 | 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
2007-10-01 11:09:00
Remember...
Do you remember the ‘grand ladies’ in downtown Wichita, buildings that graced the landscape for so many years?
You must be speaking of the great hotels.....the queens of the prairie. There were so many...and so many memories.
My first thought is the Eaton Hotel...on East Douglas....a landmark in Carey Square. Have you ever looked up at the top of the Eaton Hotel? You will see grandeur in architecture...the windows...the shape of the building..the color blending...that you seldom see in newer structures. It was real ‘class’ to me as you entered the lobby in the old days....marble floors...elevators..(ran by a real person) a bar that Carey Nation destroyed with her hatchet, and many more shops and amenities. It’s still there, not as great insofar as patronization, but still beautiful to look at, behold and remember.
Then there was the Allis.....and all its luxury housing KFH, standing for Kansas Finest Hotel. I can remember the uniformed bell boys, the taxis moving fast to accommodate all the patrons...noted business people..presidents of our great country...the rich of the nation...they all stayed there. It towered with such beauty...featuring the Copper Kettle restaurant where Mary Pickford held a meeting one day to tell the KIRL radio staff that she was selling the radio station that was owned by her and her bandleader husband Buddy Rogers.
To some of the younger readers, that station is now KFDI. I had the privilege of being one of the staff to hear that message...and serving on that station as News Director. I remember when The Allis Hotel was gone in five minutes with an implosion and replaced with a parking lot.
There was the Lassen...a Schimmel hotel..also very luxurious....built for the professionals and well-to-do travelers. This hotel also had many personalities...including president John F. Kennedy...stay there as well as many movie and recording stars.
There was the Orpheum Theatre, right down the street, where many worldwide stars were presented live and in person. The Petroleum club was housed at the Lassen in the basement for a time, and after that was moved. Channel 12 came on the air in Hutchinson and built a remote studio in Wichita in the same area the Petroleum Club had occupied. I remember, there was one camera, an RCA equipped with a zoomar lens. This small area broadcast commercials for major businesses here in Wichita. All the commercials were live...no tape. We had large choirs, the Junior Auction of about 50 kids, and the ten o’clock news...with Joe McConkey, Cecil Carrier, and Jack Munley. I had the privilege of being the third on-camera announcer in that studio. I did about 15 on-air commercials each week, with no teleprompter. Upstairs was a complete restaurant...and the Trail Room on the corner. I remember when Red Skelton was here for an appearance. As he was leaving the hotel...we could see him outside through the window, sitting on the back of a convertible seat, up high with his hat fixed in the Senator Claghorn fashion that he was known for...waving goodbye to everyone.
Then there was the Broadview Hotel. Still here...still grand...still being occupied by guests from conventions...tourists...and personalities. Many New Years Eves were spent on Douglas...watching the giant lighted ball go down the front side of the hotel. Many large events are still held in their gigantic convention area. Wichita....downtown...was and is still a great place to be. The years may have passed but the memories remain. Have a great fall...
