Since WaterWalk’s conception six years ago, Wichitans have learned not to count on everything working out as planned for the multiuse riverfront development. A hoped-for Bass Pro Shop morphed into a Gander Mountain store. And a costly boat canal, once central to the project, gave way to promises of a significant water feature and an amphitheater. Now, the amphitheater is targeted for elimination. At today’s meeting, Wichita City Council members will consider that and other proposed changes to the WaterWalk plan. Citizens can’t be blamed for wondering what, if anything, remains from the original vision. But costs are rising and the city’s financial commitment to the development isn’t. Plus, the amphitheater always risked being redundant, given the long-proposed permanent replacement for the West Bank Stage. WaterWalk certainly can still succeed without an amphitheater, as long as what was once promised to be “Wichita’s next great gathering place” still has places to gather. It’s important that the recently quickened pace of progress continues at WaterWalk, meaning City Hall also must make a decision soon on the future of the Boathouse.
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32 Comments
Waterwalk developers should concentrate on finding true private companies to go into their project and forget trying to pry more tax money out of the taxpayers.
They should also stay away from the Boathouse by the Arkansas River. It was there long before they showed up on the scene. That Boathouse is a real historic Wichita icon.
Only the Romans and Greeks made good amphitheaters.
And, this type of facility should be left in antiquity.
If anything, they should be a police substation where cops can get a cup of coffee, have restroom facilities and a place where they can be reached as they patrol the area.
Perhaps a joint venture with the State/Federal on a building where the public is served with protection and other services such as a mini visitor center for the WaterWalk.
The water is pretty much gone, why not the amphitheater too?
The river walk would be more inviting if they made a serious attempt to clean up the river.
Yeah THAT’S it, axe anything the general public could enjoy.
Maybe put up another venue like Gander Mountain that only rich people will enjoy.
Gawd, how I hate this town.
Mary,
All they need to do is add a bit more pollution to our “Mini-Muddy” and we’ll be able to walk on the water without any construction whatsoever.
Regarding the Arkansas River, it begins in the Rocky Mountains near Deadwood, Colorado, not far from Aspen but on the EAST side of the “Great Divide.” That’s why it runs east, not west. Actually the Arkansas River rushes through the Royal Gorge near Canyon City as a mountain stream, believe it or not. But once it gets out onto the eastern Colorado plains, the water is taken for irrigation and held in the John Martin Reservoir.
By the time the Arkansas River channel enters Kansas and passes through Garden City and Dodge City, it is a dry sandy river bed and hasn’t run water for years. The sandy river bed is used for off-road vehicle racing, etc.
I’m told the Arkansas River dry line is moving eastward. Currently I think it starts picking up water around Kinsley, perhaps 50 miles southwest of Great Bend.
I presume the Arkansas River water as it passes Gt. Bend, Hutchinson and heads toward Wichita is a combination of alluvial (shallow) aquifer water seeping upward and sewage treatment plant effluent from the municipalities upstream. Test records show Arkansas River water does contain a high percentage of salt.
When will the dry line reach Hutchinson and Wichita? Who knows at this point. Perhaps the Kansas Geological Survey would have an estimate.
The important lesson here is our natural water relatively pure underground aquifer water is under attack by various industries for use in power plants and manufacturing of ethanol. Admittedly ethanol production is itself under economic pressure to slow down because of the lower price of imported oil.
I don’t know what the answer is. Every person must study the water issues for himself and do what he can to solve this situation before its to late for Kansas.
We all know the name WaterWalk is a misnomer. Was it because they had no imagination so copied San Antonio? I’ve seen all too often Wichita tries to be what they aren’t and doesn’t see their own unique possibilities.
There aren’t many attractions but the few there are could be ‘touted’ more effectively. I remember an article in the newspaper a year or more ago about the statues along Douglas. They had a map and suggested taking a stroll to find them all.
Couple of years ago I had praised the Final Friday Art Crawl to an acquaintance. I never did understand the details of why but she tried once to go check it out without success. Said she went to OldTown but never found an art gallery. So maybe a directory of sorts would be helpful to show what is where. Sometimes what we’re most familiar with is exactly what we can’t direct someone else to because we just go there and haven’t thought about how directions would be given, what the names of the familiar streets are…
I like the Visitor Center idea! A place with restrooms, directions to what is within walking distance, explanations, maybe a bit of history (especially about the Delano area!). It could be as simple as the rest stops on the turnpike, but would serve its purpose.
“Rich people” and “Gander Mountain”, eh Bluejay?
Get out much?
Lindainks, et al: Interestingly, the only two business occupants of Water Walk that I know of is the Wichita Real Estate Association offices and the Wichita Visitors Center. I suspect both were more or less coerced into moving there. They occupy that free standing office building just southwest of the new condominium building in Water Walk.
The Wichita Visitors Center was at Main and Douglas, a much more accessable and visible location. Coincidentally, I ran into John Rolfe, the upbeat director of the Visitors Center yesterday at the Post Office.
Actually the Wichita Boathouse would have been an excellent location for the Wichita Visitors Center but the “Good Old Boys Network” seems to have something against the Boathouse and would like nothing better than to demolish it. The Wichita Boathouse, more than anything else, seems to represent the failure of the GOBN of Wichita.
As far as the “Art Crawl” on the last Friday of the month, it is very active along Douglas in Delano. Perhaps better in warmer months. Generally lots of people out strolling on west Douglas.
Of course, the Delano community is getting a vastly enlarged Quik Trip there at Douglas and Seneca. And is rumored to soon be getting a brand new Braums Restaurant somewhere in the vicinity.
Don’t know much about “Old Town” on the east side of downtown since I rarely have reason to visit there. I have been told they do have an attractive Warren theater.
I think the whole project was doomed with Gander Mountain vs. a Bass Pro or Cabellas.
Bass Pro and Cabellas are destination stores. Gander Mountain is just a glorified Sportman’s Warehouse or something.
Without some kind of a destination shop there now or restaurant, it’s nothing but some downtown condo’s and more empty office space.
Waterwalk is a joke the city would have been smart to pull the plug on 6 years ago,
Now, the Brickyard in OKC thats what the Waterwalk and old town should be
Linda most of the art galleries, and the Final Friday events are on commerce street next to where the arena will be, its quite fun and cheap besides art their usually are WSU student putting of theater productions, music etc.
C’mon, people.
Step up and admit Wichita is generally a hell hole.
Too hot and humid in the summer, too bitter cold in winter, and even if the temperature is decent, the incessant gritty wind whene Kansas got its name blows all the fun out of being outdoors.
I recently watched a British documentary on Dennis Rader and for all the panoramic sweeps over Century II and the riverfront, Wichita comes off as simply another Kansas small town, albeit with a lot of people. Neighborhoods with ditches instead of curbing, tract houses from the 1940s war boom, franchise restaurants that could be anywhere (and are) or nowhere in particular.
That should be Wichita’s Eco-Devo, Chamber of Commerce, and Tourism/Convention slogan:
Wichita — Nowhere in particular!
Wichitans would rather sit in the BarkOLounger sipping beer and watching the satellite dish than venture out into the Kansas summer sweat to watch a ball game. They’d rather watch pay-for-view wrestling than Pavarotti-returned-from-the-dead-in-concert.
It’s a blue-collar backwater town with no-collar (they prefer t-shirts) backwater, twice-born, anti-intellectual zeitgeist and nothing’s gonna change that.
Why do you choose to live here then Monkey?
I like living here.
Weather wise my biggest complaint is the wind.
Government wise my biggest complaint is our outrageous water rates. And they are that.
Development wise I don’t see a clear plan.
The schools are good. The housing affordable. Plenty of “things to do” if you do them vs. complain about nothing to do.
“Mr_Kia” –
I don’t live “here,” you dolt.
If I want small-town pettiness and ignorant pretension I can get it in a small town that doesn’t feel too big for its britches.
My apologies for not being more intune with the personal lives of the posters here.
I lived away for a number of years and think Wichita has come a long way in a number of its attitudes.
I worked with a very open homosexual who brought his partner to company functions. I don’t think this would have ever happened here in the 90’s.
Heh
One of my favorite pictures to describe Wichita and the majority of the people who live here.
Go ahead and click on that pic so you can see better.
It’s a lovely evening.
I defy anyone to find ONE human being in that pic. Cars on the bridge that are presumably driven by a person do not count.
Find me ONE person in that image out enjoying what little Wichita has to offer.
Not sure how it’s the city’s problem that people don’t take part in a number of the ammentities our community has to offer. List of just a few:
A great Zoo.
A first class learning museum.
Professional baseball
Professional hockey
A great living history museum.
Faboulous golf courses.
A fine entertainment district (Old Town)
Good shopping (New Market Square, Bradley Fair)
Tremendous opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts.
A new arena that promises to bring in a number of first rate events.
However the city needs to get over the tourist destination idea. OKC, Omaha, Des Moines are not tourist destinations either.
My biggest concern about our cities future is still the nature of being a near if not completely a single economy town.
Yeah, “Mr_Kia” –
And that “single economy” is chain restaurants.
You want fries with that?
Is local cuisine the barometer of a progressive city?
Look at Kansas City’s Plaza, OKC’s Bricktown, Dallas’ West-End or San Antonio’s Waterwalk. Not a whole lot of local flair in those places.
If Kansas City is your idea of “progressive,” “Mr_Kia” –
Then I guess I’m out of my element.
Still, there’s a bunch of non-chain restaurants in Kansas City (or, at least, original locations as with Arthur Bryants, Gates & Sons, &tc.) It’s not like Wichita features the original Pizza Hut or Taco Tico anymore. Spangle’s? Yeah, one of those places may have used to be called Coney Island. (Do they still sell Coney Island dogs at Spangle’s?)
There’s Stroud’s and the Savoy Grill and the original Gorrozo’s and the original Winstead’s and little neighborhood cafes scattered throughout metropolitan Kansas City. In no way does “progressive” Kansas City have as many franchise restaurants per capita as Doo-Dah.
This Applebee’s, that Long John Silver’s. They’re everywhere and nowhere in particular. And they dominate Wichita dining options.
There’s nothing like The American Restaurant of Cafe Allegro or Town Topic or Rosedale Barbecue because all the pseudo-Denny’s franchises have taken over.
Not that many years ago Wichita was an entrepreneur’s town. Coleman was a Wichita brand, Cessna was a Wichita brand, Learjet was a Wichita brand, Pizza Hut was a Wichita brand, Residence Inn was a Wichita brand….
Today there’s nothing but branch offices and most of those branches are backwater assignments for corporations who want to punish people by sending them to Wichita.
Wichita — Nowhere in Particular!
All in all it sounds better than:
Wichita — Gateway to Mulvane!
Put in a labyrinth, that would be different and would be an attraction.
Monk,
“Today there’s nothing but branch offices and most of those branches are backwater assignments for corporations who want to punish people by sending them to Wichita.”
Back in the late 1940’s Chris Craft had a salesman they wanted to punish, so they sent him to Kansas. We all know how that turned out!
” “Wichita’s next great gathering place” still has places to gather.”
Like the over-priced condos? This thing was sold as an attraction that would attract 2 million visitors per year. HA! The Council was told it wouldn’t fly; now there is virtually nothing left of what was promised. Meanwhile, PRIVATE developers built the Waterfront and lured businesses that had wanted to privately locate on the East Bank. This Communist development has INHIBITED development; not helped it.
bth: I guess I don’t know what you are referring to. Please don’t keep it a secret. Remember some of us didn’t live here in the 1970’s, 80’s and early 90’s.
MH, BJ – I have to agree with Kia – Wichita has a lot going for it. Music Theater, THE ZOO!!!!!!!, Exploration Place, symphony, opera, etc etc etc.
I am NOT a native Wichitan – I can compare to Chicago, Atlanta, LA, NYC and other cities. We have problems. We need to improve. But we have a pretty good city here.
Not that far back JW. Foulston wanted to locate on the East Bank. So did several other entities. PRIVATE developers had proposals for office and related uses. But – the City wanted their “Old Town with a Ditch”.
Interesting thing – I spoke against it and provided printed copies to Council. My comments were deleted from the minutes. So, when you go back to 2002 all you see is that I spoke against it – not what I said.
Seeing that the economy has turned down, my family has canceled a trip we had planned for next year. The City needs to do the same. Cancel the waterwalk and the fancy palace of an airport before we spend a penny more. Tough times are coming, get ready.
Seeing that the economy has turned down, my family has canceled a trip we had planned for next year. The City needs to do the same. Cancel the waterwalk and the fancy palace of an airport before we spend a penny more. Tough times are coming, get ready.
Keep in mind, the only successful thing in the Water Walk project is the Boathouse and Bill Koch’s sail boat. I have heard the City’s Public Works Department deliverately cut the water and sewer lines and removed the Boathouse restrooms in their unbridled zeal to destroy the Boathouse.
This is Communism at its best … the secret government committee working against the public good.
The City Council should keep their hands off the Boathouse. We don’t need the government inspired “dancing fountains” to replace something as beautiful and historic as the Boathouse building, an icon of true Wichita business history.
When I get time, I’m going to explain how this whole Water Walk and downtown white elephant arena compares to the old downtown urban renewal development in Kansas City, Kansas some 50 years ago. That KC, Ks serpentine concrete project on Main Street completely destroyed that attractive downtown business district and sent most of its downtown businesses to the suburbs and its hard working families to Johnson County.