 | 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
2012-03-22 09:03:05
Remember...
Q: There sure have been a lot of changes in downtown Wichita over the years. We figured you would remember them all.
A: Well, I remember many of them. Memories of them recently resurfaced for me with the considerable amount of debate going on regarding guest tax at the proposed new Ambassador Hotel. You may recall that this building was one of Wichita’s main banks for many years, located on the corner of Broadway and Douglas. The building was named for the Union National Bank. The building is being converted into a luxury hotel following years of being vacated. There were many large banks in downtown Wichita. There was Southwest National Bank on the corner of Topeka and Douglas, Fourth National Bank at Market and Douglas, and First National Bank on the corner of Main and Douglas. I remember how alive downtown seemed to be in the earlier days. Many of you will recall Dockums Drug Store being located on the corner of Douglas and Broadway.
Pan American Restaurant was just south of the Union National Bank. Henry’s great department store was next south and across from Innes on Broadway. Some of the stores where we shopped were Hinkel’s, Kress, Woolworth’s, Grants, McClellands, Bucks, Montgomery Ward , Spines, Walkers and many, many others. Thursday nights were family shopping nights for us when the downtown stores were open. A lot of folks dressed up just to go downtown. Traffic was so heavy that policemen were directing at all the busy corners and there were very few parking spaces available so you usually had to pay to park in a parking lot.
The Broadview Hotel has just been refurbished and now the old Union National Bank building will become a beautiful luxury hotel. Downtown Wichita is still a fun place to go. We hope there will be more stores in which to shop in the future.
We are closing by extending our deepest sympathy and prayers to Charlie Traffas due to the loss of his wife.
