In the fall of 1891, "at the time when Hastings was afflicted with as bad a dose of the blues and feeling the general depression about as bad as any city west of the Missouri," harness makers William M. Dutton and J.H. Haney constructed the three story Dutton-Haney Block-later known as the Gaston Building. The project was an immediate source of pride for the community.
In 1920 the harness and hardware company moved to the Second and St. Joseph location it occupies today as the Dutton-Lainson Company. The premises were sold to the Gaston Music Company, and a new nameplate was added to the front. For the next fifty years, it was known as the Gaston Building.
The Gaston Music Company, which had several stores in Kansas and Nebraska, was established by Roscoe D. Gaston in 1906. The Hastings company operated at this site until 1953 under the slogan "The Firm That Makes Piano Buying Easy." The first floor housed Gaston's music and furniture business, but insurance agents, physicians and dentists rented upper story offices for several decades into the 1970s.
In November, 1923, experimental radio station KFKX began transmitting live, locally produced programs at the site which were received as far away as Australia and South Africa. One of Gaston's employees, William G. Hay, launched a career in radio and eventually became lead announcer of the "Amos 'n Andy Show" in the 1930s.
The building was demolished in 1998 to make way for a small parking lot.
In the fall of 1891, "at the time when Hastings was afflicted with as bad a dose of the blues and feeling the general depression about as bad as any city west of the Missouri," harness makers William M. Dutton and J.H. Haney constructed the three story Dutton-Haney Block-later known as the Gaston Building. The project was an immediate source of pride for the community.
In 1920 the harness and hardware company moved to the Second and St. Joseph location it occupies today as the Dutton-Lainson Company. The premises were sold to the Gaston Music Company, and a new nameplate was added to the front. For the next fifty years, it was known as the Gaston Building.
The Gaston Music Company, which had several stores in Kansas and Nebraska, was established by Roscoe D. Gaston in 1906. The Hastings company operated at this site until 1953 under the slogan "The Firm That Makes Piano Buying Easy." The first floor housed Gaston's music and furniture business, but insurance agents, physicians and dentists rented upper story offices for several decades into the 1970s.
In November, 1923, experimental radio station KFKX began transmitting live, locally produced programs at the site which were received as far away as Australia and South Africa. One of Gaston's employees, William G. Hay, launched a career in radio and eventually became lead announcer of the "Amos 'n Andy Show" in the 1930s.
The building was demolished in 1998 to make way for a small parking lot.
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