Delano, Wichita, Kansas
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Delano is a neighborhood located in Wichita,
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. A mixed commercial and residential area on the west bank of the
Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...
, it is home to
Friends University Friends University is a private nondenominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas. It was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield University but was donated in 1898 to the Religious Society of Friend ...
,
Riverfront Stadium Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States that was the home of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball from 1970 Major League Baseball season, 1970 throug ...
, and Exploration Place, the Sedgwick County science museum.


History

Thanks to the availability of inexpensive land under the
Homestead Act of 1862 The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of th ...
, settlers purchased land across the
Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...
from
Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...
. These settlers named their new community Elgin. In 1870, Elgin became a
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
shipment point on the Chisholm Trail and began to grow. In March 1871, local residents renamed the town Delano after
Columbus Delano Columbus Delano (June 4, 1809 – October 23, 1896) was a lawyer, rancher, banker, statesman, and a member of the prominent Delano family. Forced to live on his own at an early age, Delano struggled to become a self-made man. Delano was electe ...
, Secretary of the Interior under President Ulysses S. Grant. Hotels, saloons, and other new businesses opened over the next two years along with a post office and a toll bridge across the river to Wichita. Unlike Wichita, Delano had no law enforcement. As a result, it became an area center of drinking, gambling, and prostitution for cowboys working in the cattle trade. Gunfights occurred as well, including a fatal and locally famous incident between two saloon keepers in 1873. In the late 1870s, the cattle trade relocated west to
Dodge City Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town ...
, and Delano’s period as a rowdy cowtown ended. Wichita annexed Delano in 1880, and it became locally known as West Wichita. An economic boom a few years later triggered residential development. Streets in the neighborhood were named after prominent settlers. New businesses opened as well, including a watch factory. Garfield University, later repurposed as
Friends University Friends University is a private nondenominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas. It was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield University but was donated in 1898 to the Religious Society of Friend ...
, opened in Delano in 1887. By the end of the decade, however, the city had entered an economic recession, and many locals went bankrupt. Development returned in the early 1900s with renewed growth in manufacturing and the oil industry. In the 1920s, Wichita became a center of
aircraft manufacturing An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
, and several companies opened facilities in Delano. These included
Travel Air The Travel Air Manufacturing Company was an aircraft manufacturer established in Wichita, Kansas, United States in January 1925 by Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech, and Lloyd Stearman. History The company initially built a series of sporting and tr ...
in 1925 and Cessna in 1927 as well as smaller companies such as the Wichita Blue Streak Motor Company, Hilton Aircraft, and Yunker Aircraft Company. By the 1930s, the majority of Delano consisted of modest residential property built during the preceding three decades. In the early 1930s, the
Ackerman Island Ackerman Island was a sandbar island located in the Arkansas River in downtown Wichita, Kansas, United States. It was located on the north side of the Douglas Street Bridge. History The sandbar started to form in the 1870s, supposedly due to a d ...
sandbar located in the middle of the
Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...
was moved westward to become the west bank of the current river. The former baseball stadium on Ackerman Island was razed, so a new baseball field was built, Lawrence Athletic Field, later
Lawrence–Dumont Stadium Lawrence–Dumont Stadium, previously known as Lawrence Stadium, was a baseball stadium in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It was located on the northwest corner of McLean Boulevard and Maple Street, along the west bank of the Arkansas River, in ...
, which opened in Delano in 1934. That same year, the city government had the Ben F. McLean Memorial Fountain built in the neighborhood to commemorate McLean, a former mayor. In the 1950s and 60s, businesses and retailers began to leave the neighborhood since the aircraft industry relocated elsewhere in the city. By the 1990s, the area had entered a period of modest decline. In 1999 and 2000, neighborhood organizations and the city government collaborated to develop and implement a revitalization plan, including infrastructure investment and new business development. Since, Delano’s business district has become a booming local shopping and entertainment area marketed as the Historic Delano District. In November 2018, the city government had Lawrence-Dumont Stadium demolished. Construction of its replacement,
Riverfront Stadium Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States that was the home of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball from 1970 Major League Baseball season, 1970 throug ...
, began soon thereafter and finished in August 2019.


Geography

Delano is located at (37.682778, -97.359722) at an elevation of 1,299 feet (396 m). The
Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...
forms its northern and eastern boundary,
U.S. Route 54 U.S. Route 54 (US 54) is an east–west United States Highway that runs northeast–southwest for from El Paso, Texas, to Griggsville, Illinois. The Union Pacific Railroad's Tucumcari Line (former Southern Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific and ...
its southern boundary, and Meridian Avenue its western boundary. Located across the river west from Downtown Wichita, Delano borders the neighborhoods of McCormick to the south and Sunflower to the west, while Riverside lies across the river to the north.


Government

For the purposes of representation on the Wichita
City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
, Delano is split between Districts 4 (southwest Wichita) in the south half and 6 (near northwest Wichita) in the north For the purposes of representation in the
Kansas Legislature The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 state representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 state senators. ...
, Delano is located in the 25th district of the
Kansas Senate The Kansas Senate is the upper house of the Kansas Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. State of Kansas. It is composed of 40 senators elected from single-member districts, each with a population of at least 60,000 inhabitants. Members ...
, represented by
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
Mary Ware, and the 95th district of the
Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for crafti ...
, represented by Democrat
Tom Sawyer Thomas Sawyer () is the titular character of the Mark Twain novel ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876). He appears in three other novels by Twain: '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), '' Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894), and '' Tom Sawyer, ...
, the minority leader in the state house.


Education


Primary and secondary education

Wichita Public Schools operates two facilities in Delano: Allison Traditional Magnet Middle School and Franklin Elementary School. The
Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita The Diocese of Wichita ( la, Dioecesis Wichitensis) is a Latin Catholic ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Kansas. It covers Allen, Bourbon, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Greenwood, Harpe ...
oversees one Catholic elementary school in the neighborhood, St. Joseph School.
Northfield School of the Liberal Arts Northfield School of the Liberal Arts is a private classical Christian school in Wichita, Kansas. It was established in 1993, and operates from grades 6 to 12. It has its roots in the Liberal Arts, but also puts a large emphasis on the great book ...
is located in Delano. It teaches sixth through twelfth grades.


Colleges and universities

The main campus of
Friends University Friends University is a private nondenominational Christian university in Wichita, Kansas. It was founded in 1898. The main building was originally built in 1886 for Garfield University but was donated in 1898 to the Religious Society of Friend ...
, a private, non-denominational Christian university, is located in Delano.


Libraries

The Advanced Learning Library, the central facility of the Wichita Public Library, is located on West Second Street in Delano.


Parks and recreation

The Wichita Department of Park and Recreation maintains three parks in Delano: Delano Park, Seneca Park, and the West Side Athletic Field. Delano Park is a small park on the west bank of the Arkansas River at the intersection of McLean Boulevard and Douglas Avenue. It is the site of a historical marker marking the location of the Chisholm Trail as well as a lighted fountain built in honor of Ben F. McLean, a former mayor of Wichita. Seneca Park, a neighborhood park on South Seneca Street, has
tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...
s and a playground. The West Side Athletic Field on North McLean Boulevard includes tennis courts and baseball fields available for public use.


Culture


Points of interest

* Delano Clock Tower * Exploration Place *
Riverfront Stadium Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States that was the home of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball from 1970 Major League Baseball season, 1970 throug ...
* Wichita Ice Center


Transportation

Douglas Avenue is the primary east-west street through Delano; Seneca is the primary north-south street. Other arterial roads include: Maple Street, which runs east-west a few blocks south of Douglas; Meridian Avenue, which runs north-south along the western edge of the neighborhood; and McLean Boulevard, which runs along the west bank of the Arkansas River.
U.S. Route 54 U.S. Route 54 (US 54) is an east–west United States Highway that runs northeast–southwest for from El Paso, Texas, to Griggsville, Illinois. The Union Pacific Railroad's Tucumcari Line (former Southern Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific and ...
runs east-west along the southern edge of the neighborhood as the Kellogg Avenue freeway, accessible via interchanges at Sycamore Street, Seneca, and Meridian. Several
Wichita Transit Wichita Transit is the public transportation department of the City of Wichita which operates paratransit and transit bus services within Wichita, Kansas, United States.
bus routes service Delano including the 11, 12, 14, and 15 routes. The Delano/Old Town and Douglas routes of the free Q-Line trolley also service the neighborhood.
Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad The Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad is a shortline railroad operating in the Midwestern United States. It is primarily located in Kansas and extends into Colorado, but despite its name, not into Oklahoma. Overview The KO is a subsidiary of Watco, ...
operates a freight rail line which enters Delano from the northwest and exits to the southwest.


Gallery

File:The Exploration Place-Wichita, Kansas-June 2013.jpg, Exploration Place science museum (2013) File:University Hall, Friends University.jpg, University Hall at Friends University (2012) File:Lawrence-dumont.jpg, Lawrence-Dumont Stadium (2009) File:Original Nu Way Cafe (NuWay) in Wichita, Kansas.jpg, The original Nu Way Cafe (2007)


References


External links


Delano, Wichita

Historic Delano
* Historic Photos
Delano area
wichitaphotos.org {{authority control Geography of Wichita, Kansas Neighborhoods in Kansas 1871 establishments in Kansas Populated places established in 1871