Wichita (/ˈwɪtʃɪtɔː/ WITCH-i-taw)[7] is the largest city in the
U.S. state

U.S. state of Kansas.[8][4] Located in south-central
Kansas

Kansas on the
Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the
principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area[2][4][9] whose
estimated population in 2015 was 644,610.[10] As of 2017, the city of
Wichita had an estimated population of 391,586.[5]
The city began as a trading post on the
Chisholm Trail

Chisholm Trail in the 1860s
and was incorporated in 1870. It subsequently became a destination for
cattle drives north from
Texas

Texas to railroads, earning it the nickname
"Cowtown".[11][12] In the 1920s and 1930s, businessmen and
aeronautical engineers established aircraft manufacturing companies in
Wichita including Beechcraft, Cessna, and Stearman Aircraft. The city
transformed into a hub of U.S. aircraft production and became known as
"The Air Capital of the World".[13] Textron Aviation, Learjet, Airbus
and
Spirit AeroSystems

Spirit AeroSystems continue to operate design and manufacturing
facilities in Wichita, and the city remains a major center of the U.S.
aircraft industry. Wichita is also home to McConnell Air Force
Base.[14][15]
As an industrial hub and the largest city in the state, Wichita is an
area center of culture, media, and trade. It hosts several large
museums, theaters, parks, and entertainment venues, notably Intrust
Bank Arena.
Wichita State University

Wichita State University is the third largest in the
state. Wichita is also home to the Century II Performing Arts &
Convention Center and Kansas's largest airport, Wichita Dwight D.
Eisenhower National Airport.
Contents
1 History
2 Geography
2.1 Climate
2.2 Neighborhoods
2.2.1 List of Neighborhoods
3 Demographics
3.1 2010 census
3.2 Metropolitan area
4 Economy
4.1
Aircraft

Aircraft manufacturing
5 Culture
5.1 Arts
5.2 Music
5.3 Events
5.4 Points of interest
5.5 In popular culture and the arts
6 Sports
6.1 Professional
6.2 College
7 Government
8 Education
8.1 Primary and secondary education
8.2 Colleges and universities
8.3 Libraries
9 Media
10 Infrastructure
10.1 Flood control
11 Transportation
11.1 Highway
11.2 Bus
11.3 Air
11.4 Rail
11.5 Walkability
12 Notable people
12.1 Civic leaders and political figures
12.2 Business and economic figures
12.3 Athletes
12.4 Media and performing arts
13 Sister cities
14 Gallery
15 See also
16 Notes
17 References
18 Further reading
19 External links
History[edit]
Main articles: History of Wichita,
Kansas

Kansas and Timeline of Wichita,
Kansas
See also: History of Kansas
Archaeological evidence indicates human habitation near the confluence
of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers, the site of present-day
Wichita, as early as 3000 B.C.[16] In 1541, a Spanish expedition led
by explorer
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado

Francisco Vázquez de Coronado found the area populated by
the Quivira, or Wichita, people. Conflict with the Osage in the 1750s
drove the Wichita further south.[17] Prior to American settlement of
the region, the site was located in the territory of the Kiowa.[18]
Claimed first by
France

France as part of Louisiana and later acquired by the
United States

United States with the
Louisiana Purchase

Louisiana Purchase in 1803, it became part of
Kansas

Kansas Territory in 1854 and then the state of
Kansas

Kansas in 1861.[19][20]
The Wichita returned in 1864 due to the
American Civil War

American Civil War and
established a settlement on the banks of the Little Arkansas.[21][22]
During this period, trader
Jesse Chisholm

Jesse Chisholm established a trading post
at the site, one of several along a trail extending south to Texas
which became known as the Chisholm Trail.[23] After the war, the
Wichita permanently relocated south to
Indian Territory

Indian Territory (present-day
Oklahoma).[22]
In 1868, trader
James R. Mead

James R. Mead established another trading post at the
site, and surveyor Darius Munger built a house for use as a hotel,
community center, and post office.[24][25] Business opportunities
attracted area hunters and traders, and a new settlement began to
form. That summer, Mead and others organized the
Wichita Town

Wichita Town Company,
naming the settlement after the Wichita tribe.[21] In 1870, Munger and
German immigrant William "Dutch Bill" Greiffenstein filed plats laying
out the city's first streets.[25] Wichita formally incorporated as a
city on July 21, 1870.[24]
1915 Railroad Map of Sedgwick County
Wichita's position on the
Chisholm Trail

Chisholm Trail made it a destination for
cattle drives traveling north from
Texas

Texas to access railroads which led
to markets in eastern U.S. cities.[23][26] The Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fe Railway reached the city in 1872.[27] As a result, Wichita
became a railhead for the cattle drives, earning it the nickname
"Cowtown".[23][26] Across the Arkansas River, the town of Delano
became a popular entertainment destination for cattlemen thanks to its
saloons, brothels, and lack of law enforcement.[28] The area had a
reputation for violence until local lawmen,
Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Earp among them,
began to assertively police the cowboys.[23][26] By the end of the
decade, the cattle trade had moved west to Dodge City. Wichita annexed
Delano in 1880.[28]
Rapid immigration resulted in a speculative land boom in the late
1880s, stimulating further expansion of the city. Fairmount College,
which eventually grew into Wichita State University, opened in 1886;
Garfield University, which eventually became Friends University,
opened in 1887.[29][30] By 1890, Wichita had become the third-largest
city in the state after
Kansas

Kansas
City

City and Topeka with a population of
nearly 24,000.[31] After the boom, however, the city entered an
economic recession, and many of the original settlers went
bankrupt.[32]
In 1914 and 1915, deposits of oil and natural gas were discovered in
nearby Butler County. This triggered another economic boom in Wichita
as producers established refineries, fueling stations, and
headquarters in the city.[33] By 1917, there were five operating
refineries in Wichita with another seven built in the 1920s.[34] The
careers and fortunes of future oil moguls Archibald Derby, who later
founded Derby Oil, and Fred C. Koch, who established what would become
Koch Industries, both began in Wichita during this period.[33][35]
The money generated by the oil boom enabled local entrepreneurs to
invest in the nascent airplane manufacturing industry. In 1917, Clyde
Cessna

Cessna built his
Cessna

Cessna Comet in Wichita, the first aircraft built in
the city. In 1920, two local oilmen invited
Chicago

Chicago aircraft builder
Emil "Matty" Laird to manufacture his designs in Wichita, leading to
the formation of the Swallow Airplane Company. Two early Swallow
employees,
Lloyd Stearman and Walter Beech, went on to found two
prominent Wichita-based companies,
Stearman Aircraft
.jpg/600px-Boeing_PT-17_Stearman_(N746BJ).jpg)
Stearman Aircraft in 1926 and
Beechcraft

Beechcraft in 1932, respectively. Cessna, meanwhile, started his own
company in Wichita in 1927.[1] The city became such a center of the
industry that the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce dubbed it the "Air
Capital of the World" in 1929.[36]
Boeing

Boeing B-29 assembly line (1944)
Over the following decades, aviation and aircraft manufacturing
continued to drive expansion of the city. In 1934, Stearman's Wichita
facilities became part of
Boeing

Boeing which would become the city's largest
employer.[37] Initial construction of Wichita Municipal Airport
finished southeast of the city in 1935. During World War II, the site
hosted Wichita Army Airfield and
Boeing

Boeing Airplane Company Plant No.
1.[38] The city experienced a population explosion during the war when
it became a major manufacturing center for the
Boeing

Boeing B-29 bomber.[39]
In 1951, the
U.S. Air Force

U.S. Air Force announced plans to assume control of the
airport to establish McConnell Air Force Base. By 1954, all
non-military air traffic had shifted to the new Wichita Mid-Continent
Airport west of the city.[38] In 1962,
Lear Jet

Lear Jet Corporation opened
with its plant adjacent to the new airport.[40]
The original
Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut building, which was moved to the campus of
Wichita State University

Wichita State University (2004)
Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, several other prominent
businesses and brands had their origins in Wichita. A. A. Hyde founded
health care products maker
Mentholatum

Mentholatum in Wichita in 1889.[41][42]
Sporting goods and camping gear retailer Coleman started in the city
in the early 1900s.[41][43] A number of fast food franchises started
in Wichita in the 1950s and 1960s including
Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut in 1958. In the
1970s and 1980s, the city became a regional center of health care and
medical research.[41]
Wichita has been a focal point of national political controversy
multiple times in its history. In 1900, famous temperance extremist
Carrie Nation

Carrie Nation struck in Wichita upon learning the city was not
enforcing Kansas's prohibition ordinance.[41] The Dockum Drug Store
sit-in took place in the city in 1958 with protesters pushing for
desegregation.[44] In 1991, thousands of anti-abortion protesters
blockaded and held sit-ins at Wichita abortion clinics, particularly
the clinic of George Tiller.[45] Tiller was later killed in Wichita by
an extremist in 2009.[46]
Except for a slow period in the 1970s, Wichita has continued to grow
steadily into the 21st century.[31] In the late 1990s and 2000s, the
city government and local organizations began collaborating to
re-develop downtown Wichita and older neighborhoods in the
city.[25][28][47]
Intrust Bank Arena

Intrust Bank Arena opened downtown in 2010.[48]
Boeing

Boeing ended its operations in Wichita in 2014.[49] However, the city
remains a national center of aircraft manufacturing with other
companies including
Spirit AeroSystems

Spirit AeroSystems and
Airbus

Airbus maintaining
facilities in Wichita.[24][50]
Wichita Mid-Continent Airport was officially renamed Wichita Dwight D.
Eisenhower National Airport after the
Kansas

Kansas native and U.S. President
in 2015.[51]
Geography[edit]
Downtown Wichita

Downtown Wichita viewed from the west bank of the Arkansas River
(2010)
Downtown Wichita

Downtown Wichita is located at 37°41′20″N 97°20′10″W /
37.68889°N 97.33611°W / 37.68889; -97.33611 (37.688888,
−97.336111) at an elevation of 1,299 feet (396 m).[2] Wichita
is located in south-central
Kansas

Kansas at the junction of Interstate 35
and U.S. Route 54.[52] Located in the Midwestern United States, it is
157 mi (253 km) north of
Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, 181 mi
(291 km) southwest of
Kansas

Kansas City, and 439 mi (707 km)
east-southeast of Denver.[53]
The city lies on the
Arkansas River

Arkansas River near the western edge of the Flint
Hills in the Wellington-McPherson Lowlands region of the Great
Plains.[54] The topography of the area is characterized by the broad
alluvial plain of the
Arkansas River

Arkansas River valley and the moderately rolling
slopes which rise to the higher lands on either side.[55][56]
The Arkansas follows a winding course, south-southeast through
Wichita, roughly bisecting the city. It is joined along its course by
several tributaries all of which flow generally south. The largest is
the Little Arkansas River, which enters the city from the north and
joins the Arkansas immediately west of downtown. Further east lies
Chisholm Creek which joins the Arkansas in the far southern part of
the city. The Chisholm's own tributaries drain much of the city's
eastern half; these include the creek's West, Middle, and East Forks
as well as, further south, Gypsum Creek. The Gypsum is fed by its own
tributary, Dry Creek. Two more of the Arkansas' tributaries lie west
of its course; from east to west, these are Big Slough Creek and
Cowskin Creek. Both streams run south through the western part of the
city. Fourmile Creek, a tributary of the Walnut River, flows south
through the far eastern part of the city.[57]
According to the
United States

United States Census Bureau, the city has a total
area of 163.59 sq mi (423.70 km2), of which
159.29 sq mi (412.56 km2) is land and
4.30 sq mi (11.14 km2) is water.[3]
As the core of the Wichita metropolitan area, the city is surrounded
by suburbs. Bordering Wichita on the north are, from west to east,
Valley Center, Park City, Kechi, and Bel Aire. Enclosed within
east-central Wichita is Eastborough. Adjacent to the city's east side
is Andover.
McConnell Air Force Base

McConnell Air Force Base is in the extreme southeast
corner of the city. To the south, from east to west, are Derby and
Haysville. Goddard and Maize border Wichita to the west and northwest,
respectively.[58]
Climate[edit]
Downtown Wichita

Downtown Wichita during a winter snowfall
Wichita lies in the northern limits of North America's humid
subtropical climate zone (Köppen Cfa), typically experiencing hot,
humid summers and cold, dry winters.[59] Located on the Great Plains,
far from any large moderating influences such as mountains or large
bodies of water, Wichita often experiences severe weather with
thunderstorms occurring frequently during the spring and summer
months. These occasionally bring large hail as well as frequent
lightning, and tornadoes sometimes occur. Particularly destructive
tornadoes have struck the Wichita area several times in the course of
its history: in September 1965; during the Andover,
Kansas

Kansas Tornado
Outbreak of April 1991; and during the
Oklahoma

Oklahoma tornado outbreak of
May 1999.[60][61][62] Winters are cold and dry; since Wichita is
located roughly midway between
Canada

Canada and the Gulf of Mexico, cold
spells and warm spells are equally frequent. Warm air masses from the
Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico can raise mid-winter temperatures into the 50s and even
60s while cold air masses from the Arctic can occasionally plunge the
temperature below 0 °F.[citation needed] Wind speed in the city
averages 13 mph (21 km/h).[63] On average, January is the
coldest month, July is the hottest month, and June is the wettest
month.[64]
The average temperature in the city is 56.9 °F
(13.8 °C).[65] Over the course of a year, the monthly daily
average temperature ranges from 32.2 °F (0.1 °C) in
January to 81.1 °F (27.3 °C) in July.[64] The high
temperature reaches or exceeds 90 °F (32 °C) an average of
62 days a year and 100 °F (38 °C) an average of 12 days a
year. The minimum temperature falls to or below 10 °F
(−12 °C) on an average 8.5 days a year.[66] The hottest
temperature recorded in Wichita was 114 °F (46 °C) in
1936; the coldest temperature recorded was −22 °F
(−30 °C) on February 12, 1899.[64] Readings as low as
−17 °F (−27 °C) and as high as 111 °F
(44 °C) occurred as recently as February 10, 2011 and July
29–30, 2012, respectively.[65]
During an average year, Wichita receives 32.69 inches (830 mm) of
precipitation, most of which falls in the warmer months, and
experiences 88 days of measurable precipitation.[65] The average
relative humidity is 80% in the morning and 49% in the evening.[63]
Annual snowfall averages 15.6 inches (40 cm). Measurable snowfall
occurs an average of ten days per year with at least an inch of snow
being received on five of those days. Snow depth of at least an inch
occurs an average of 15 days a year. The average window for freezing
temperatures is October 26 through April 11.[65]
Climate data for Wichita Mid-Continent Airport,
Kansas

Kansas (1981–2010
normals, extremes 1888–present)[a]
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Record high °F (°C)
75
(24)
87
(31)
92
(33)
98
(37)
102
(39)
110
(43)
113
(45)
114
(46)
108
(42)
97
(36)
86
(30)
83
(28)
114
(46)
Average high °F (°C)
42.5
(5.8)
48.2
(9)
57.9
(14.4)
67.7
(19.8)
76.7
(24.8)
86.7
(30.4)
92.3
(33.5)
91.2
(32.9)
82.5
(28.1)
69.7
(20.9)
56.2
(13.4)
43.5
(6.4)
67.9
(19.9)
Average low °F (°C)
21.9
(−5.6)
26.1
(−3.3)
35.0
(1.7)
44.5
(6.9)
55.2
(12.9)
64.9
(18.3)
69.8
(21)
68.8
(20.4)
59.5
(15.3)
46.9
(8.3)
34.6
(1.4)
24.1
(−4.4)
45.9
(7.7)
Record low °F (°C)
−15
(−26)
−22
(−30)
−3
(−19)
15
(−9)
27
(−3)
43
(6)
51
(11)
45
(7)
31
(−1)
14
(−10)
1
(−17)
−16
(−27)
−22
(−30)
Average precipitation inches (mm)
0.83
(21.1)
1.18
(30)
2.69
(68.3)
2.59
(65.8)
4.57
(116.1)
5.20
(132.1)
3.32
(84.3)
3.71
(94.2)
3.14
(79.8)
2.78
(70.6)
1.43
(36.3)
1.20
(30.5)
32.64
(829.1)
Average snowfall inches (cm)
3.6
(9.1)
3.2
(8.1)
2.3
(5.8)
0.2
(0.5)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0.1
(0.3)
1.3
(3.3)
4.2
(10.7)
14.9
(37.8)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)
4.7
5.4
8.2
8.0
11.4
10.0
7.3
7.9
7.0
7.0
5.3
5.7
87.9
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)
3.0
2.1
1.2
0.2
0
0
0
0
0
0.1
0.6
2.8
10.0
Average relative humidity (%)
69.9
68.3
63.8
62.8
67.0
64.3
58.9
61.1
66.8
65.1
70.0
71.7
65.8
Mean monthly sunshine hours
190.9
186.4
230.4
257.8
289.8
305.0
342.1
309.2
245.6
226.3
170.2
168.7
2,922.4
Percent possible sunshine
62
62
62
65
66
69
76
73
66
65
56
57
66
Source:
National Weather Service

National Weather Service (relative humidity and sun
1961–1990);[65][67] The Weather Channel[64]
Neighborhoods[edit]
Downtown Wichita

Downtown Wichita & Century II Convention Center along the Arkansas
River
Wichita has several recognized areas and neighborhoods. The downtown
area is generally considered to be east of the Arkansas River, west of
Washington Street, north of Kellogg and south of 13th Street. The
downtown area contains landmarks such as Century II, the Garvey
Center, and the Epic Center. Old Town is also part of downtown; this
50 acre area is home to a cluster of night clubs, bars, restaurants, a
movie theater, shops, and apartments and condominiums, many of which
make use of historical warehouse-type spaces.
The two most notable residential areas of Wichita are Riverside and
College Hill. Riverside is northwest of the downtown area, across the
Arkansas River, and surrounds the 120-acre (0.49 km2) Riverside
Park.[68] College Hill is east of the downtown area, south of Wichita
State University. College Hill is one of the more historic
neighborhoods, along with Delano on the west side and Midtown in the
north-central city.[69]
List of Neighborhoods[edit]
A Price Woodard
Benjamin Hills
Brookhollow
Calfskin Group
College Hill
Cottonwood Village
Country Overlook
Courtland
Crestview Heights
Crown Heights North
Crown Heights South
Delano
Delano Township
East Front
East Mt. Vernon
Eastridge
El Pueblo
Fabrique
Fairfax
Fairmount
Forest Hills
Grandview Heights
Hilltop
Midtown
Indian Hills
Indian Hills Riverbend
Ken-Mar
La Placita Park
Lambsdale
Linwood
Longview
MacDonald
Maple Hills
Matlock Heights
McAdams
McCormick
Mead
Meadowlark
Murdock
New Salem
North Riverside
Northeast Central
Northeast Heights
Northeast K-96
Northeast Millair
Northwest Big River
Oakview
Orchard Breeze
Orchard Park
Park Meadows
Planeview United
Power
Riverside
Riverview
Rockhurst
Schweiter
Schweiter East
Sherwood Glen
Sleepy Hollow
South Area
South Central
South City
South Seneca United
Southwest
Southwest Village
Sunflower
Sunnybrook One
Sunnyside
The Elm
The Hyde
Uptown
Village
Westlink
Demographics[edit]
Main article: Demographics of Wichita, Kansas
Historical population
Census
Pop.
%±
1870
689
—
1880
4,911
612.8%
1890
23,853
385.7%
1900
24,671
3.4%
1910
52,450
112.6%
1920
72,217
37.7%
1930
111,110
53.9%
1940
114,966
3.5%
1950
168,279
46.4%
1960
254,698
51.4%
1970
276,554
8.6%
1980
279,272
1.0%
1990
304,011
8.9%
2000
344,284
13.2%
2010
382,368
11.1%
Est. 2016
389,902
[5]
2.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[70]
2015 Estimate[9]
In terms of population, Wichita is the largest city in
Kansas

Kansas and the
48th largest city in the United States.[9] It is racially more similar
to the rest of the
United States

United States than any other major city.[71]
2010 census[edit]
As of the 2010 census, there were 382,368 people, 151,818 households,
and 94,862 families residing in the city. The population density was
2,304.8 per square mile (889.9/km²). There were 167,310 housing units
at an average density of 1,022.1 per square mile (475.9/km²). The
racial makeup of the city was 71.9% White, 11.5% African American,
4.8% Asian, 1.2% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 6.2% from
other races, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of
any race were 15.3% of the population.[72]
Of the 151,818 households, 33.4% had children under the age of 18
living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 5.2% had
a male householder with no wife present, 13.1% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families.
31.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had
someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.48, and the average family size was 3.14.[72]
The median age in the city was 33.9 years. 26.6% of residents were
under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.9%
were from 25 to 44; 24.9% were from 45 to 64; and 11.5% were 65 years
of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and
50.7% female.[72]
The median income for a household in the city was $44,477, and the
median income for a family was $57,088. Males had a median income of
$42,783 versus $32,155 for females. The per capita income for the city
was $24,517. About 12.1% of families and 15.8% of the population were
below the poverty line, including 22.5% of those under age 18 and 9.9%
of those age 65 or over.[72]
Metropolitan area[edit]
Main article: Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area
Wichita is the principal city of both the Wichita Metropolitan
Statistical Area (MSA) and the Wichita-Winfield Combined Statistical
Area (CSA).[73][74] The Wichita MSA encompasses Sedgwick, Butler,
Harvey, and Sumner counties and, as of 2010, had a population of
623,061, making it the 84th largest MSA in the United
States.[73][75][76]
The larger Wichita-Winfield CSA also includes Cowley County and, as of
2013, had an estimated population of 673,598.[77] Nearby Reno County
is not a part of the Wichita MSA or Wichita-Winfield CSA, but, were it
included, it would add an additional population of 64,511 as of
2010.[78]
Economy[edit]
Boeing

Boeing plant in Wichita (2010).
Boeing

Boeing was once the largest employer
in Wichita (as per a 2005 analysis), and aviation remains the city's
largest industry.
Wichita's principal industrial sector is manufacturing, which
accounted for 21.6 percent of area employment in 2003. Aircraft
manufacturing has long dominated the local economy, and plays such an
important role that it has the ability to influence the economic
health of the entire region; the state offers tax breaks and other
incentives to aircraft manufacturers.[79]
Healthcare

Healthcare is Wichita's second-largest industry, employing
approximately 28,000 people in the local area. Since healthcare needs
remain fairly consistent regardless of the economy, this field was not
subject to the same pressures that affected other industries in the
early 2000s. The
Kansas

Kansas Spine Hospital opened in 2004, as did a
critical care tower at Wesley Medical Center.[80] In July 2010, Via
Christi Health, which is the largest provider of healthcare services
in Kansas, opened a hospital that will serve the northwest area of
Wichita. Via Christi Hospital on St. Teresa is the system's fifth
hospital to serve the Wichita community.[81]
Thanks to the early 20th-Century oil boom in neighboring Butler
County, Kansas, Wichita became a major oil town, with dozens of oil
exploration companies and support enterprises. Most famous of these
was Koch Industries, today a global natural-resources conglomerate.
The city was also at one time the headquarters of the former Derby Oil
Company, which was purchased by
Coastal Corporation

Coastal Corporation in 1988.
Koch Industries

Koch Industries and Cargill, the two largest privately held companies
in the United States,[82] both operate headquarters facilities in
Wichita. Koch Industries' primary global corporate headquarters is
located in a large office-tower complex in northeast Wichita. Cargill
Meat Solutions Div., at one time the nation's 3rd-largest beef
producer, is headquartered downtown. Other firms with headquarters in
Wichita include roller-coaster manufacturer Chance Morgan, gourmet
food retailer Dean & Deluca, renewable energy company Alternative
Energy Solutions, and Coleman Company, a manufacturer of camping and
outdoor recreation supplies. Air Midwest, the nation's first
officially certificated "commuter" airline, was founded and
headquartered in Wichita and evolved into the nation's 8th largest
regional airline prior to its dissolution in 2008.[83]
As of 2013, 68.2% of the population over the age of 16 was in the
labor force. 0.6% was in the armed forces, and 67.6% was in the
civilian labor force with 61.2% employed and 6.4% unemployed. The
occupational composition of the employed civilian labor force was:
33.3% in management, business, science, and arts; 25.1% in sales and
office occupations; 17.2% in service occupations; 14.0% in production,
transportation, and material moving; 10.4% in natural resources,
construction, and maintenance. The three industries employing the
largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were:
educational services, health care, and social assistance (22.3%);
manufacturing (19.2%); and retail trade (11.0%).[72]
The cost of living in Wichita is below average; compared to a U.S.
average of 100, the cost of living index for the city is 84.0.[84] As
of 2013, the median home value in the city was $117,500, the median
selected monthly owner cost was $1,194 for housing units with a
mortgage and $419 for those without, and the median gross rent was
$690.[72]
Aircraft

Aircraft manufacturing[edit]
Over 10,000 Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 trainer aircraft were built
during the 1930s and 1940s
Beechcraft

Beechcraft Starship were built from 1983 to 1995
From the early to late 20th century, aircraft pioneers such as Clyde
Cessna, "Matty" Laird, Lloyd Stearman, Walter Beech,
Al Mooney

Al Mooney and
Bill Lear

Bill Lear began aircraft-manufacturing enterprises that would lead to
Wichita becoming the nation's leading city in numbers of aircraft
produced. The aircraft corporations E. M. Laird
Aviation

Aviation Company (the
nation's first successful commercial airplane manufacturer), Travel
Air (started by Beech, Stearman and Cessna), Stearman, Cessna,
Beechcraft

Beechcraft and Mooney were all founded in Wichita between 1920 and
early 1932.[13] By 1931,
Boeing

Boeing (of Seattle, Washington) had absorbed
Stearman, creating "Boeing-Wichita", which would eventually grow to
become Kansas' largest employer.[14][85]
Today,
Cessna

Cessna
Aircraft

Aircraft Co. (the world's highest-volume airplane
manufacturer) and
Beechcraft

Beechcraft remain based in Wichita having merged
into
Textron Aviation

Textron Aviation in 2014, along with
Learjet

Learjet and Boeing's chief
subassembly supplier, Spirit AeroSystems.
Airbus

Airbus maintains a workforce
in Wichita, and Bombardier (parent company of Learjet) has other
divisions in Wichita as well. Over 50 other aviation businesses
operate in the Wichita MSA, as well dozens of suppliers and
subcontractors to the local aircraft manufacturers. In total, Wichita
and its companies have manufactured an estimated 250,000 aircraft
since Clyde Cessna's first Wichita-built aircraft in
1916.[14][15][86][87]
In the early 2000s, a national and international recession combined
with the after effects of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to
depress the aviation sub-sector in and around Wichita. Orders for new
aircraft plummeted, prompting Wichita's five largest aircraft
manufacturers,
Boeing

Boeing Co.,
Cessna

Cessna
Aircraft

Aircraft Co., Bombardier Learjet
Inc., Hawker
Beechcraft

Beechcraft and
Raytheon

Raytheon
Aircraft

Aircraft Co.—to slash a
combined 15,000 jobs between 2001 and 2004. In response, these
companies began developing small- and mid-sized airplanes to appeal to
business and corporate users.[80] In 2007, Wichita built 977 aircraft,
ranging from single-engine light aircraft to the world's fastest
civilian jet; one-fifth of the civilian aircraft produced in United
States that year, plus numerous small military
aircraft.[15][86][87][88] In early 2012,
Boeing

Boeing announced it would be
closing its Wichita plant by the end of 2013,[89] which paved the road
for Spirit Aerosystems to open its plant.
Culture[edit]
The historic Orpheum Theatre
Arts[edit]
Wichita is a cultural center for Kansas, home to several art museums
and performing arts groups. The
Wichita Art Museum

Wichita Art Museum is the largest art
museum in the state of
Kansas

Kansas and contains 7,000 works in permanent
collections.[90] The Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University
is a modern and contemporary art museum with over 6,300 works in its
permanent collection.[91]
Small art galleries are scattered around the city with some clustered
in the districts of Old Town, Delano and south Commerce street. These
galleries started the Final Friday Gallery crawl event, where visitors
tour attractions free in the evening on the last Friday of each month.
Larger museums began participating and staying open late on Final
Fridays shortly after its beginning.
Music[edit]
Wichita is the music hub of central Kansas, and draws major acts from
around the world, performing at various concert halls, arenas and
stadiums around the area. Most major rock'n'roll and pop-music stars,
and virtually all country music stars, perform there during their
career.
Music Theatre Wichita, Wichita Grand Opera (both nationally
renowned),[92] and the
Wichita Symphony Orchestra perform regularly at
the
Century II Convention Hall

Century II Convention Hall downtown. Concerts are also regularly
performed by the nationally noted schools of music at Wichita's two
largest universities.[92][93]
The Orpheum Theatre, built in 1922, serves as a downtown venue for
smaller shows.
Wichita is alleged to be the birthplace of the electric guitar, the
fuzz box, and other key innovations in rock'n'roll music.
Events[edit]
The Wichita River Festival has been held in the Downtown and Old Town
areas of the city since 1972. It has featured events, musical
entertainment, sporting events, traveling exhibits, cultural and
historical activities, plays, interactive children's events, a flea
market, river events, a parade, block parties, a food court,
fireworks, and souvenirs for the roughly 370,000+ patrons who attend
each year.[94] In 2011, the festival was moved from May to June
because of rain during previous festivals.
The annual Wichita Black Arts Festival, held in the spring, celebrates
the arts, crafts and creativity of Wichita's large African-American
community. It usually takes place in Central-Northeast Wichita. A
Juneteenth

Juneteenth event and parade also are common annual events.
The International Student Association at Wichita State University
presents an annual international cultural exhibition and food
festival, on the campus at WSU, providing an inexpensive sampling of
global culture and cuisine to the general public.
One or more large Renaissance fairs occur annually, including the
"RenFair" in conjunction with the "Kingdom of Calontir" of the SCA
(Society for Creative Anachronism). The fairs vary in length from one
day to a week, typically at Sedgwick County Park or Newman University.
The Wichita Public Library's
Academy Awards

Academy Awards Shorts program is
reportedly the oldest annual, complete, free public screening outside
of Hollywood of the full array of short films nominated for an Academy
Award ("Oscar"). In late winter, shortly before the Academy Awards
ceremonies, the films—including all nominated documentary, live
action, and animated shorts—are presented, free, at the Library and
in local theaters and other venues around Wichita. Wichita's former
Congressman,
Motion Picture Association President Dan Glickman, has
served as Honorary Chair of the event, and some of the filmmakers have
attended and visited with the audiences.[95][96][97][98][99][100]
The
Tallgrass Film Festival has been held in downtown Wichita since
2003. It draws over 100 independent feature and short films from all
over the world for three days each October. Notable people from the
entertainment industry have attended in the past.[101]
Aviation-related events are common in the Wichita area, including air
shows, fly-ins, air races, aviation conferences, exhibitions, and
trade shows. The city's two main air shows, which are generally held
in alternating years, are the city-sponsored civilian Wichita Flight
Festival[102] (originally the "
Kansas

Kansas Flight Festival") and the
military-sponsored
McConnell Air Force Base

McConnell Air Force Base Open House and
Airshow.[103] Both are large regional air shows with famous acts and
multimillion-dollar aircraft displays (including many Wichita-built
aircraft). In addition, numerous local, regional, and national
aviation organizations host fly-ins, conferences, exhibitions and
trade shows in the Wichita area on irregular schedules.
Points of interest[edit]
The Sedgwick County Historical Museum (2008)
Museums and landmarks devoted to science, culture, and area history
are located throughout the city. Several lie along the Arkansas River
west of downtown, including the
Exploration Place

Exploration Place science and
discovery center, the Mid-America All-Indian Center, the Old Cowtown
living history museum, and
The Keeper of the Plains

The Keeper of the Plains statue and its
associated display highlighting the daily lives of Plains Indians. The
Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum in downtown Wichita occupies
the original Wichita city hall, built in 1892. The museum contains
artifacts that tell the story of Wichita and Sedgwick County starting
from 1865 and continuing to the present day.[104] Nearby is the 1913
Sedgwick County Memorial Hall and Soldiers and Sailors Monument. East
of downtown are the
Museum of World Treasures

Museum of World Treasures and railroad-oriented
Great Plains

Great Plains Transportation Museum. The Coleman Factory Outlet and
Museum on 235 N St. Francis street is the home of the Coleman Lantern
and offers free admission.[105]
Wichita State University

Wichita State University hosts the
Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology. The
Kansas

Kansas
Aviation

Aviation Museum,
housed in the Terminal and Administration building of the former
Municipal Airport, is located in southeast Wichita adjacent to
McConnell Air Force Base.
The Keeper of the Plains

The Keeper of the Plains (2013)
Botanica, The Wichita Gardens, also located along the Arkansas River,
boasts 24 themed gardens including the popular Butterfly Garden and
the award-winning Sally Stone Sensory Garden. The Sedgwick County Zoo
in the northwest part of Wichita is the most popular outdoor tourist
attraction in the state of Kansas, and is home to more than 2,500
animals representing 500 different species.[106] The zoo is next to
Sedgwick county park and Sedgwick County Extension Arboretum.
Intrust Bank Arena

Intrust Bank Arena is the city's primary event venue, featuring 22
suites, 2 party suites, 40 loge boxes and over 300 premium seats with
a total potential capacity of over 15,000.[107] This arena in the
middle of Wichita opened in January 2010.[108]
Located immediately east of downtown is Old Town, the city's
entertainment district. In the early 1990s, developers transformed it
from an old warehouse district into a mixed-zone neighborhood with
residential space, nightclubs, restaurants, hotels, and museums.[109]
Moody's Skidrow Beanery, at 625 E. Douglas in what was to become Old
Town, was one of the more famous places in Wichita in the 1960s. It
was the scene of a nationally followed First Amendment struggle[110]
and was visited by
Allen Ginsberg

Allen Ginsberg in 1966 (the name had been changed
to the Magic Theatre Vortex Art Gallery) where he first read his long
poem "Wichita Vortex Sutra."
Wichita is also home to two major shopping malls: Towne East Square
and Towne West Square, on opposite ends of town, and each managed by
Simon Property Group. Each mall is home to four anchor stores, and has
more than 100 tenants apiece. The oldest mall, Wichita Mall, was for
many years largely a dead mall, but has since been converted into
office space.[111] There are also two large outdoor shopping centers,
Bradley Fair on the city's north-east side and NewMarket Square on the
city's north-west side, each with over 50 stores spread out on several
acres.
In 1936, the Wichita post office contained two oil-on-canvas murals,
Kansas

Kansas Farming, painted by
Richard Haines and Pioneer in
Kansas

Kansas by
Ward Lockwood. Murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United
States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the
Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department. The post office
building became the Federal Courthouse at 401 N. Market Street and the
murals are on display in the lobby.[112]
Wichita has a number of beautiful parks and recreational areas such as
Riverside park, College Hill park, and McAdams park.
In popular culture and the arts[edit]
Wichita has developed a positive reputation in U.S. media as an
affordable and pleasant place to live. In July 2006, CNN/Money and
Money ranked Wichita ninth on their list of the 10 best U.S. big
cities in which to live.[113] In 2008,
MSN

MSN Real Estate ranked Wichita
1st on its list of most affordable cities.[114] Wichita was also named
the most "Uniquely American" city by
Newsmax

Newsmax magazine in a May 2009
piece written by Peter Greenberg.[115]
Wichita is mentioned in the songs "Wichita Skyline" by Shawn Colvin,
"Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes, and "Captain Bobby Stout" by
local musician Jerry Hahn.
Allen Ginsberg

Allen Ginsberg wrote about a visit to
Wichita in his poem Wichita Vortex Sutra, for which Philip Glass
subsequently wrote a solo piano piece. Glen Campbell's "Wichita
Lineman", written by Jimmy Webb, peaked at number 1 on Billboard's
country singles chart and at number 3 on the pop chart in 1968. Ruby
Vroom, released by the band Soul Coughing in 1994, contains a song
called "True Dreams of Wichita". Also, country trio Lady Antebellum
recorded the song "Golden" for their fifth studio album of the same
name. The opening line of that song is "Sunset falls on Wichita".
The city has been a setting of various works of fiction. The
award-winning stage play
Hospitality Suite written by Roger Rueff
takes place in Wichita as does its 1999 film adaptation, The Big
Kahuna.[116] Wichita (1955) and portions of
Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Earp (1994), both of
which dramatize the life and career of Wyatt Earp, are set in
Wichita.[117][118] The short-lived 1959–1960 television western
Wichita Town

Wichita Town was set during the city's early years.[119] Other films
wholly or partially set in the city include Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff
(1979),[120]
Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987),[121] The Ice
Harvest (2005),[122] and
Knight and Day

Knight and Day (2010).[123] The city is also
the setting of the long-running comic strip Dennis the Menace.[124]
AMD

AMD planned to release a new processor, code named Wichita, in 2012,
but the project was cancelled in favor of a newer design.
Sports[edit]
Intrust Bank Arena, home to the
Wichita Thunder

Wichita Thunder of the ECHL(2010)
Main article: Sports in Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is home to several professional, semi-professional,
non-professional, and collegiate sports teams. Professional teams
include the
Wichita Thunder

Wichita Thunder ice hockey team,
Wichita Force

Wichita Force indoor
football team, and
Wichita Wingnuts

Wichita Wingnuts baseball team.
Defunct professionals teams which used to play in Wichita include the
Wichita Aeros

Wichita Aeros and
Wichita Wranglers

Wichita Wranglers baseball teams, the Wichita Wings
indoor soccer team, the Wichita Wind (farm team to the Edmonton Oilers
in the early 1980s) and the
Wichita Wild indoor football team.
Semi-pro teams include
Kansas

Kansas Cougars and
Kansas

Kansas Diamondbacks football
teams.[125][126] Non-professional teams include the Wichita Barbarians
rugby union team and the Wichita World 11 cricket team.[127][128] The
city hosts the Air Capital Classic, a professional golf tournament of
the
Web.com Tour first played in 1990.
Collegiate teams based in the city include the Wichita State
University Shockers, Newman University Jets, and the Friends
University Falcons. The WSU Shockers are
NCAA Division I

NCAA Division I teams which
compete in men's and women's basketball, baseball, volleyball, track
and field, tennis, and bowling. The
Newman Jets

Newman Jets are NCAA Division II
teams which compete in baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country,
golf, soccer, tennis, wrestling, volleyball, and cheer/dance. The
Friends Falcons

Friends Falcons compete in Region IV of the NAIA in football,
volleyball, soccer, cross country, basketball, tennis, track and
field, and golf.
Several sports venues are located in and around the city. Intrust Bank
Arena, located downtown, is a 15,000-seat multi-purpose arena that is
home to the
Wichita Thunder

Wichita Thunder and Wichita Force. Lawrence–Dumont
Stadium, located just west of downtown, is a medium-sized baseball
stadium that has been home to Wichita's various minor-league baseball
teams over the years. It is also home of the minor-league National
Baseball

Baseball Congress and the site of the Congress's annual National
Tournament.
Wichita Ice Arena, also just west of downtown, is a public ice-skating
rink used for ice-skating competitions. In addition, Century II has
been used for professional wrestling tournaments, sporting-goods
exhibitions, and other recreational activity. The WSU campus includes
two major venues: Eck Stadium, a medium-sized stadium with a
full-sized baseball field that is home to the WSU Shocker baseball
team, and
Charles Koch Arena, a medium-sized, dome-roofed circular
arena with a collegiate basketball court that hosts the WSU Shocker
basketball team. Koch Arena is also used extensively for citywide and
regional high school athletic events, concerts and other
entertainments. Located just north of the city is 81 Motor Speedway,
an oval motor-vehicle racetrack used extensively for a wide range of
car, truck and motorcycle races, and other motor sports events.
Neighboring Park
City

City is home to
Hartman Arena

Hartman Arena and the Sam Fulco
Pavilions, a moderate-capacity low-roofed arena developed for small
rodeos, horse shows, livestock competitions, and exhibitions.
In December 2017, Wichita's mayor announced plans to bring a Minor
League
Baseball

Baseball to the city.[129] The Major League Baseball-affiliated
team would play in a planned new ball park.[130]
Wichita is also home to two sports museums, the
Kansas

Kansas Sports Hall of
Fame and the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.[131][132]
Professional[edit]
Team
League
Sport
Wichita Thunder
ECHL
Ice hockey
Wichita Wingnuts
AAIPL
Baseball
Wichita Force
CIF
Indoor football
College[edit]
School
School
Nickname
Level
# of
Teams
Wichita State University
Shockers
NCAA Division I
15
Newman University
Jets
NCAA Division II
16
Friends University
Falcons
NAIA
15
Government[edit]
See also: List of mayors of Wichita, Kansas
Under state statute, Wichita is a city of the first class.[133] Since
1917, it has had a council-manager form of government.[134] The city
council consists of seven members popularly elected every four years
with staggered terms in office. For representative purposes, the city
is divided into six districts with one council member elected from
each district. The mayor is the seventh council member, elected at
large. The council sets policy for the city, enacts laws and
ordinances, levies taxes, approves the city budget, and appoints
members to citizen commission and advisory boards.[135] The council
meets each Tuesday.[133] The city manager is the city's chief
executive, responsible for administering city operations and
personnel, submitting the annual city budget, advising the city
council, preparing the council's agenda, and oversight of
non-departmental activities.[134]
The Wichita Police Department, established in 1871, is the city's law
enforcement agency.[136] With over 800 employees, including more than
600 commissioned officers, it is the largest law enforcement agency in
Kansas.[137] The Wichita Fire Department, organized in 1886, operates
22 stations throughout the city. Organized into four battalions, it
employs over 400 full-time firefighters.[138]
As the county seat, Wichita is the administrative center of Sedgwick
County. The county courthouse is located downtown, and most
departments of the county government base their operations in the
city.[139]
Many departments and agencies of the U.S. Government have facilities
in Wichita. The Wichita U.S. Courthouse, located downtown, is one of
the three courthouses of the U.S. District Court for the District of
Kansas.[140] The
U.S. Air Force

U.S. Air Force operates McConnell Air Force Base
immediately southeast of the city.[141] The campus of the Robert J.
Dole Department of Veterans Affairs Medical and Regional Office Center
is located on U.S. 54 in east Wichita.[142] Other agencies, including
the Federal Bureau of Investigation,[143] Food and Drug
Administration,[144] and Internal Revenue Service[145] among others,
have offices in locations around the city.
Wichita lies within Kansas's 4th U.S. Congressional District. For the
purposes of representation in the
Kansas

Kansas Legislature, the city is
located in the 16th and 25th through 32nd districts of the Kansas
Senate and the 81st, 83rd through 101st, 103rd, and 105th districts of
the
Kansas

Kansas House of Representatives.[133]
Education[edit]
Wichita High School East

Wichita High School East (2012)
Primary and secondary education[edit]
With over 50,000 students,
Wichita Public Schools

Wichita Public Schools (USD 259) is the
largest school district in Kansas.[146] It operates more than 90
schools in the city including 10 high schools, 16 middle schools, 61
elementary schools, and more than a dozen special schools and
programs.[147] Outlying portions of Wichita lie within suburban public
school districts including Andover (USD 385), Circle (USD 375), Derby
(USD 260), Goddard (USD 265), Haysville (USD 261), Maize (USD 266),
and Valley Center (USD 262).[148]
There are more than 35 private and parochial schools in Wichita.[149]
The
Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita

Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita oversees 16 Catholic schools in
the city including 14 elementary schools and two high schools, Bishop
Carroll Catholic High School and Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School.[150]
The
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod

Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod operates two Lutheran schools in
the city, Bethany Lutheran School (Grades PK-5) and Holy Cross
Lutheran School (PK-8).[151][152] There are also two Seventh-day
Adventist schools in Wichita, Three Angels School (K-8) and Wichita
Adventist Christian Academy (K-10).[153][154] Other Christian schools
in the city are Calvary Christian School (PK-12), Central Christian
Academy (K-8), Sunrise Christian Academy (PK-12), Trinity Academy
(9-12), Wichita Friends School (PK-6), and Word of Life Traditional
School (K-12). In addition, there is an Islamic school, Anoor School
(PK-8), operated by the Islamic Society of Wichita. Non-religious
private schools in the city include
Wichita Collegiate School

Wichita Collegiate School and The
Independent School as well as three Montessori schools.[155]
Colleges and universities[edit]
Three universities have their main campuses in Wichita. The largest is
Wichita State University

Wichita State University (WSU), a public research university
classified by Carnegie as "R2: Doctoral Universities – Higher
Research Activity." WSU has more than 14,000 students and is the
third-largest university in Kansas.[156][157] WSU's main campus is in
northeast Wichita with four satellite campuses located around the
metro area.[158] Friends University, a private, non-denominational
Christian university, has its main campus in west Wichita as does
Newman University, a private Catholic university.[159][160] In
addition, Wichita Area Technical College, a two-year public college,
has its main campus and two satellite locations in the city.[161][162]
Several colleges and universities based outside Wichita operate
satellite locations in and around the city. The University of Kansas
School of Medicine has one of its three campuses in Wichita.[163]
Baker University, Butler Community College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University, Southwestern College, Tabor College, Vatterott College,
and
Webster University

Webster University have Wichita facilities as do for-profit
institutions including Heritage College and University of
Phoenix.[164][165][166][167]
Libraries[edit]
The
Wichita Public Library is the city's library system, presently
consisting of a Central Library downtown and nine branch locations in
neighborhoods around the city.[168] The library operates several free
programs for the public, including special events, technology training
classes, and programs specifically for adults, children, and
families.[169] As of 2009, its holdings included more than 1.3 million
books and 2.2 million items total.[170]
Media[edit]
Main article: Media in Wichita, Kansas
The Wichita Eagle, which began publication in 1872, is the city's
major daily newspaper.[171] With a daily circulation of over 67,000
copies, it has the highest circulation of any newspaper published in
Kansas.[172] The Wichita Business Journal is a weekly newspaper that
covers local business events and developments.[173] Several other
newspapers and magazines, including local lifestyle, neighborhood, and
demographically-focused publications are also published in the
city.[174] These include, among others: The Community Voice, aimed at
the city's
African American

African American community;[175] the monthly East Wichita
News;[176] F5, a weekly alternative newspaper;[177] the Liberty Press,
LGBT news;[178] Splurge!, a local fashion and lifestyle magazine;[179]
the Sunflower, the WSU student newspaper.[180] The Wichita media
market also includes local newspapers in several surrounding suburban
communities.
The Wichita radio market includes Sedgwick County and neighboring
Butler and Harvey counties.[181] Six AM and 18 FM radio stations are
licensed to and/or broadcast from the city.[182]
Wichita is the principal city of the Wichita-Hutchinson, Kansas
television market which consists of the western two-thirds of the
state.[183] All of the market's network affiliates broadcast from
Wichita with the ABC, CBS, CW, FOX and
NBC

NBC affiliates serving the
wider market through state networks of satellite and translator
stations.[184][185][186][187][188][189] The city also hosts a PBS
member station, a
Univision

Univision affiliate, and several low-power
stations.[190][191]
Cable television

Cable television service for Wichita and the
surrounding area is provided by AT&T U-Verse and Cox
Communications.[192]
Infrastructure[edit]
Flood control[edit]
Wichita suffered severe floods of the Arkansas river in 1877, 1904,
1916, 1923, 1944, 1951 and 1955. In 1944 the city flooded 3 times in
11 days.[193] As a result of the 1944 flood, the idea for the
Wichita-Valley Center Floodway (locally known as the "Big Ditch") was
conceived. The project was completed in 1958. The Big Ditch diverts
part of the Arkansas River's flow around west-central Wichita, running
roughly parallel to the Interstate 235 bypass.[57][194] A second flood
control canal lies between the lanes of Interstate 135, running south
through the central part of the city.
Chisholm Creek is diverted into
this canal for most of its length.[57][195] The city's flood defenses
were tested in the Great Flood of 1993. Flooding that year kept the
Big Ditch full for more than a month and caused $6 million of damage
to the flood control infrastructure. The damage was not fully repaired
until 2007.[196]
Transportation[edit]
Highway[edit]
Interstate 135
_map.svg/580px-I-135_(KS)_map.svg.png)
Interstate 135 begins at this exit from the
Kansas

Kansas Turnpike
(Interstate 35) in south-central Wichita.
Several federal and state highways pass through Wichita. Interstate
35, as the
Kansas

Kansas Turnpike, enters the city from the south and turns
northeast, running along the city's southeastern edge and exiting
through the eastern part of the city.
Interstate 135
_map.svg/580px-I-135_(KS)_map.svg.png)
Interstate 135 runs generally
north-south through the city, its southern terminus lying at its
interchange with I-35 in south-central Wichita. Interstate 235, a
bypass route, passes through north-central, west, and south-central
Wichita, traveling around the central parts of the city. Both its
northern and southern termini are interchanges with I-135. U.S. Route
54 and
U.S. Route 400

U.S. Route 400 run concurrently through Wichita as Kellogg
Avenue, the city's primary east-west artery, with interchanges, from
west to east, with I-235, I-135, and I-35. U.S. Route 81, a
north-south route, enters Wichita from the south as Broadway, turns
east as 47th Street South for approximately half a mile, and then runs
concurrently north with I-135 through the rest of the city. K-96, an
east-west route, enters the city from the northwest, runs concurrently
with I-235 through north-central Wichita, turns south for
approximately a mile, running concurrently with I-135 before splitting
off to the east and traveling around northeast Wichita, ultimately
terminating at an interchange with U.S. 54/U.S. 400 in the eastern
part of the city. K-254 begins at I-235's interchange with I-135 in
north-central Wichita and exits the city to the northeast. K-15, a
north-south route, enters the city from the south and joins I-135 and
U.S. 81 in south-central Wichita, running concurrently with them
through the rest of the city. K-42 enters the city from the southwest
and terminates at its interchange with U.S. 54/U.S. 400 in
west-central Wichita.[57]
Bus[edit]
Wichita Transit operates 53 buses on 18 fixed bus routes within the
city. The organization reports over 2 million trips per year (5,400
trips per day) on its fixed routes.
Wichita Transit also operates a
demand response paratransit service with 320,800 passenger trips
annually.[197] A 2005 study ranked Wichita near the bottom of the
fifty largest American cities in terms of percentage of commuters
using public transit. Only 0.5% used it to get to or from work.[198]
Greyhound Lines

Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service northeast to Topeka and
south to
Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Bus service is provided daily north
towards Salina and west towards
Pueblo, Colorado

Pueblo, Colorado by BeeLine Express
(subcontractor of Greyhound Lines).[199][200] The Greyhound bus
station that was built in 1961 at 312 S Broadway is closing in 2016,
and services will be relocated 1 block northeast to the Wichita
Transit station at 777 E Waterman.[201]
Air[edit]
The Wichita Airport Authority manages the city's two main public
airports,
Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport

Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport and Colonel
James Jabara Airport.[202] Located in the western part of the city,
Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport

Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport is the city's primary
airport as well as the largest airport in the state of
Kansas.[57][202] Five commercial airlines (Allegiant, American, Delta,
Southwest & United) serve Wichita
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower National
Airport with non-stop flights to several U.S. airline hubs.[203]
Jabara Airport is a general aviation facility located on the city's
northeast side.[204] In addition, there are several privately owned
airports located throughout the city.
Cessna

Cessna
Aircraft

Aircraft Field and Beech
Factory Airport, operated by manufacturers
Cessna

Cessna and Beechcraft,
respectively, lie in east Wichita.[205][206] Two smaller airports,
Riverside Airport and Westport Airport, are located in west
Wichita.[207][208]
Rail[edit]
Union Station, Wichita's former passenger rail station (2009)
Two Class I railroads,
BNSF Railway

BNSF Railway and
Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad (UP),
operate freight rail lines through Wichita.[209] UP's OKT Line runs
generally north-south through the city; north of downtown, the line
consists of trackage leased to BNSF.[57][210] An additional UP line
enters the city from the northeast and terminates downtown.[57] BNSF's
main line through the city enters from the north, passes through
downtown, and exits to the southeast, paralleling highway
K-15.[57][211] The Wichita Terminal Association, a joint operation
between BNSF and UP, provides switching service on three miles
(5 km) of track downtown.[212] In addition, two lines of the
Kansas

Kansas and
Oklahoma

Oklahoma Railroad enter the city, one from the northwest
and the other from the southwest, both terminating at their junction
in west-central Wichita.[57]
Wichita has not had passenger rail service since 1979.[213] The
nearest
Amtrak

Amtrak station is in Newton 25 miles (40 km) north,
offering service on the
Southwest Chief

Southwest Chief line between Los Angeles and
Chicago.[209]
Amtrak

Amtrak offers bus service from downtown Wichita to its
station in Newton as well as to its station in
Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, the
northern terminus of the
Heartland Flyer

Heartland Flyer line.[214]
Walkability[edit]
A 2014 study by
Walk Score

Walk Score ranked Wichita 41st most walkable of fifty
largest U.S. cities.[215]
Notable people[edit]
Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Earp served as a lawman in Wichita during the 1870s.
Main article: List of people from Wichita, Kansas
See also: List of
Wichita State University

Wichita State University people and List of Friends
University people
Civic leaders and political figures[edit]
Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Earp served as a lawman in several Western frontier towns,
including Wichita. He is best known for his part in the Gunfight at
the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, and as one of the Old West's
"toughest and deadliest gunmen of his day".[216]
Mike Pompeo, former
Kansas

Kansas Fourth Congressional District
Representative, Director of U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, from the
Wichita area.
Robert Gates, former Director of U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, and
Secretary of Defense, is a Wichita native, and graduate of Wichita
schools.[217]
Dan Glickman, former Secretary of Agriculture, and former head of the
Motion Picture Association, began his political career in Wichita,
first on the school board, then as 4th District Congressman.[218]
Koch family (particularly Charles and David Koch), prominent American
billionaires, libertarian and conservative political activists,
organizers and major donors, co-founders of the American Enterprise
Institute, the Cato Institute, and Americans for Prosperity, leading
financiers of 21st Century conservative and libertarian political
candidates in the United States.[219][220][221][222] David was the
Libertarian

Libertarian Party's vice-presidential nominee in the 1980 presidential
election.[223]
Donald Hollowell, prominent attorney in the Civil Rights Movement,
particularly in Atlanta, Georgia, who successfully sued to integrate
Atlanta's public schools and buses, and Georgia colleges and
universities; freed
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. from prison; and mentored
civil rights attorneys (including
Vernon Jordan

Vernon Jordan and Horace Ward).[224]
[225][226][227][228]
Business and economic figures[edit]
Businessmen Charles and
David Koch

David Koch (Koch Industries), Dan and Frank
Carney (Pizza Hut), Clyde
Cessna

Cessna (
Cessna

Cessna Aircraft), Walter Herschel
Beech (Beech
Aircraft

Aircraft Company),
Bill Lear

Bill Lear (Lear Jet), and
businesswoman
Olive Ann Beech

Olive Ann Beech (Beech
Aircraft

Aircraft Company) all lived in
Wichita.
Athletes[edit]
Athletes including
Pro Football Hall of Fame

Pro Football Hall of Fame running backs Gale Sayers
and Barry Sanders,[217] Basketball Hall of Famer Lynette Woodard, and
current UFC flyweight fighter
Tim Elliott were all born and/or raised
in Wichita. Olympic medal-winning athletes Jim Ryun, (silver medal,
1500 meters, 1968 Summer Olympics) and Nico Hernandez, (bronze medal,
boxing, 2016 Summer Olympics) are from Wichita.
Media and performing arts[edit]
A number of famous actors are from Wichita, including actress Kirstie
Alley, known for her role in the TV show Cheers, was born/raised in
Wichita and lives in the city part-time.[217][229] Actor Don Johnson
of
Miami Vice

Miami Vice and Nash Bridges, lived in Wichita throughout most of
his childhood.[217]
Musician Joe Walsh, founding member of the band
James Gang

James Gang and later
member of The Eagles, is from Wichita.
American Idol Season 6

American Idol Season 6 finalist
Phil Stacey

Phil Stacey attended high school in Wichita.
Early network television news commentator, spokesperson and game show
panelist John Cameron Swayze, and
Jim Lehrer

Jim Lehrer
PBS

PBS News Hour
anchor-editor were both Wichita natives.
Melissa McDermott was an
anchor at Wichita's
KSNW

KSNW before her job at CBS's
Up to the Minute

Up to the Minute in
the 1980s and 1990s. Network sportscaster
Andrea Joyce (NBC, CBS,
ESPN) was first a news anchor for Wichita's KWCH/KTVH-TV in the 1980s.
Musician
Jay Bentley
.png/440px-Jay_Bentley_at_the_Starland_Ballroom_(2007).png)
Jay Bentley (born June 6, 1964, Wichita, Kansas) is the
bassist and co-founding member of the punk rock group Bad Religion. On
occasions he will also play bass for Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.
Heavy Metal band
Manilla Road are from Wichita.
Sister cities[edit]
Cancún,
Mexico

Mexico - November 25, 1975
Kaifeng, Henan,
China

China - December 3, 1985
Orléans,
France

France - August 16, 1944,[230][231] through Sister Cities
International
Tlalnepantla de Baz, Mexico[232]
Gallery[edit]
Campbell Castle in Wichita's Riverside neighborhood (2013)
Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center (2013)
The Commerce Street Arts District in downtown Wichita (2008)
Charles Koch Arena

Charles Koch Arena at Wichita State University, is home to the Wichita
State Shockers (2010)
Davis Building at
Friends University

Friends University (2006)
Downtown Wichita

Downtown Wichita at night (2007)
Eck Stadium

Eck Stadium at
Wichita State University

Wichita State University (2005)
Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art at
Wichita State University

Wichita State University (2007)
The Epic Center, the tallest building in Wichita (2006)
Exploration Place

Exploration Place science museum (2013)
Locomotives on display at the
Great Plains

Great Plains Transportation Museum
(2007)
Intrust Bank Arena

Intrust Bank Arena (2013)
The John Mack Bridge over the
Arkansas River

Arkansas River in south Wichita (2013)
Kansas

Kansas
Aviation

Aviation Museum, formerly Wichita Municipal Airport from 1935
to 1951 (2007)
Lawrence-Dumont Stadium

Lawrence-Dumont Stadium (2014)
The Robert J. Dole Veterans Affairs Medical Center (2013)
Old Sedgwick County Courthouse (2009)
The Sedgwick County Soldiers and Sailors Monument (2013)
The Downing Gorilla Forest at the
Sedgwick County Zoo

Sedgwick County Zoo (2013)
Wichita Art Museum

Wichita Art Museum (2012)
See also[edit]
Kansas

Kansas portal
United States

United States portal
Abilene Trail
Arkansas Valley Interurban Railway
Joyland Amusement Park
Wichita Public Schools
McConnell Air Force Base
Notes[edit]
^ Official records for Wichita have been kept at various locations in
and around the city from July 1888 to November 1953 and at the
Mid-Continent Airport since December 1953. For more information, see
Threadex
References[edit]
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^ Wichita. CollinsDictionary.com. Collins English Dictionary -
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^ Miner, Prof. Craig (Wichita State Univ. Dept. of History), Wichita:
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^ Howell, Angela and Peg Vines, The Insider's Guide to Wichita,
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^ a b McCoy, Daniel (interview with
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^ a b c Harris, Richard, (Chairman,
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^ "
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^ "Ecoregions of Nebraska and Kansas" (PDF). Environmental Protection
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^ "
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^ "Sedgwick County Geohydrology - Geography".
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^ a b c d e f g h i "
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Kansas

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^ "
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^ "1991 Wichita-area tornado".
^ "PHOTOS: 1965 Wichita tornado".
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^ a b c d "Average weather for Wichita, KS". The Weather Channel.
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^ a b c d e "NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Weather
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Further reading[edit]
City
Wichita : Illustrated History 1868 to 1880; Eunice S. Chapter; 52
pages; 1914. (Download 3MB PDF eBook)
History of Wichita and Sedgwick County Kansas : Past and present,
including an account of the cities, towns, and villages of the county;
2 Volumes; O.H. Bentley; C.F. Cooper & Co; 454 / 479 pages; 1910.
(Volume1 - Download 20MB PDF eBook),(Volume2 - Download 31MB PDF
eBook)
Kansas
History of the State of Kansas; William G. Cutler; A.T. Andreas
Publisher; 1883. (Online HTML eBook)
Kansas : A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events,
Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons,
Etc; 3 Volumes; Frank W. Blackmar; Standard Publishing Co; 944 / 955 /
824 pages; 1912. (Volume1 - Download 54MB PDF eBook),(Volume2 -
Download 53MB PDF eBook), (Volume3 - Download 33MB PDF eBook)
External links[edit]
Find more aboutWichita, Kansasat's sister projects
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Wikimedia Commons
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Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Travel guide from Wikivoyage
Learning resources from Wikiversity
Data from Wikidata
City
City

City of Wichita
Wichita - Directory of Public Officials
Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce
Greater Wichita Convention & Visitors Bureau
Wichita Area Sister Cities
Schools
USD 259, local school district
Newspapers
The Wichita Eagle, local daily newspaper
The College Hill Commoner, local neighborhood newspaper
Historical
Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum
Discover Historic Wichita, Brochure with Map / List / Photos /
Description of 121 Registered Historic Landmarks
Carthalite - Wichita's Beautiful Concrete, Fall 2007 issue of American
Bungalow magazine
Wichita History at a Glance
Wichita Photo Archives at WSU
Historic photos of Wichita African-American community on YouTube, from
Hatteberg's People on
KAKE

KAKE TV news
Travel
Wichita Mid-Continent Airport (ICT)
Maps
Wichita
City

City Map, KSDOT
v
t
e
City

City of Wichita
General
Demographics
Education
Geography and climate
Government
History
Timeline
Media
Metropolitan area
Notable people
Sports
Transportation
Neighborhoods
College Hill
Delano
Downtown Wichita
El Pueblo
Midtown
Riverside
Landmarks and culture
Botanica
Epic Center
Joyland
The Keeper of the Plains
Music Theatre Wichita
Orpheum Theatre
Sedgwick County Extension Arboretum
Sedgwick County Zoo
Towne East Square
Towne West Square
Wichita Public Library
Wichita Symphony Orchestra
Museums
Exploration Place
Great Plains

Great Plains Transportation Museum
Kansas

Kansas
Aviation

Aviation Museum
Kansas

Kansas Sports Hall of Fame
Mid-America All-Indian Center
Museum of World Treasures
Old Cowtown Museum
Wichita Art Museum
Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum
Event venues
Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center
Cessna

Cessna Stadium
Charles Koch Arena
Cotillion Ballroom
Eck Stadium
Hartman Arena
Intrust Bank Arena
Kansas

Kansas Coliseum
Lawrence–Dumont Stadium
Colleges and universities
Friends University
Newman University
University of
Kansas

Kansas School of Medicine
Wichita Area Technical College
Wichita State University
v
t
e
Municipalities and communities of Sedgwick County, Kansas, United
States
County seat: Wichita
Cities
Andale
Bel Aire
Bentley
Cheney
Clearwater
Colwich
Derby
Eastborough
Garden Plain
Goddard
Haysville
Kechi
Maize
Mount Hope
Mulvane‡
Park City
Sedgwick‡
Valley Center
Viola
Wichita
CDPs
McConnell AFB
Oaklawn-Sunview
Unincorporated
communities
Anness
Bayneville
Bellaire
Berwet
Clonmel
Furley
Greenwich
Greenwich Heights
Murray Gill
Peck‡
Prospect
St. Marks
St. Mary Aleppo
St. Paul
Schulte
Sunnydale
Waco
Wego
Townships
Afton
Attica
Delano
Eagle
Erie
Garden Plain
Grand River
Grant
Greeley
Gypsum
Illinois
Kechi
Lincoln
Minneha
Morton
Ninnescah
Ohio
Park
Payne
Riverside
Rockford
Salem
Sherman
Union
Valley Center
Viola
Waco
Footnotes
‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or
counties
v
t
e
Mayors of cities with populations exceeding 100,000 in Kansas
Jeff Longwell
(Wichita)
Carl R. Gerlach
(Overland Park)
David Alvey
(
Kansas

Kansas City)
Larry Wolgast
(Topeka)
Michael Copeland
(Olathe)
Authority control
WorldCat Identities
VIAF: 244627762
LCCN: n79148