Century II

GUEST EDITORIAL: Thinking Outside the Dome

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Have you ever flown out of or into Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport? You may do as I do and seek the icon that says you’re home; the identifying feature from the eye in the sky: Century II. For many, Century II has always been there. Others may remember when it was built to commemorate Wichita’s hundredth year. School field trips, car shows, graduations, plays and performances are just a few examples of the many memories we share as a city in the “mothership” that has become more motherly than alien.

WICHITA MATTERS: Questions for Riverfront Boosters and Their Critics

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Last week, Populous
presented their complete (or nearly complete) vision for transforming
the east bank of the riverfront through downtown Wichita.* They were not
unambitious in their recommendations. In what they predict
to be an at least $1.2 billion project whose construction would stretch over at
least 10 years, they recommend the demolition of Century II, the construction
of a new performing arts center and convention center twice the size of Bob
Brown Auditorium, a host of mixed-use properties to bring consumers and
residents into the downtown, and the development of a wide green space which
the labeled Century Park, which might include a brand-new ice rink (apparently
no one told them about the publicly owned Wichita Ice Center  less than a half-mile away from their proposed
park, or maybe they just figured no one would notice). The developer-beloved
new pedestrian bridge is there, of course, but sadly, no monorail. Of course, the most controversial part of all that was their urging the city to level Century II. Its defenders are gathering petitions to put on the ballot a requirement that any historic building in the city can only demolished after a public vote.

Columns

WICHITA MATTERS: Taking Our Time with Century II

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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.