 | Faye Graves, a native Wichitan, attended school at Friends and Wichita State, concluding at Midwestern Theological Seminary. He has been active in media for many years with Channel 12, KIRL, KFDI, KOOO AM & FM (Omaha), KFRM & KICT 95, as an owner, manager, producer, director and announcer. He has served as President of the Haysville Board of Education. He has also served on several national boards of the Southern Baptist Convention. Faye currently serves as Executive Pastor and Director of Administration and Education at Immanuel Baptist Church, 1415 S. Topeka, Wichita. You may contact Faye by e-mail fmgraves@amenibc.org, or by phone at (316) 262-1452. |
Nostalgia
2006-11-01 15:34:00
Old downtown
What are some of your memories of old downtown Wichita?
ANSWER: The other night, my wife and I were driving through downtown Wichita. Have you noticed how dark the streets and sidewalks have become, compared to the way it used to be? Maybe it’s all the new decorations, trees, statues, cluster lighting and the abandonment of the big, bright streetlights, but it sure seems dark. I guess one big difference is the type of lighting on the signs that are in front of stores. The neon signs that used to advertise the businesses are virtually gone and have given way to digital messages that flash and change and video walls.
We hadn’t driven very far before we began to reminisce about what used to be. I couldn’t help but recall how Douglas used to look going east from the bridge. The first building on the left was the Derby Oil Building…side by side with the Broadview Hotel that is still a grand landmark. As you crossed Waco you saw the Missouri Pacific depot and trains coming to the tracks end at the sidewalk of Douglas. Remember the West Urn Grill by the depot? Across the street was the Mo Pac Dance Hall, situated upstairs over a small hotel. The corner of Water and Douglas was Spines Clothing. Going east you would see The Roxy Theatre and Gentry Cafeteria, and on the other side… The First National Bank, now Intrust. The next block was Hinkels Dept. Store, Heads Shoe Store, McClellan’s Five and Ten, and Wolf Bros. Clothing. Bucks Dept. Store occupied the northeast corner of Broadway and Douglas…across from the Kress Company. The same block of east Douglas housed the Wichita Theater, the Palace Theater, A Shine Parlor, Roy Logan Shoe Store and Cinderella Ladies Store.
Somehow…with the large crowds of shoppers and the neon signs…downtown Wichita seemed brighter than it does now. But you know what? That’s change, and there’s nothing wrong with change. We should thank the Lord each day for our great country and all of the freedoms we enjoy, even ones so small as being able to remember the way it used to be.
