Columns

WICHITA MATTERS: Taking Our Time with Century II

By |

The argument over what to do
with Century II has quite arguably been a subtext to just about every major
debate which has been conducted in our city in 2019. With the rapid
construction of the new baseball stadium and the redesign of McLean Boulevard
on the west side of the river, the need to think about the east side, and in
particular the fate of Wichita’s single most notable landmark (sorry Keeper,
but you know it’s true), has been unavoidable; you can see the evidence for it
everywhere. Last spring, The Century II
Citizens Advisory Committee, chaired by Mary Beth Jarvis, finished their work,
concluding that a new performing arts center to replace Century II was a necessity. By the
summer, historical preservationists and other activists were organized to protect
Century II, asking hard and necessary questions about retrofitting
alternatives, financing schemes, and the influence of local development
interests. At a mayoral debate in the fall, a
disagreement between Mayor Jeff Longwell and Mayor-Elect Brandon Whipple
over the loss of the downtown coffee house and community center Mead’s Corner
was seen as staking out different approaches to historic buildings like Century
II.

Feature Stories

Don’t Mess With The Phong

By |

The location is Pawnee and Broadway, in rough and tumble south central Wichita. Just outside the front door to a convenience store called Discount Cigarettes and Gas, Phong Nguyen argues with an unidentified man. The video starts with a verbal confrontation and then a shoving match ensues between the diminutive Asian man and his much larger opponent. The video switches to an exterior camera. In the bottom right corner, Phong’s arms swing back and forth as haymakers land on the unfortunate man. Phong follows that up with a swift kick.

The Art of Juanta Wolfe

By |

Wichita Story recently featured a story about the local artist Juanta Wolfe. The pieces below represent some of his work. You can find find them spread throughout our community.