Downtown Wichita

File:Sedgwick co historical museum.jpg

{{Main|History of Wichita, Kansas}}

In 1872, the community of Wichita opened a toll bridge on Douglas Avenue to Delano across the Arkansas River, and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway opened a line through the city, triggering an economic boom. Local industries in banking, meat packing, and real estate emerged. A large warehouse district developed along the rail lines south from Central Avenue.{{cite web | title = Oldtown History | publisher = OldtownWichita.com | url = http://www.oldtownwichita.com/oldtown-history | accessdate = 2017-07-02 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090119213801/http://www.oldtownwichita.com/oldtown-history | archive-date = 2009-01-19 | url-status = dead }} By the late 1870s, the intersection of Douglas Avenue and Main Street had become the downtown hub of local commerce.{{cite web | title = History of Jews in Wichita | publisher = Mid-Kansas Jewish Federation | url = http://mkjf.org/joomla/index.php/about-us/16-history-of-jews-in-wichita | accessdate = 2017-07-02}}

Continued economic growth through the 1880s spurred further downtown development, including the completion of the Wichita City Building in 1892. The building housed all city government offices, both the police and fire departments, and the city's first public library.{{cite web | title = About the Museum and its Building: Old City Hall | publisher = The Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum | url = http://wichitahistory.org/our_building/ | accessdate = 2017-07-02 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170706025203/http://wichitahistory.org/our_building/ | archive-date = 2017-07-06 | url-status = dead }} During the subsequent decades, a number of manufacturers constructed plants downtown, including the Coleman Company in 1901.

The Forum, Wichita's convention center and primary event venue, opened downtown in 1911. It was built on the site of city co-founder Dutch Bill Greiffenstein's homestead.{{cite web | title = History of Century II | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.century2.org/Pages/History.aspx | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170105172340/http://www.century2.org/Pages/History.aspx | url-status = usurped | archive-date = January 5, 2017 | accessdate = 2017-07-02}} The Orpheum Theatre opened downtown in 1922 and became a popular venue on the vaudeville circuit.{{cite web | last = Buchanan-Spachek | first = Johny | last2 = Salley | first2 = Paul | title = Orpheum Theatre | publisher = Cinema Treasures | url = http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/381 | accessdate = 2017-07-02}}

File:Downtown Wichita.jpg

By the 1960s, sections of downtown had entered a period of decline. To commemorate the centennial of Wichita's founding, the city razed The Forum and in its place built the Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center which opened in 1969. The city government relocated to a new City Hall in 1975. In 1981, the former City Building reopened as the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum. In 1987, construction finished downtown on the Epic Center office tower, the tallest building in the city and in the state of Kansas.{{cite web | title = Epic Center | publisher = Emporis | url = https://www.emporis.com/buildings/125730/epic-center-wichita-ks-usa | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160112094910/http://www.emporis.com/buildings/125730/epic-center-wichita-ks-usa | url-status = usurped | archive-date = January 12, 2016 | accessdate = 2017-07-02}}

In 1989, the city initiated a redevelopment plan to revitalize Downtown Wichita.{{cite web | title = Project Downtown History | publisher = Wichita Downtown Development Corporation | url = http://downtownwichita.org/development/project-downtown | accessdate = 2017-07-02}} Among the plan's results was the redevelopment of the old warehouse district into Old Town, an entertainment district home to numerous restaurants and night clubs.{{cite web | title = Project Downtown: The Master Plan for Wichita | publisher = Wichita Downtown Development Corporation | date = November 2010 | page = 2.2 | url = http://downtownwichita.org/user/file/Project%20Downtown%20Adopted%20Plan.pdf | accessdate = 2017-07-02}} The city implemented further development plans, including the construction of Intrust Bank Arena, a new multi-purpose indoor arena which opened in 2010.

Downtown Wichita is located at {{Coord|37|41|20|N|97|20|10|W|type:city}} (37.688888, −97.336111) at an elevation of {{convert|1299|ft|m}}.{{cite gnis | 473862 | Wichita | 2017-06-02}} It mainly consists of the area between Murdock Street to the north, U.S. Route 54 (Kellogg) to the south, the Arkansas River to the west, and Washington Street to the east. Portions of Downtown overlap with the Midtown neighborhood to the north, Delano across the river to the west, and Riverside to the northwest. In addition, it borders the McAdams neighborhood to the northeast, The Hyde (also called Kellogg School) to the east, and South Central to the south.{{cite web | title = Neighborhood Context [Map] | work = Project Downtown: The Master Plan for Wichita | publisher = Wichita Downtown Development Corporation | page = 2.25 | date = November 2010 | url = http://www.downtownwichita.org/user/file/DowntownPlan/Project%20Downtown%20Adopted%20Plan.pdf | accessdate = 2017-06-02}}{{cite web | title = Neighborhood Associations [Map] | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/Council/CityCouncilDocument/Neighborhood%20Associations.pdf | date = 2012-06-13 | accessdate = 2017-06-02}}

As of 2018, several national and regional companies maintain offices in Downtown Wichita. The headquarters of agricultural conglomerate Cargill’s Protein Group{{cite web | title = Cargill Protein Headquarters | publisher = Cargill | url = https://www.cargill.com/page/cargill-protein-hq | accessdate = 2018-12-18}} is located there as are the central offices of IT company High Touch Technologies,{{cite web | title = High Touch Wichita | publisher = High Touch Technologies | url = https://hightouchtechnologies.com/wichita/ | accessdate = 2018-12-18}} shipping firm King of Freight,{{cite web | title = How to Find Us | publisher = King of Freight | url = https://www.kingsoffreight.com/index-3.php | accessdate = 2018-12-18}} and area commercial banks Emprise Bank,{{cite web | title = Locations | publisher = Emprise Bank | url = https://www.emprisebank.com/locations | accessdate = 2018-12-08}} Fidelity Bank,{{cite web | title = Locations – Downtown Main Office | publisher = Fidelity Bank | url = https://www.fidelitybank.com/locations/downtown-main-office/ | accessdate = 2018-12-18}} and Intrust Bank.{{cite web | last = Heck | first = Josh | title = Intrust Bank enters next phase of downtown headquarters renovation | publisher = Wichita Business Journal | date = 2016-10-18 | url = https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/news/2016/10/18/intrust-bank-enters-next-phase-of-downtown.html | accessdate = 2018-12-18}} Other firms with offices downtown include telecommunications conglomerate AT&T,{{cite web | title = State of Downtown [2018] | publisher = Wichita Downtown Development Corporation | page = 15 | url = https://downtownwichita.org/development/state-of-downtown | accessdate = 2018-12-18}} life insurance company New York Life,{{cite web | title = Kansas General Office | publisher = New York Life | url = http://www.kansas.nyloffices.com/ | accessdate = 2018-12-18}} engineering consultancy PEC, home security firm Protection One, and regional electric utility Westar Energy.

Once the largest bank in Kansas, Bank IV was headquartered in downtown Wichita from its foundation in 1887 to its acquisition in 1995 by Boatman's Bank.{{cite news | title = Boatmen's to Buy Fourth Financial in $1.2 Billion Stock Deal | newspaper = The New York Times | date = 1995-08-26 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/26/business/boatmen-s-to-buy-fourth-financial-in-1.2-billion-stock-deal.html | accessdate = 2018-12-18}}{{cite web | last = Graham | first = Sherry | title = Lawsuit raises question: What is Wichita's best business address? | publisher = Wichita Business Journal | date = 2000-04-02 | url = https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2000/04/03/story2.html | accessdate = 2018-12-18}} Outdoor equipment maker Coleman, founded in Wichita in 1901,{{cite news | last = Voorhis | first = Dan | title = Coleman execs again leaving Colorado; Wichita plant safe | newspaper = The Wichita Eagle | date = 2017-01-03 | url = https://www.kansas.com/news/business/article124266399.html | accessdate = 2018-12-18}} operated a factory downtown from 1929 to 1990 and then a factory outlet store and museum until 2018.{{cite news | last = Rengers | first = Carrie | title = Last visible sign of Coleman Co. activity in downtown Wichita is disappearing | newspaper = The Wichita Eagle | date = 2018-11-28 | url = https://www.kansas.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/carrie-rengers/article222268855.html | accessdate = 2018-12-18}}

Several national hotel chains have locations downtown. The Hyatt Regency Wichita and the historic Broadview Hotel, operated by Drury Hotels, are near the Century II Convention Center. Other hotels include the Ambassador Hotel, Hotel at Old Town, and Hotel at WaterWalk as well as a Courtyard by Marriott, Fairfield Inn by Marriott, and Wyndham Garden Motel.

File:Wichita City Hall.jpg

The portion of Downtown north of Douglas Avenue and west of Washington Street is in City Council District 6. The rest of Downtown is in City Council District 1.{{cite web | title = Wichita Council District 1 [Map] | publisher = City of Wichita | date = 2013-01-03 | url = http://www.wichita.gov/Council/NeighborhoodDocuments/Map%20of%20District%20I.pdf | accessdate = 2016-06-09}} Wichita City Hall is located downtown at the corner of Main Street and Central Avenue.{{cite web | title = Visit City Hall | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/VisitCityHall/Pages/default.aspx | accessdate = 2017-06-09}}

Downtown Wichita is in the 29th district of the Kansas Senate and the 103rd district of the Kansas House of Representatives.{{cite web | title = Kansas State Legislature | work = Open States | publisher = Sunlight Foundation | url = https://openstates.org/ks/ | accessdate = 2017-06-09}}

The Wichita U.S. Courthouse, one of the three courthouses of the United States District Court for the District of Kansas, is located downtown at the corner of 3rd Street and North Market Street.{{cite web | title = Courthouse Information | publisher = U.S. District Court - District of Kansas | url = http://ksd.uscourts.gov/index.php/courthouse-information/ | accessdate = 2019-01-10}}

The offices of The Wichita Eagle, the primary newspaper published in the city, and the Wichita Business Journal are located downtown in Old Town.{{cite news | last = Rengers | first = Carrie | title = Wichita Eagle signs deal for new downtown headquarters | newspaper = The Wichita Eagle | date = 2017-01-03 | url = http://www.kansas.com/news/business/article124312049.html | accessdate = 2017-07-02}}{{cite web | title = Contact Us | publisher = Wichita Business Journal | url = https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/about-us/contact | accessdate = 2018-12-06}} The Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita publishes its official newspaper, Catholic Advance, from its offices in downtown Wichita.{{cite web | title = Catholic Advance | publisher = Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita | url = https://catholicdioceseofwichita.org/advance | accessdate = 2018-12-06}}

KMUW, the NPR member station in Wichita, broadcasts from studios in Old Town.{{cite web | title = Contact KMUW | publisher = KMUW | url = http://www.kmuw.org/contact-kmuw | accessdate = 2018-08-21}}

The city government's Park and Recreation Department manages several parks and recreational spaces downtown. A. Price Woodard Park occupies {{convert|4.21|acres|ha}} on the east bank of the Arkansas River immediately south of Douglas Avenue. Named after a former mayor of the city, it includes an amphitheater, a lighted decorative fountain, and a number of bronze sculptures.{{cite web | title = A. Price Woodard Park | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/ParkandRec/CityParks/Pages/APWoodard.aspx | accessdate = 2018-08-22}} Chester I. Lewis Reflection Square Park is a small, {{convert|0.3|acre|ha|adj=on}} "pocket park" on Douglas Avenue with water fountains and bronze sculptures. Named after a local civil rights leader, the park is located on the site where the Dockum Drug Store sit-in took place in 1958.{{cite web | title = Chester I. Lewis Reflection Square Park | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/ParkandRec/CityParks/Pages/ReflectionSquare.aspx | accessdate = 2018-08-22}} Finlay Ross Park is a {{convert|0.5|acre|ha|adj=on}} mini-park east of Century II consisting of landscaped, multi-level pools, fountains, and waterfalls.{{cite web | title = Finlay Ross Park | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/ParkandRec/CityParks/Pages/FinlayRoss.aspx | accessdate = 2018-08-22}}

The {{convert|0.45|acre|ha|adj=on}} Heritage Square Park, located on East William Street, includes a gazebo and rock fountain pool.{{cite web | title = Heritage Square Park | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/ParkandRec/CityParks/Pages/HeritageSquare.aspx | accessdate = 2018-08-22}} The Mayor's Pine Grove is a {{convert|0.77|acre|ha|adj=on}} space at Water Street and 2nd Street developed in 1978 to help beautify the area.{{cite web | title = Mayor's Pine Grove | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/ParkandRec/CityParks/Pages/MayorsPineGrove.aspx | accessdate = 2018-08-22}} Naftzger Memorial Park covers {{convert|0.88|acres|ha}} on East Douglas Avenue and includes a gazebo, decorative waterfall, and a fountain dedicated to temperance radical Carrie Nation.{{cite web | title = Naftzger Memorial Park | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/ParkandRec/CityParks/Pages/Naftzger.aspx | accessdate = 2018-08-22}} Veterans Memorial Park occupies {{convert|3.5|acres|ha}} on Greenway Boulevard and hosts 16 memorials to U.S. military veterans and their families.{{cite web | title = Veterans Memorial Park | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/ParkandRec/CityParks/Pages/Veterans.aspx | accessdate = 2018-08-22}} Designed by California Skateparks, the Wichita Skatepark is a {{convert|0.25|acre|ha|adj=on}}, all-concrete skateboarding park on South St. Francis Street beneath the U.S. Route 54 overpass.{{cite web | title = Wichita Skatepark | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/ParkandRec/CityParks/Pages/WichitaSkatepark.aspx | accessdate = 2018-08-22}}

File:Wichita pan 1.jpg

• Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center
• Commerce Street Art District
• Douglas Design District
• Epic Center
• Great Plains Transportation Museum
• Intrust Bank Arena
• Kansas Sports Hall of Fame
• Museum of World Treasures
• Old Town
• Orpheum Theatre
• Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

File:Wichita Kansas Former Train Station (3616104314).jpg, Wichita's former passenger rail station (2009)]]

Broadway Street is the main north–south street through downtown; Douglas Avenue is the main east–west street. Other arterial roads include: Central Avenue, which runs east–west along the central business district's northern edge; Washington Avenue, which runs north–south along its eastern edge; and Kellogg Avenue (U.S. Route 54 and U.S. Route 400), which runs along its southern edge.{{cite web | title = Wichita, KS | publisher = Google Maps | url = https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wichita,+KS/@37.6648212,-97.7238927,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x87badb6ad27f182d:0x9396d5bf74d33d3e!8m2!3d37.6871741!4d-97.3300534 | accessdate = 2018-08-21}} The base point for the numbering of all postal addresses in the city and Sedgwick County is the intersection of Douglas Avenue and Main Street. Douglas is the divider between north and south; Main Street is the divider between east and west.{{cite web | title = Addressing Within a Regional Context | publisher = Sedgwick County, Kansas | page = 7 | date = March 2004 | url = http://gis.sedgwick.gov/address/documents/AddressManual.pdf | accessdate = 2018-08-21}}

The Wichita Transit Center, Wichita Transit’s main bus terminal, is located downtown at South Topeka Street and East William Street. Most of Wichita Transit’s bus routes service the central business district including the 11 through 17 and 21 through 29 routes.{{cite web | title = Bus System Map | publisher = Wichita Transit | url = http://www.wichitatransit.org/Routes/Schedules/Transit%20System%20Map.pdf | accessdate = 2018-08-21}} All four routes of the free Q-Line trolley also service downtown.{{cite web | title = Q-Line | publisher = Wichita Transit | url = http://www.wichitatransit.org/Documents/qline-map.pdf | accessdate = 2018-08-21}}

BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad operate freight rail lines which run north-south through downtown Wichita, parallel to Santa Fe Avenue.{{cite web | title = City of Wichita [Map] | publisher = Kansas Department of Transportation | date = June 2010 | url = https://www.ksdot.org/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/burTransPlan/maps/city-pdf/wichita.pdf | accessdate = 2018-08-21}} There has been no passenger rail service to Wichita since 1979.{{cite web | title = Thruway Bus Connection ties two Amtrak routes together through Wichita | publisher = Amtrak | date = 2016-04-18 | url = https://media.amtrak.com/2016/04/wichita-returns-to-the-amtrak-map/ | accessdate = 2018-12-07 | archive-date = August 13, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170813105838/https://media.amtrak.com/2016/04/wichita-returns-to-the-amtrak-map/ | url-status = dead }} Union Station, the former passenger rail station in the city, has since been repurposed as an office building.{{cite web | last = Sandefur | first = Sean | title = Wichita's Union Station Celebrates Centennial With New Ownership, New Future | publisher = KMUW | date = 2014-05-02 | url = http://www.kmuw.org/post/wichitas-union-station-celebrates-centennial-new-ownership-new-future | accessdate = 2018-12-07}}

File:Sedgwick County Courthouse 2023 Aerial.jpg|Historic Sedgwick County Courthouse (2023)

File:Downtown Wichita, Riverfront Stadium.jpg|Aerial of skyline from Equity Bank Park (2023)

File:Broadview Hotel.jpg|Broadview Hotel (2012)

File:Aerial of Douglas Ave. 2023.jpg|Aerial of main drag, Douglas Avenue, during an Open Streets event, looking east (2023)

File:Wichita City Carnegie Library Building.jpg|Carnegie Library Building (2012)

File:WichitaCathedralExterior.jpg|Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (2016)

File:Commerce st 1.jpg|The Commerce Street Arts District (2008)

File:Eaton hotel (186951042).jpg|The Eaton Hotel building (2006)

File:Epic Center.jpg|The Epic Center, the tallest building in Wichita (2006)

File:First United Methodist Church - Wichita, KS.jpg|First United Methodist Church (2018)

File:R. H. Garvey (3876790132).jpg|The Garvey Center (2009)

File:Keen Kutter Building - Old Town - Wichita, Kansas.jpg|The hotel at Old Town (2010)

File:InTrust Bank Arena.jpg|Intrust Bank Arena (2013)

File:Lassen Hotel.jpg|Market Centre (2012)

File:Rock Island Depot (Wichita, Kansas).JPG|The Rock Island Depot (2013)

File:Scottish Rite Temple 2012.jpg|Scottish Rite Temple (2012)

File:Sedgwick County Memorial Hall and Soldiers and Sailors Monument.JPG|The Sedgwick County Soldiers and Sailors Monument (2013)

File:Skywalk between Sutton Place and parking garage.jpg|Sutton Place Skywalk (2006)

File:Wichita Kansas Old Town Warren Theater (2740872262).jpg|The Warren Theatre in Old Town (2008)

File:U.S. Courthouse, Wichita, KS.jpg|Wichita U.S. Courthouse

{{reflist}}

• [http://oldtownwichita.com/ Old Town Wichita]
• [https://downtownwichita.org/ Wichita Downtown Development Corporation]

{{Wichita |state=collapsed}}

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Category:Geography of Wichita, Kansas

Category:Neighborhoods in Kansas

Wichita