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Wichita

OK, let’s step back in our You Tube Downtown Tour for second. Yes, it’s nice to be listed as a peer to Kansas City, Denver, Salt Lake City, Indianapolis and Nashville. Yes, the perception of OKC is changing. But that doesn’t excuse us from looking at cities like Wichita either. Wichita, my friends, may very well have a lot to teach us, good and bad, and today we embark on the first of a two-day look at what they’re doing right, and perhaps, what’s going wrong in this often overlooked city.

Since the offerings by You Tube are slim, let’s start with several photos first:

No need for a canal with downtown Wichita

Retail is easy to find – destination retail at that – in Old Town, Wichita’s answer to Bricktown

Wichita’s Old Town even has it’s version of Lower Bricktown

The Old Town Hotel in Wichita, built in an old warehouse. Imagine if someone in Bricktown had the vision to turn the still empty building at Oklahoma Avenue and the canal (used once a year for the haunted warehouse) into a hotel. The late Bricktown visionary Neal Horton had just that plan – but sadly wasn’t able to pull it off.

Downtown Wichita’s convention hotel.

So, before we hear from a resident of downtown Wichita and glance at what I could find on You Tube, let’s hear from Patrick, a veteran OKC online participant.

For the past few months, my wife and I have made several trips to Wichita, Kansas, interviewing for a potential residency position with KU-School of Medicine-Wichita.  To be honest, the only reason I applied there was because it was a 2 1/2 hour drive from our family in Oklahoma City.  My first visit there in November was quite an eye-opener.  I had never been to Wichita before, and wasn’t expecting much.  My own preconceived notions told me that it was a small farming community with little to be excited about.  What I found surprised me though.

My first stop was downtown Wichita.  On the east side of downtown, on the other side of the railroad tracks, is a place called Old Town.  Nestled in the city’s heart among the brick-lined streets and historic lampposts are a collection of converted brick warehouses, circa 1870-1930, with native limestone accents and distinctive architectural features. More than 100 restaurants, shops, clubs, theaters, galleries, museums, and businesses have found their niche here.  Old Town reminded me a lot of Bricktown, only with unique Wichita shops, restaurants, and night clubs.  It doesn’t have a baseball park or a canal running through it, but it the missing element the Bricktown needs: retail.  LuCinda’s, a women’s boutique shop was by far my wife’s favorite.  We also went to The Frame Guild, Aida’s (a jewelry and accessories store), Andy’s Woods by Design (custom woodworking and home decor), Automobilia (unique gifts inspired by the automobile), Beadazzled (custom jewelry and beads), Cero’s (a Wichita tradition in gourmet chocolates since 1885), First Gear (shoes and running equipment), Mrs. O’learys (Art and stamp supplies), Rock Paper Scissors (stationery), Bondies Old Town Antique Mall, Old Town Cigars, and Nanny’s Niche (jewelry and food items), just to name a few.  The area has nearly 30 shops. 
A pleasant surprise was that all of the parking was free, in city-owned parking garages.  These garages weren’t just concrete garages either.  The city designed them meticulously to fit into the overall appearance of the surrounding area.  All had brick facades. 
Retail shops were intermixed with fine dining establishments like Old Chicago, Torre’s Pizzeria, Uptown Bistro, Whiskey Creek Steak House, Emerson Biggins, EggCetera, Oscar’s Sports Bar, and River City Brewery, to name a few.  We ate at Larkspur Restaurant, which was once a building housing a drycleaner. Today, it offers five star dining softly lighted with a touch of light jazz music.  Across the street from the Courtyard by Marriott was an old gas station, known as The Ross Pumphouse, which has been in business since 1931. In addition to the gas pumps, the cozy little Conoco station is today known for its home cooked lunches.
We stayed at both the Hotel at Old Town and the Courtyard by Marriott at Old Town, and both were first class hotels, located in turn of the century converted historic warehouse buildings.
Also in Old Town is a state of the art Warren Theatre complex, one of three in the Wichita metro area.   Warren Theatres are unique to Wichita, and are a gem in the rough when it comes to theatre experience.  Most of their theatres have balconies and full food and bar service complete with wait staff.  
Also in Old Town are the Coleman Factory outlet and museum, Great Plains Transportation Museum, Kansas Sports Hall of Fame (had a nice display of memoribilia from Barry Sanders, who grew up in Wichita), and Museum of World Treasures (a huge museum with historical artifacts). 
Old Town if filled with art galleries and live theaters, adding to the arts scene in the area.  City Arts offers art classes and galleries to view.   We took a look through Gallery XII, which has local works from Kansas artists.
Night life is abundant with clubs unique to Wichita, like Liquid, Flashbacks, Club Indigo, and Kelly’s Irish Pub, just to name a few.  

The government district in downtown Wichita offers a traditional busines environment, complete with office towers, complemented with fountains, sculptures, and murals.  On the south side of the government district is the Century II Convention Center, a state of the art center with a new Hyatt Regency Hotel attached.  The Arkansas River runs right by the hotel.   Nearby is the WaterWalk area, which is currently being developed as Wichita’s newest entertainment district.  The area will consist of restaurants, retail shops, loft apartments, and night life, with the Hyatt Regency being the centerpoint of the district. 

Downtown Wichita is eagerly watching the construction of the new 15,000 seat multi-purpose Sedgwick County Arena, which will replace the Kansas Colliseum.  The arena will be very similar to the BOK Center being built in downtown Tulsa. 

Much of Wichita life revolves around the Arkansas (prounounced “Ar-KANSAS”) River.  This reminded me a lot of Tulsa, only with Kansan flair.  Each year they have a Riverfest there, complete with floats and carnival attractions.  The river is dotted with parks, museums, and other attractions.  The city’s museum district surrounds the river, and is made up of attractions like the Wichita Art Museum, the Botanica, Exploration Place (a science museum very much like Science Museum Oklahoma), Mid-American Indian Center, and the Old Cowtown Museum (similar to the National Cowboy Museum).  The Keeper of the Plains, a 44 foot sculpture, located at the juncture of the Little and Big Arkansas Rivers, is the focal point of the area.  The Lawrence-Dumont Stadium and Wichita Ice Center represent the sports attractions in the area.  Most of the performing arts in Wichita take place in the River District. 
My wife and I spent a few relaxing moments at the Central Riverside Park, one of the larger parks in the area.  We also worked off our lunch walking along one of the many trails along the river.

This past summer Wichita experienced the opening of Wild West World, a new amusement park, very similar to Frontier City, only with better rides and attractions. 

Since my wife accompanied me on many of my trips to Wichita, we experienced the Wichita shopping scene first hand.  We started at Bradley Fair, a new upscale open air center on the northeast side of town.  It’s like a modern Utica Square, complete with upscale shops like Jos A Bank, Harolds, Talbots, Williams Sonoma, and J. Jill, Ann Taylor, and Banana Republic, to name a few.  The surrounding area has other upscale strip centers like The Shops at Tallgrass and Tallgrass Centre.  The Waterfront is a newly developed retail and restaurant district on the far east side of town.  The area surrounds a lake complete with fountains and walking trails.  The district has restaurants you’d find on Memorial Rd. in Oklahoma City, i.e., Red Robin, PF Chang’s, Fox and Hound, and Abuelos.  It also has shops like Brooks Brothers and Kate Lane.   The area also has a luxury hotel.  Clifton Square Shopping Village, located centrally,  has a unique collection of shops in a 19th century village.  It reminded me a lot of Mayfair Village. 
Our shopping trip also took us to the area’s local malls.  Wichita has two major traditional malls, Towne East Square and Towne West Square.  Towne East Square is the larger of the two, and is located in the east side of the city.  It’s very similar to Quail Springs Mall, and has traditional mall retail shops.   It’s a two level mall and has 4 anchor stores.   Towne West Square is on the west side of town, and is a smaller one level mall, with traditional mall retailers. 
We took a trip to the west side of town, which is a growing area with younger families.  A new retail development called NewMarket Square was developed in recent years.  It has traditional big box stores, and is very similar to Quail Springs Marketplace or Bell Isle Station. 

Essentially, Wichita is growing towards the east and west.  The newer parts of town and new housing developments are far east and far west.  Each area is anchored by a multiscreen upscale Warren Theatres complex.

Wichita is known for its aviation industry, which employs many in the area.  Cessna, Boeing, Aerospace, Beech Aircraft, Learjet, Bombardier, Raytheon, and Spirit Serosystems all have a huge presence there.  McConnell Air force Base is on the city’s southeast side.  Koch Industries is probably one of the area’s largest employers.  The Coleman Company and Pizza Hut are Wichita originals.

Overall, I was very impressed with Wichita.  My trips there completely changed my impression of the city.  It’s like a big city, with that small city charm.

And now, for You Tube:

(NOTE: If you can find better You Tube videos showing downtown Wichita, please let me know!)

Kansas City

The new Kansas City Sprint Center arena on Wednesday, March 12, 2008, in downtown Kansas City, Mo. The new $276 million arena seats more than 18,000 people and has 72 suites. BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN

The last time I visited downtown Kansas City was eight years ago. I was, to be blunt, bored. I was attending a convention, and downtown was simply dull day and night. I had to drive to Crown Plaza to have some fun. Putting all bias aside, I swear downtown OKC even then was far more enjoyable to visit.

But Kansas City is changing. And in light of a package of stories done by the Kansas City Star which I referred to in today’s Main Street column, it’s appropriate to begin my second You Tube downtown tour with a stop in Kansas City.

They have a new arena. It’s sharp, and yet OKC is staying in the fight for hosting Big 12 basketball tournaments. But Kansas City also has the Power and Light district coming up – and the city is really exploding with downtown housing.

So let’s begin our tour….

You Tube Downtown Tour: Week 1

Downtown Oklahoma City skyline as seen from Interstate 40 - the view for most people traveling through from elsewhere in the country. How does it compare to Des Moines, Omaha and Charlotte? PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER 

So this week we took a tour of downtown Des Moines, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska; and Charlotte, North Carolina. What’s that you say? Boring cities. Not sexy like Denver, Austin, Dallas or Seattle?

I’m not sure it’s safe for an Oklahoma City resident to tour Seattle right now. And those other cities, well, just stick with me here. Did you join me on this tour? If not, hit the “You Tube Downtown Tour” category button and get a better idea of the downtowns in question.

And then consider these very basis numbers, all pulled from the 2006 estimates provided at www.census.gov.

Charlotte, North Carolina. Population, 648,387. Per capita income, $29,825.

Oklahoma City. Population, 543,524. Per capita income, $22,665.

Omaha, Nebraska. Population, 382,776. Per capita income, 423,759.

Des Moines, Iowa. Population, 196,857. Per capita income, 423,215.

Where should downtown Oklahoma City fit into this mix, and based on the tour, how do you think it measures up to these cities today? (Yes, by all means, use that comment field below).

Our Next Stop: Downtown Omaha

So, what can we learn about downtown Omaha? First off, from the downtown Omaha association, we discover that “successful growth and development of the Old Market, Gene Leahy Mall, Heartland of America Park, numerous residential properties, hotel facilities, the new arena and convention center, the First National Bank project, and other corporate building projects have boosted the popularity of Downtown Omaha, making it an attractive destination to live, work, and visit.”

Wait a minute: did someone mention “Old Market”? What’s that?

“The Old Market Omaha, is a premier arts and entertainment district featuring fine dining, shopping, corporate meeting facilities, hotel accommodations, upscale night life, and sought-after real estate. Located in downtown Omaha just minutes from Omaha Eppley Airport, the Old Market is close to several nearby attractions including Durham Western Heritage Museum, Omaha Civic Auditorium, Qwest Center Omaha, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo, and more.

Head to Omaha’s Old Market district, where exceptional gifts and dining are around every corner. From Harney to Jackson streets and 10th to 13th streets, unique shops, boutiques, pubs, more than 30 area restaurants and distinctive entertainment define this historic neighborhood.

Home of the new Holland Performing Arts Center, downtown is also a haven for the arts. The Holland Performing Arts Center, completed in 2005, provides a true concert hall environment with acoustics designed to accommodate the Omaha Symphony as well as other local and touring arts organizations and artists. The Joslyn Art Museum, the Orpheum Theater, the Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center, and more are all located in downtown Omaha.

The Old Market district was crucial to the commercial development of Omaha as the wholesale jobbing area flourished in the 1880’s and continued well into the twentieth century. The district, then comprised of former light industrial and warehouse buildings and wholesale jobbing houses, served as the distribution center for a variety of goods shipped on the Union Pacific Railroad and its branch lines all the way to the west coast. Today, the Old Market Omaha is a multi-block collection of renovated brick warehouses, quaint storefronts, old-fashioned lampposts, uneven brick streets, horse-drawn carriages and street-side musicians.

The city has spent nearly $2 billion in new construction and development, including the $291 million Qwest Center Omaha, a new 40-story First National Bank Building, a riverfront university campus for the world-renowned Gallup Organization, and a National Park Service Regional headquarters building for Union Pacific.

Follow the brick-paved streets of history into an area of Omaha rich in history and bursting with the flavor of today. Enjoy an intimate dinner or shop for the latest fashions. “

That sounds like a lot of fun – even better than Bricktown! So we’re not the only city with an old town area after all…

So let’s take a tour, shall we?
First, downtown Omaha:

And, now, Old Market:

Today, We Visit Downtown Des Moines, Iowa

I agree with the suggestion that Des Moines, Iowa, might surprise some people who might not think of it as being an urban hot spot. But I too have heard a lot about development in this city. So here’s our You Tube downtown tour of the day.