Through a Local Lens: The History of Specs in Downtown Hutchinson

When you step inside Specs Eyewear at 122 North Main, you are entering more than an eyewear store. You are walking into a piece of Hutchinson history—one shaped by more than a century of local businesses, downtown celebrations and familiar faces.

Before the building became the space we know today, the address was part of P. Martin Dry Goods at 118–122 North Main. In 1906, J.W. Jenkins opened a music store with his sons, transforming the space into a single storefront at 122 North Main. A photograph from 1922 even shows the store along the route of an early Hutchinson auto parade.

In 1928, the building became home to Jones-O’Neal Shoe Company. For 58 years, generations of Hutchinson residents came downtown to shop for shoes. Many longtime locals may remember the store’s elevated fitting “stage.” Years later, traces of that era remained tucked away upstairs, including old Jones-O’Neal shoe boxes and sales slips—small reminders of the people and commerce that once filled the building.

The location began a new chapter in 1988, when Payton Optical moved to 122 North Main. Greg Payton carefully restored important features of the building, exposing its distinctive south brick wall and preserving the beautiful, authentic metal ceiling that customers can still admire today. Payton Optical spent 29 years at this address as part of the family business’s remarkable 70-year history in Hutchinson.

In 2017, Greg retired and Specs Eyewear for Everywear carried the location’s optical tradition forward.

We are proud to be part of a building—and a downtown—with such deep local roots. For nearly a century, 122 North Main has been a place where Hutchinson residents have come for personal service: first for music, then shoes and, for more than three decades, eyewear.

Today, Specs continues that tradition with carefully selected frames, advanced optical technology and a team that takes the time to make sure your glasses look, fit and feel just right. The products have changed over the generations, but the spirit of personal service has remained.

Come visit Specs at 122 North Main, look up at the original metal ceiling, take in the exposed brick and become part of the next chapter in this historic Hutchinson storefront.

More of the building’s history and archival photographs can be found in the Hutch Post’s “Throwback Thursday” feature.