement Tuesday that should lead to repair work at the dilapidated cabin.

The building was constructed in 1920 as a Fresh Air Baby Camp where mothers would take their newborn children to get away from the hospital environment and get some fresh air.

Wichita's is one of the few baby camps left in the country, the city says.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

But for most of its existence, it has been a gathering place for Girl Scouts.

Under the agreement with the city, the Friends of the Historic Fresh Air Baby Camp Inc. will raise money to replace the cabin's failing roof.

The city will pay permit fees, keep the building secure and help find grant money to fix it up.

Work will be completed within three years, under the agreement. Then the city will begin scheduling programming and allow people to rent it for special events.

"We're very pleased to have this initiative under way," said council member and former park board president Janet Miller.

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