Impatience can be a virtue, too, which is why it was heartening to see most of the Wichita City Council members so eager Tuesday to get the fate of the Wichita Boathouse resolved within a matter of weeks. Many Wichitans would agree with council member Sharon Fearey that “this is getting ridiculous,” especially because of concerns over the idle building’s condition. That said, the council’s approval of the updated WaterWalk plan will further complicate the negotiations between the city and Boathouse donor Bill Koch, who wants to see the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame relocated to the facility. Many Wichitans also would agree with Koch’s view that his Jayhawk yacht should not be displaced by an elaborate “waltzing waters” fountain, as the plan calls for. The decision making will need to be handled with great care, but at least the council wants to get on with it.
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14 Comments
Keep the Boathouse, an icon of Wichita 1920’s commercial history. Thanks to Bill Koch and his Jayhawk sail boat, the Boathouse is the only successful thing happening in the ill-fated so-called “Waterwalk” city project.
Give the Boathouse to Bill Koch for use whatever seems logical, perhaps the Sports Hall of Fame.
As I mentioned on another blog thread, I have heard the City of Wichita’s public works department went to the Wichita Boathouse and deliberately ripped out the water lines and sanitary sewer lines in order to decommission this beautiful old historic building from future use. They also tore down the adjacent building, possibly the remnants of a historic Conoco service station, which contained restrooms and some meeting rooms. As usual with the Wichita City Government this has been another scoflaw.
The Wichita Boathouse has actually been the only potentially successful star in the so-called Water Walk project.
The Water Walk project in combination with the white elephant unneeded Downtown Arena has a lot of parallels to the old downtown Kansas City, Kansas Urban Renewal project which sent virtually all of its bustling downtown retail and commercial businesses packing to the suburbs. The old downtown Kansas City, Kansas business district along Minnesota Avenue never recovered.
Kansas City, Kansas under its relatively new combined City/County government did receive a renaissance more recently several miles west along State Avenue and Leavenworth Road near I-435 when they got the very successful auto race track, new Double A baseball stadium and surrounding hotels and restaurants.
Now some members of Wichita’s city council want to demolish this historic icon.
Bill has said he would PAY for the renovation of the boat house. We could have a nice place re-modeled to fit the look of the water walk and it would cost the city and tax payers 0 dollars. But our councel doesn’t like to do anything unless it cost the taxpayers money!
Is hatred of history and complete lack of common sense a requirement for being a part of the Wichita City Council?
If it weren’t for MY money being wasted this whole thing would be fun to watch. How long has this “WaterWalk” been foundering? 7 years? Meanwhile Commerce Bank, Foulstin Siefkin and other firms that had wanted to locate on the East Bank have gone out east.
WaterWalk has been a blight from its beginning. And it is only getting worse.
“…the city won’t install the “waltzing water” fountains that are sitting in city storage…”
According to the article we’ve (taxpayers) already purchased ‘waltzing water fountains.’ Can they be returned before installation money is thrown at a project going nowhere?
How many remember visiting the original boat house, the one this one was modeled after?
You stopped on the way in to watch the squirrel monkey. You rented canoes or tandem bicycles and spent the afternoon or evening in a pleasant way. I remember some really romantic dates that involved one of those rented canoes! You went there not because of a building but the activities offered.
You most likely won’t see conoes or paddel boats out of the boat house. With people sueing everyohne and everthing the insurance for running a boat rental would be to high. At times the water in the river is to polluted to even put your hand in! That would set the city up for a lawsuit. It’s alao one of the reasons they have canceled the bathtube races in riverfest and the Star raft ride (insurance to high to pay)
Emotions are running high on opinions to the Eagle article on this. Not a single poster wants to get rid of the boathouse.
Maybe the council members should be asked who voted them into office. Shouldn’t this be determined at least in some degree by the taxpayers and people who live in this city?
This group of Keystone coppers need to go back to Oklahoma City and hire the original set of their commissioners to get this turd up to snuff. They need the Canoes and Waterways like they originally planned.
With the canals you then have more water side banks to put restaurants, clubs, art studios, boutique shop, ice cream parlors etc. People can walk along the canals on a sidewalk and watch the gondolas and shop or just sit.
Putting in a bunch of fountains is fine , but not gonna generate any money or taxes. Get the shops on the banks of the river and canals.
We want the entire ares filled with things to do…
If you have not been, I strongly suggest everyone take a Friday or Sat night and go to bricktown in OKC. We go quite often. Lots of new restaurants and boat rides in the summer.
Oh, and keeping the Boat House is fine. Turn it into a nice restaurant….Call down to Houston and see if we can get the Pappas family down there to run it like their Pappadeaux Seafood restaurant.
http://www.pappadeaux.com/pappasfamily.htm
A seafood restaurant is a neat idea with the Jayhawk remaining.
Monkeyhawk: I enjoyed your listing on another thread of various Kansas City restaurants mostly from a by-gone era.
I don’t believe you mentioned the original Putches Restaurant and sidewalk cafe at the main intersection of the Country Club Plaza. And the Sydney’s Restaurants … one at about 36th and Broadway, another on the Plaza at Broadway and Ward Parkway.
I think my favorite over the years was Stephenson’s Apple Orchard Restaurant way out east on old Highway 40 and Lee’s Summit Road. I wonder if it is still there?