intern[life]: what [gear] in history

Tuesday, June 03, 2014

what [gear] in history

by some strange series of events, the wonderful people in charge of the wichita riverfest asked me to lead an architectural bike tour last saturday.

i agreed, i mean, why not? i've lived downtown for the past eight years! how hard could it be to talk about a bunch of buildings in front of people?

i knew some stuff.....

right?

the more i thought about it, the more i realized my "stuff" wasn't exactly what you'd call "facts." i couldn't "bs" the wonderful people on the tour. by some fluke i had been placed in a role where people might actually believe what i say, a position i was not familiar with. thankfully we live in a modern world with access to the wonderful information available on the internet. a glorious place where even the most inane mind, can appear wise.

the days before the tour found me scouring the net, searching for details, facts and stories on some of my favorite buildings downtown. between information from the kansas historical registry and some fascinating articles by local historian michael carmody, i was able to piece together enough information to not look like an architectural ass. thankfully the tour went we'll, and those who rode their bikes down douglas last saturday seemed to enjoy it.

finding all this information fascinating, i wanted to share the few facts i've learned about some of the architecture of our city. i hope you enjoy!

also, if you have history to correct or add to any of these buildings, please feel free to comment!

broadview hotel

year: 1921

architect: Ed Forsblom

style: ?

notes: named the "broad view" because of the broad view it offered of wichita. the basement held a speakeasy which could hold 600 people.

century II

year: 1969

architect: john hickman and roy k. varenhorst - both apprentice's to frank lloyd write

style: usonion?

notes: color and shape of pillars meant to mimic wheat stalks and fields. blue doomed roof meant to mimic the vast sky over the prairie

central library

year: 1967

architect: schaefer, schirmer and eflin

style: brutilist

notes: one of only a few buildings in kansas to have won a national award - an aia merit award for library design 1968

wichita city hall

year: 1892

architect: proudfoot and bird

style: romanesque

carnegie library

year: 1915

architect: crowell anthony allair

style: beaux arts
notes: the cities library until the new central library was built across the street

kress building

year: 1929

architect: g.f. mackay

style: gothic revival
notes: one of many kress buildings around the country

caldwell murdock building

year: 1908

architect:

style: early modernism

notes: wichita's first building with a steel structure, making it the cities first "skyscraper." also the tallest building in the city when it was built. built by louise caldwell-murdock in memory of her husband.