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{{Short description|Largest city in Kansas, United States}} {{Distinguish|Wichita County, Kansas}} {{Use American English|date=July 2022}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}} {{Infobox settlement <!-- Basic info --> |name = Wichita, Kansas |settlement_type = [[City]] and [[county seat]] |nickname = Air Capital of the World,<ref name=Harris/> ICT<ref>{{cite web|title=Travel Translator: Your guide to the local language in Wichita|url=https://www.visitwichita.com/blog/post/talk-like-a-local/|publisher=VisitWichita.com|date=September 18, 2017}}</ref> <!-- Images --> |image_skyline = {{multiple image |total_width = 280 |border = infobox |perrow = 1/2 |caption_align = center |image1 = Wichita, Kansas skyline aerial view.jpg |alt1 = Downtown Wichita skyline |caption1 = [[Downtown Wichita]] skyline (2023) |image2 = Carey House (Wichita, Kansas) 1.jpg |alt2 = Carey House |caption2 = [[Carey House (Wichita, Kansas)|Carey House]] (2012) |image3 = The Exploration Place-Wichita, Kansas-June 2013.jpg |alt3 = |caption3 = [[Exploration Place]] science museum (2013) }} |image_flag = Flag of Wichita, Kansas.svg |image_seal = Seal of Wichita, Kansas.svg |seal_size = 90px |image_blank_emblem = Wichita, Kansas Logo.png |blank_emblem_type = Logo <!-- Maps --> |image_map = Sedgwick_County_Kansas_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Wichita_Highlighted.svg |map_caption = Location within [[Sedgwick County, Kansas|Sedgwick County]] and [[Kansas]] |image_map1 = {{maplink | frame = yes | plain = yes | frame-align = center | frame-width = 270 | frame-height = 270 | frame-coord = {{coord|qid=Q49266}} | zoom = 10 | type = shape | marker = city | stroke-width = 2 | stroke-color = #0096FF | fill = #0096FF | id2 = Q49266 | type2 = shape-inverse | stroke-width2 = 2 | stroke-color2 = #5F5F5F | stroke-opacity2 = 0 | fill2 = #000000 | fill-opacity2 = 0 }} |map_caption1 = Interactive map of Wichita <!-- Location --> |coordinates_footnotes = <ref name="GNIS"/> |coordinates = {{coord|37|41|20|N|97|20|10|W|region:US-KS_type:city(382400)_source:GNIS|display=inline,title}} |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = United States |subdivision_type1 = [[U.S. state|State]] |subdivision_name1 = [[Kansas]] |subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties in Kansas|County]] |subdivision_name2 = [[Sedgwick County, Kansas|Sedgwick]] |subdivision_type3 = [[List of townships in Kansas|Township]] |subdivision_name3 = <!-- Established --> |established_title = Founded |established_date = 1868 |established_title1 = [[Platted]] |established_date1 = |established_title2 = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]] |established_date2 = 1870 |named_for = [[Wichita people]] <!-- Government --> |government_footnotes = |government_type = [[Council–manager government|Council–manager]] |leader_title = [[List of mayors of Wichita, Kansas|Mayor]] |leader_name = [[Lily Wu]] ([[Libertarian Party (United States)|L]]) |leader_title1 = [[City Manager]] |leader_name1 = Robert Layton <!-- Area --> |area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2021">{{cite web|title=2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2021_Gazetteer/2021_gaz_place_20.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 14, 2021}}</ref> |area_total_sq_mi = 166.52 |area_land_sq_mi = 161.99 |area_water_sq_mi = 4.53 |area_total_km2 = 431.28 |area_land_km2 = 419.55 |area_water_km2 = 11.73 <!-- Elevation --> |elevation_footnotes = <ref name="GNIS"/> |elevation_ft = 1303 <!-- Population --> |population_footnotes = <ref name="Census-2020-Profile"/><ref name="Census-2020-QF"/> |population_as_of = [[2020 United States census|2020]] |population_total = 397532 |pop_est_footnotes = <ref name="USCensusEst2023">{{Cite web |title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html |access-date=March 24, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref> |pop_est_as_of = 2023 |population_est = 396119 |population_density_sq_mi = 2454.05 |population_density_km2 = 947.52 |population_rank = [[List of United States cities by population|51st]] in the United States<br>[[List of cities in Kansas|1st]] in Kansas |population_urban = 500,231 ([[List of United States urban areas|US: 84th]]) |population_density_urban_km2 = 851.4 |population_density_urban_sq_mi = 2,205.2 |population_metro_footnotes = <ref name="2020Pop">{{cite web |title=2020 Population and Housing State Data |url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/2020-population-and-housing-state-data.html |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=August 22, 2021}}</ref> |population_metro = 647919 ([[Metropolitan statistical area|US: 93rd]]) |population_demonym = Wichitan <!-- General information --> |timezone = [[Central Time Zone|CST]] |utc_offset = −6 |timezone_DST = CDT |utc_offset_DST = −5 |postal_code_type = [[ZIP Code]]s |postal_code = 67201–67221, 67223, 67226–67228, 67230, 67232, 67235, 67260, 67275–67278<ref name="GR7">{{cite web|url=http://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action|title=USPS - Look Up a ZIP Code|access-date=February 15, 2012|author=United States Postal Service|year=2012}}</ref> |area_code_type = [[North American Numbering Plan|Area code]] |area_code = [[Area code 316|316]] |blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]] |blank_info = {{FIPS|20|79000}}<ref name="GNIS"/> |blank1_name = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS ID]] |blank1_info = 473862<ref name="GNIS">{{cite gnis2|473862|Wichita, Kansas}}</ref> |website = {{URL|http://www.wichita.gov/|wichita.gov}} }} '''Wichita''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ɪ|tʃ|ɪ|t|ɔː|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Wichita.wav}} {{respell|WITCH|ih|taw}})<ref>[http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/Wichita "Wichita"]. CollinsDictionary.com. ''Collins English Dictionary'' - Complete & Unabridged 11th Edition. Retrieved October 21, 2012.</ref> is the [[List of cities in Kansas|most populous city]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Kansas]] and the [[county seat]] of [[Sedgwick County, Kansas|Sedgwick County]].<ref name="GNIS"/> As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population of the city was 397,532,<ref name="Census-2020-Profile">{{cite web |title=Profile of Wichita, Kansas in 2020 |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US2079000 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=November 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115012419/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US2079000 |archive-date=November 15, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Census-2020-QF">{{cite web |title=QuickFacts; Wichita, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/wichitacitykansas/POP010220 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=August 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822023418/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/wichitacitykansas/POP010220 |archive-date=August 22, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610.<ref name="2020Pop" /> It is located in south-central Kansas along the [[Arkansas River]].<ref name="GNIS"/> Wichita began as a trading post on the [[Chisholm Trail]] in the 1860s and was incorporated as a city in 1870. It became a destination for [[Cattle drives in the United States|cattle drives]] traveling north from [[Texas]] to Kansas railroads, earning it the nickname "Cowtown".<ref name="magic">Miner, Craig (Wichita State Univ. Dept. of History), ''Wichita: The Magic City'', Wichita Historical Museum Association, Wichita, KS, 1988</ref><ref name="insiders_guide">Howell, Angela and Peg Vines, ''The Insider's Guide to Wichita'', Wichita Eagle & Beacon Publishing, Wichita, KS, 1995</ref> In 1875, [[Wyatt Earp]] served as a police officer in Wichita for about one year before going to [[Dodge City, Kansas|Dodge City]]. In the 1920s and 1930s, businessmen and aeronautical engineers established aircraft manufacturing companies in Wichita, including [[Beechcraft]], [[Cessna]], and [[Stearman Aircraft]]. The city became an aircraft production hub known as "The Air Capital of the World".<ref name="we_built_2018_09_smithsonianmag">[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/04_sep2018-spirit-of-wichita-1-180969914/ "We Built This City," September 2019, ''Air and Space Magazine,''] [[Smithsonian Institution]], retrieved March 31, 2023</ref><ref name="wbj_back">McCoy, Daniel (interview with Beechcraft CEO Bill Boisture), "[http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/print-edition/2013/02/22/back-to-beechcraft.html?page=all Back to Beechcraft]", ''Wichita Business Journal'', February 22, 2013</ref> [[Textron Aviation]], [[Learjet]], [[Airbus]], and [[Boeing]]/[[Spirit AeroSystems]] continue to operate design and manufacturing facilities in Wichita, and the city remains a major center of the American [[aircraft industry]]. Several airports located within the city of Wichita include [[McConnell Air Force Base]],<ref name="capital_story" /><ref name="ks_av" /> [[Colonel James Jabara Airport]], and [[Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport]], the largest airport in Kansas. As an industrial hub, Wichita is a regional center of culture, media, and trade. It hosts several universities, large museums, theaters, parks, shopping centers, and entertainment venues, most notably [[Intrust Bank Arena]] and [[Century II Convention Hall|Century II]]. The city's [[Old Cowtown Museum]] maintains historical artifacts and exhibits the city's early history. [[Wichita State University]] (WSU) is the third-largest post-secondary institution in the state. ==History== {{main|History of Wichita, Kansas|Timeline of Wichita, Kansas}} ===Early history=== {{See also|History of Kansas#Prehistory|label 1=Early Kansas History}} Archaeological evidence indicates human habitation near the confluence of the [[Arkansas River|Arkansas]] and [[Little Arkansas River]]s, the site of present-day Wichita, as early as 3000 BC.<ref>{{cite web | title = Grove Park Archaeological Site | publisher = Historic Preservation Alliance of Wichita and Sedgwick County | url = http://www.historicpreservationalliance.com/WichitaHPA/grove.html | access-date = March 21, 2015}}</ref> In 1541, a [[Habsburg Spain|Spanish]] expedition led by explorer [[Francisco Vázquez de Coronado]] found the area populated by the [[Wichita people|Quivira, or Wichita, people]]. Conflict with the [[Osage Nation|Osage]] in the 1750s drove the Wichita further south.<ref name=Brooks>{{cite encyclopedia | last = Brooks | first = Robert L. | title = Wichitas | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of the Great Plains | publisher = [[University of Nebraska–Lincoln]] | url = http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.na.127 | access-date = March 21, 2014}}</ref> Prior to [[European settlement of North America|European settlement]] of the region, the site was in the territory of the [[Kiowa people|Kiowa]].<ref>{{cite web | last = Sturtevant | first = William C.| title = Early Indian Tribes, Culture Areas, and Linguistic Stocks [Map] | publisher = [[Smithsonian Institution]] | date = 1967 | url = http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/united_states/early_indian_west.jpg | access-date = March 21, 2015}}</ref> ===19th century=== [[File:Darius S. Munger House. Wichita, KS.JPG|thumb|right|Darius Sales Munger House, built in 1868, is the oldest surviving building in Wichita (at [[Old Cowtown Museum]]).<ref>[https://www.oldcowtown.org/CB/Pages/DAR-and-the-Munger-House.aspx The Munger House]</ref>]] Claimed first by [[Kingdom of France|France]] as part of [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]] and later acquired by the United States with the [[Louisiana Purchase]] in 1803, it became part of [[Kansas Territory]] in 1854 and then the state of Kansas in 1861.<ref>{{cite web | title = Louisiana Purchase | work = Kansapedia | publisher = [[Kansas Historical Society]] | url = http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/louisiana-purchase/17876 | access-date = March 21, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Kansas Territory | work = Kansapedia | publisher = [[Kansas Historical Society]] | url = http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/kansas-territory/14701 | access-date = March 21, 2015}}</ref> The Wichita people returned in 1863, driven from their land in [[Indian Territory]] by [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] forces in the [[American Civil War]], and established a settlement on the banks of the Little Arkansas.<ref name=WichitaTribe>{{cite web | title = Days of Darkness: 1820-1934 | publisher = Wichita and Affiliated Tribes | url = http://www.wichitatribe.com/history/days-of-darkness-1820-1934.aspx | access-date = April 30, 2019}}</ref><ref name=Sowers>{{cite web | last = Sowers | first = Fred A. | title = Early History of Wichita | work = History of Wichita and Sedgwick County, Kansas | publisher = C.F. Cooper & Co. | location = [[Chicago]] | date = 1910 | url = http://history.rays-place.com/ks/se-wichita-early.htm | access-date = March 21, 2015}}</ref><ref name=TSHA>{{cite HOT |first=Earl H. |last=Elam |title=Wichita Indians |id=bmw03 |date=June 15, 2010}}</ref> During this period, trader [[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]].<ref name=Howell>{{cite book | last1 = Howell | first1 = Angela | last2 = Vines | first2 = Peg | date = 1995 | title = The Insider's Guide to Wichita | location = Wichita, Kansas | publisher = [[The Wichita Eagle|Wichita Eagle & Beacon Publishing]]}}</ref> In 1867, after the war, the Wichita returned to Indian Territory.<ref name=WichitaTribe/> In 1868, trader [[James R. Mead (pioneer)|James R. Mead]] was among a group of investors who established a town company, and surveyor Darius Munger built a log structure for the company to serve as a hotel, community center, and post office.<ref name=ChamberHistory>{{cite web | title = History of Wichita | publisher = Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce | url = http://wichitachamber.org/experience_wichita-moving_here-history_of_wichita.php | access-date = March 21, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150316231445/http://wichitachamber.org/experience_wichita-moving_here-history_of_wichita.php | archive-date = March 16, 2015 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name=Midtown>{{cite web|title=Midtown Neighborhood Plan |publisher=Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department |url=http://www.wichita.gov/Government/Departments/Planning/NR/NR%20Documents/Midtown%20Neighborhood%20Plan.pdf |date=2004 |access-date=March 21, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205030428/http://www.wichita.gov/Government/Departments/Planning/NR/NR%20Documents/Midtown%20Neighborhood%20Plan.pdf |archive-date=February 5, 2016 }}</ref> Business opportunities attracted area hunters and traders, and a new settlement began to form. That summer, Mead and others organized the Wichita Town Company, naming the settlement after the Wichita tribe.<ref name=Sowers/> In 1870, Munger and [[German people|German]] immigrant William "Dutch Bill" Greiffenstein filed plats laying out the city's first streets.<ref name=Midtown/> Wichita formally [[municipal corporation|incorporated]] as a city on July 21, 1870.<ref name=ChamberHistory/> [[File:Stouffer's Railroad Map of Kansas 1915-1918 Sedgwick County.png|thumb|right|A 1915 railroad map of Sedgwick County, showing many railroads that previously passed through Wichita]] Wichita's position on the Chisholm Trail made it a destination for [[cattle drive]]s traveling north from Texas to access railroads, which led to markets in eastern U.S. cities.<ref name=Howell/><ref name=Miner>{{cite book | last = Miner | first = Craig | title = Wichita: The Magic City | date = 1988 | location = Wichita, Kansas | publisher = Wichita Historical Museum Association}}</ref> The [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]] reached the city in 1872.<ref name=OldTown>{{cite web | title = Oldtown History | publisher = OldtownWichita.com | url = http://www.oldtownwichita.com/oldtown-history | access-date = March 21, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090119213801/http://www.oldtownwichita.com/oldtown-history | archive-date = January 19, 2009 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> As a result, Wichita became a railhead for the cattle drives, earning it the nickname "Cowtown".<ref name=Howell/><ref name=Miner/> Across the Arkansas River, the town of [[Delano, Wichita, Kansas|Delano]] became an entertainment destination for cattlemen thanks to its saloons, brothels, and lack of law enforcement.<ref name=Delano>{{cite web | title = Delano's Colorful History | publisher = Historic Delano, Inc. | url = http://www.historicdelano.com/HistoricDelano/history.php | access-date = March 21, 2015}}</ref> [[James Earp]] ran a brothel with his wife Nellie "Bessie" Ketchum. His brother [[Wyatt Earp|Wyatt]] was likely a pimp, although historian Gary L. Roberts believes that he was an enforcer or bouncer.<ref name="wyatt_earp_americanexperience_pbs">[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/wyatt/ "Wyatt Earp"], ''American Experience'' history series, aired January 25, 2010, ''[[Public Broadcasting System|PBS]],'' retrieved April 3, 2023</ref> Local arrest records show that Nellie, and Earp's common-law wife Sally, managed a brothel there from early 1874 to the middle of 1876.<ref name="OKCorral">{{cite web|title=Gunfight at the OK Corral – The Aftermath – Part One|url=http://www.americancowboychronicles.com/2012/11/gunfight-at-ok-corral-aftermath-part-one.html|access-date=May 16, 2015|first1=Tom|last1=Correa|date=November 27, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518103543/http://www.americancowboychronicles.com/2012/11/gunfight-at-ok-corral-aftermath-part-one.html|archive-date=May 18, 2015}}</ref> The area had a reputation for violence until Wyatt officially joined the Wichita marshal's office on April 21, 1875, making $100 per month. He was hired after the election of Mike Meagher as city marshal.<ref name=Howell/><ref name=Miner/> Together they brought law enforcement to Delano. By the middle of the decade, the cattle trade had moved west to [[Dodge City, Kansas|Dodge City]]. Wichita annexed Delano in 1880.<ref name=Delano/> Rapid immigration resulted in a [[Speculation|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.<ref>{{cite web | title = History of Wichita State University | publisher = [[Wichita State University]] | url = http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=aboutwsu&p=/wsu_history_long/ | access-date = March 26, 2015 | archive-date = June 29, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170629083703/http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=aboutwsu&p=%2Fwsu_history_long%2F | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = History | publisher = [[Friends University]] | url = http://www.friends.edu/history | access-date = March 26, 2015}}</ref> By 1890, Wichita had become the third-largest city in the state after [[Kansas City, Kansas|Kansas City]], and [[Topeka, Kansas|Topeka]], with a population of nearly 24,000.<ref name=Decennial>{{cite web | title = Census of Population and Housing | publisher = [[United States Census Bureau]] | url = https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html | access-date = March 26, 2015}}</ref> After the boom, however, the city entered an economic recession, and many of the original settlers went bankrupt.<ref>{{cite web | title = Overview | work = Delano Neighborhood Plan | publisher = City of Wichita, Kansas | url = http://www.wichita.gov/Government/Departments/Planning/NR/Pages/Delano.aspx | access-date = March 26, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130806044846/http://www.wichita.gov/Government/Departments/Planning/NR/Pages/Delano.aspx | archive-date = August 6, 2013 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> ===20th century=== In 1914 and 1915, deposits of [[petroleum|oil]] and [[natural gas]] were discovered in nearby [[Butler County, Kansas|Butler County]]. This triggered another economic boom in Wichita as producers established refineries, fueling stations, and headquarters in the city.<ref name=Price>{{cite book|last1=Price|first1=Jay M.|title=El Dorado : legacy of an oil boom|date=2005|publisher=Arcadia|location=Charleston, SC|isbn=978-0738539713}}</ref> By 1917, five operating refineries were in Wichita, with another seven built in the 1920s.<ref>{{cite web | title = Petroleum Refining: A 125 Year Kansas Legacy | publisher = Kansas Department of Health and Environment | url = http://www.kdheks.gov/remedial/articles/refining_history.pdf | access-date = March 19, 2015 | archive-date = January 27, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180127115436/http://www.kdheks.gov/remedial/articles/refining_history.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref> 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.<ref name=Price/><ref>{{cite news | last = Dilsaver | first = Dick | title = Fred Koch, Industrialist, Dies in Utah | publisher = The Wichita Beacon | date = November 18, 1967}}</ref> The money generated by the oil boom enabled local entrepreneurs to invest in the nascent [[Aerospace manufacturer|airplane-manufacturing]] industry. In 1917, [[Clyde Cessna]] built his [[Cessna Comet]] in Wichita, the first aircraft built in the city. In 1920, two local oilmen invited [[Chicago]] aircraft builder [[Emil Matthew Laird|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]] in 1926 and [[Beechcraft]] in 1932, respectively. Cessna, meanwhile, started [[Cessna|his own company]] in Wichita in 1927.<ref name=Harris>{{cite web | last = Harris | first = Richard | title = The Air Capital Story: Early General Aviation & Its Manufacturers | publisher = In Flight USA | url = http://harris1.net/hold/av/avhist/wichita/aircap_x.htm | date = 2002}}</ref> The city became such a center of the industry that the [[Aerospace Industries Association|Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce]] dubbed it the "Air Capital of the World" in 1929.<ref name="we_built_2018_09_smithsonianmag" /><ref>{{cite book | title = Aeronautical Yearbook, 1929 | publisher = Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last = Harrow | first = Christopher | title = How is Wichita, Kansas the "Air Capital of the World"? | publisher = International Aviation HQ | url = https://internationalaviationhq.com/2020/02/29/air-capital-of-the-world | date = February 29, 2020}}</ref> [[File:Boeing-Whichata B-29 Assembly Line - 1944.jpg|thumb|[[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|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]], which would become the city's largest employer.<ref name=Boeing>{{cite news | last = Tanner | first = Beccy | title = Boeing's Wichita history dates to 1927 | newspaper = [[The Wichita Eagle]] | date = January 5, 2012 | url = http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article1083751.html | access-date = March 26, 2015}}</ref> Initial construction of [[Kansas Aviation Museum|Wichita Municipal Airport]] finished southeast of the city in 1935. During [[World War II]], the site hosted Wichita Army Airfield and Boeing Airplane Company Plant No. 1.<ref name=Museum>{{cite web | title = History of the Building | date = June 9, 2014 | publisher = [[Kansas Aviation Museum]] | url = http://kansasaviationmuseum.org/about/history-of-the-building/ | access-date = March 26, 2015}}</ref> The city experienced a population explosion during the war when it became a major manufacturing center for the [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|Boeing B-29]] bomber. The wartime city quickly grew from 110,000 to 184,000 residents, drawing aircraft workers from throughout the central U.S.<ref name="we_built_2018_09_smithsonianmag" /><ref>Herman, Arthur. ''Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II'', pp. 297-300, 307-8, 314-318, 321, Random House, New York, NY, 2012. {{ISBN|978-1-4000-6964-4}}.</ref> In 1951, the [[U.S. Air Force]] announced plans to assume control of the airport to establish [[McConnell Air Force Base]]. By 1954, all nonmilitary air traffic had shifted to the new [[Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport|Wichita Mid-Continent Airport]] west of the city.<ref name=Museum/> In 1962, [[Learjet|Lear Jet Corporation]] opened with its plant adjacent to the new airport.<ref name=Learjet>{{cite web | title = Learjet: A Brief History | publisher = [[Bombardier Inc.]] | url = http://us.bombardier.com/us/library/documents/Learjet_History_Backgrounder_01_08.pdf | date = January 2008 | access-date = March 26, 2015}}</ref> [[File:FirstPizzaHut.jpg|thumb|The original [[Pizza Hut]] building, which was moved to the campus of [[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]] in Wichita in 1889.<ref name=Miner2>{{cite encyclopedia | title = Wichita, Kansas | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of the Great Plains | publisher = [[University of Nebraska–Lincoln]] | url = http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.ct.055 | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = About Us | publisher = [[Mentholatum]] | url = http://us.mentholatum.com/about-us/ | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref> Sporting goods and camping-gear retailer [[Coleman Company|Coleman]] started in the city in the early 1900s.<ref name=Miner2/><ref>{{cite web | title = First Light (1900-1929) | publisher = [[Coleman Company]] | url = http://www.coleman.com/FirstLight/ | access-date = March 28, 2015 | archive-date = March 18, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130318011659/http://www.coleman.com/FirstLight | url-status = dead }}</ref> A number of [[fast-food]] franchises started in Wichita, beginning with [[White Castle (restaurant)|White Castle]] in 1921 and followed by many more in the 1950s and 1960s including [[Pizza Hut]] in 1958. In the 1970s and 1980s, the city became a regional center of health care and medical research.<ref name=Miner2/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kieler |first1=Ashlee |title=The White Castle Story: The Birth Of Fast Food & The Burger Revolution |url=https://consumerist.com/2015/07/14/the-white-castle-story-the-birth-of-fast-food-the-burger-revolution/ |website=Consumerist.com |date=July 14, 2015 |access-date=April 27, 2020}}</ref> Wichita has been a focal point of national political controversy multiple times in its history. In 1900, famous [[Temperance movement|temperance]] extremist [[Carrie Nation]] struck in Wichita upon learning the city was not enforcing Kansas's [[prohibition]] ordinance.<ref name=Miner2/> The [[Dockum Drug Store sit-in]] took place in the city in 1958 with protesters pushing for [[Desegregation in the United States|desegregation]].<ref>{{cite news | title = Bronze Sculpture of Lunch Counter for Downtown Park is Tribute to Civil Rights Activists | newspaper = [[The Wichita Eagle]] | date = February 4, 1998 | url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WE&s_site=kansas&p_multi=WE&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB5757CA77774B0&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref> In 1991, thousands of anti-abortion protesters blockaded and held sit-ins at Wichita abortion clinics, particularly the clinic of [[George Tiller]].<ref>{{cite news | last = Wilkerson | first = Isabel | title = Drive Against Abortion Finds a Symbol: Wichita | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date = August 4, 1991 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/04/us/drive-against-abortion-finds-a-symbol-wichita.html | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref> Tiller was later murdered in Wichita by [[Assassination of George Tiller|Scott Roeder]] in 2009.<ref>{{cite news | last1 = Davey | first1 = Monica | last2 = Stumpe | first2 = Joe | title = Abortion Doctor Shot to Death in Kansas Church | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | date = May 31, 2009 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/us/01tiller.html | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref> ===21st century=== Except for a slow period in the 1970s, Wichita has continued to grow steadily into the 21st century.<ref name=Decennial/> In the late 1990s and 2000s, the city government and local organizations began collaborating to redevelop downtown Wichita and older neighborhoods in the city.<ref name=Midtown/><ref name=Delano/><ref>{{cite web | title = Wichita Downtown Development Corp. | publisher = OldtownWichita.com | url = http://oldtownwichita.com/wichita-downtown-development-corp | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref> [[Intrust Bank Arena]] opened downtown in 2010.<ref>{{cite news | last = Neil | first = Denise | title = After 5 years, Intrust Bank Arena still battles image problem | newspaper = [[The Wichita Eagle]] | date = December 6, 2014 | url = http://www.kansas.com/entertainment/music-news-reviews/article4315689.html | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref> Boeing ended its operations in Wichita in 2014.<ref>{{cite news | last = McMillin | first = Molly | title = End of an era: Boeing in final stages of leaving Wichita | newspaper = [[The Wichita Eagle]] | date = July 29, 2014 | url = http://www.kansas.com/news/business/aviation/article1153168.html | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref> However, the city remains a national center of aircraft manufacturing with other companies including [[Spirit AeroSystems]] and [[Airbus]] maintaining facilities in Wichita.<ref name=ChamberHistory/><ref>{{cite web | title = Airbus Americas | publisher = OldtownWichita.com | url = http://www.oldtownwichita.com/airbus-americas | access-date = March 28, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150402131910/http://www.oldtownwichita.com/airbus-americas | archive-date = April 2, 2015 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> Wichita Mid-Continent Airport was officially renamed Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport after the [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Kansas native and U.S. President]] in 2015.<ref>{{cite news | last = Siebenmark | first = Jerry | title = Eisenhower's granddaughter helps Wichita rename its airport | newspaper = [[The Wichita Eagle]] | url = http://www.kansas.com/news/business/aviation/article8152866.html | access-date = March 28, 2015}}</ref> Despite the city's prominence in aircraft manufacturing, Wichita's airport remained a mere regional hub for many years, while Kansas lingered in the shadow of adjacent Missouri and Oklahoma.<ref name="Draper">{{cite news |last1=Draper |first1=Kevin |title=How the D.C. Plane Crash Shattered Wichita’s Big Dreams of Skating and Flight |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/us/wichita-figure-skaters-plane-crash.html |work=The New York Times |date=January 31, 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Local residents needed to drive several hours to the international airports serving [[Kansas City International Airport|Kansas City, Missouri]] or [[OKC Will Rogers International Airport|Oklahoma City]] if they wished to take direct flights to long-distance destinations.<ref name="Draper" /> In 2024, civic leaders finally succeeded in fulfilling two longstanding goals towards raising the city's prominence: establishing direct passenger air service to the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] and hosting a major sporting event.<ref name="Draper" /> [[American Airlines Group]] initiated direct service to [[Washington, D.C.]] with a regular [[American Eagle (airline brand)|American Eagle]] flight to [[Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport|National Airport]], and [[U.S. Figure Skating]] selected Wichita to host the [[2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships]].<ref name="Draper" /> On January 28, 2025, 28 members of the U.S. figure skating community<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 3, 2025 |title=Remembering 28 U.S. figure skating community members who died on flight 5342 |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/remembering-us-figure-skating-members |access-date=February 4, 2025 |website=[[NBC Sports]] |last=Zaccardi |first=Nick}}</ref> returning from the championships on the American Eagle flight died in a [[2025 Potomac River mid-air collision|mid-air collision over the Potomac River]].<ref name="Draper" /> == Libraries == Libraries were a priority for the early settlers of Wichita. In 1873, the Wichita Library Association was granted with the “purpose of establishing and maintaining a public library and reading room and for the diffusion of knowledge and the promotion of intellectual improvement in the city of Wichita, Sedgwick county, Kansas."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Gibson |first=Hortense |title=Wichita and her public libraries |url=https://www.kansashistory.gov/p/wichita-and-her-public-libraries/12730 |access-date=30 April 2025 |website=Kansas history: A Journal of the Central Plains}}</ref> Despite a plan set forth, this library and the following attempt at establishing one in 1874 never came to pass. Shortly later, another library association was formed by the same name of Wichita Library Association with a required membership fee of three dollars. Women in the community organized events to raise funds. However, this library struggled as well and stopped functioning in 1885. It wasn’t until the city hall was built that the development of a library began to take shape. “In making their plans for housing the books, the board, then located in the Sedgwick block, petitioned and obtained permission from the city council to occupy rooms on the first floor of the city hall,"<ref name=":0" /> and so it was this decision that proved successful in paving the way for future libraries in Wichita. It was at this time that philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, was providing funds for libraries in many states to be built. In fact, Andrew Carnegie funded fifty-eight libraries in Kansas.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Reiber |first=Ellie |date=6 February 2023 |title=Wichita City Carnegie Library |url=https://theclio.com/entry/163769 |access-date=30 April 2025 |website=Clio: Your Guide to History}}</ref> So, it is not surprising that in 1911, the city clerk wrote Andrew Carnegie for donations for a public library, which led to an offer of $75,000 dollars for a building. The Wichita Carnegie Library building opened to the public on May 14, 1915, and under the administration of Mr. Julius Lucht “the library was organized into its present departmental state, with a greatly augmented budget, staff and book collection."<ref name=":0" />. The Wichita Carnegie Library was the main library for the city until 1967."<ref name=":1" /> Today, Sedgwick County has eight Wichita Public Libraries: [https://www.wichitalibrary.org/Locations/Pages/advanced-learning-library.aspx Advanced Learning Library], [https://www.wichitalibraryfriends.org/bookstore Friends Used Bookstore], [https://www.wichitalibrary.org/Locations/Pages/alford.aspx Alford Branch], [https://www.wichitalibrary.org/Locations/Pages/angelou.aspx Angelou N.E. Branch], [https://www.wichitalibrary.org/Locations/Pages/evergreen.aspx Evergreen Branch], [https://www.wichitalibrary.org/About/ConstructionArchive/Pages/Rockwell-Remodel.aspx Rockwell Branch], [https://www.wichitalibrary.org/Locations/Pages/walters.aspx Walters Branch], and [https://www.wichitalibrary.org/Locations/Pages/westlink.aspx Westlink Branch]. ==Geography== [[File:Wichitakkk.jpg|thumb|Downtown Wichita viewed from the west bank of the [[Arkansas River]] (2010)]] Wichita is in south-central Kansas at the junction of [[Interstate 35]] and [[U.S. Route 54]].<ref name=KDOT>{{cite web | title = 2003-2004 Official Transportation Map | publisher = [[Kansas Department of Transportation]] | year = 2003 | url = http://www.ksdot.org/burtransplan/maps/HistoricStateMaps/2003-04Mapside.pdf | access-date = January 1, 2011}}</ref> Part of the [[Midwestern United States]], it is {{convert|157|mi|abbr=on}} north of [[Oklahoma City]], {{convert|181|mi|abbr=on}} southwest of [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], and {{convert|439|mi|abbr=on}} east-southeast of [[Denver]].<ref>{{cite web|title=City Distance Tool|publisher=[[Geobytes]]|url=http://www.geobytes.com/citydistancetool.htm|access-date=January 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101005175701/http://geobytes.com/CityDistanceTool.htm|archive-date=October 5, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> The city lies on the Arkansas River near the western edge of the [[Flint Hills]] in the Wellington-McPherson Lowlands region of the [[Great Plains]].<ref name=EPA>{{cite web | title = Ecoregions of Nebraska and Kansas | publisher = [[Environmental Protection Agency]] | year = 2001 | url = ftp://ftp.epa.gov/wed/ecoregions/ks/ksne_front.pdf | access-date = January 1, 2011 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The area's topography is characterized by the broad [[alluvial plain]] of the Arkansas River valley and the moderately rolling slopes that rise to the higher lands on either side.<ref>{{cite web | title = Arkansas River and Wellington-McPherson Lowlands - Introduction | publisher = [[Kansas Geological Survey]] | date = May 3, 2005 | url = http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Extension/lowlands/lowlands.html | access-date = January 1, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110607113611/http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Extension/lowlands/lowlands.html | archive-date = June 7, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Sedgwick County Geohydrology - Geography | publisher = [[Kansas Geological Survey]] | date = December 1965 | url = http://www.kgs.ku.edu/General/Geology/Sedgwick/geog01.html | access-date = January 1, 2011}}</ref> 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's tributaries lie west of its course; from east to west, these are Big Slough Creek and Cowskin Creek. Both run south through the western part of the city. Fourmile Creek, a tributary of the [[Walnut River (Kansas)|Walnut River]], flows south through the far eastern part of the city.<ref name=CityMap>{{cite web | title = City of Wichita | publisher = [[Kansas Department of Transportation]] | date = June 2010 | url = http://www.ksdot.org/burtransplan/maps/city-pdf/wichita.pdf | access-date = January 1, 2011}}</ref> According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|163.59|sqmi|2|abbr=on}}, of which {{convert|4.30|sqmi|2|abbr=on}} are covered by water.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=July 6, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702145235/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=July 2, 2012 }}</ref> As the core of the [[Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area|Wichita metropolitan area]], the city is surrounded by suburbs. Bordering Wichita on the north are, from west to east, [[Valley Center, Kansas|Valley Center]], [[Park City, Kansas|Park City]], [[Kechi, Kansas|Kechi]], and [[Bel Aire, Kansas|Bel Aire]]. Enclosed within east-central Wichita is [[Eastborough, Kansas|Eastborough]]. Adjacent to the city's east side is [[Andover, Kansas|Andover]]. [[McConnell Air Force Base]] is in the extreme southeast corner of the city. To the south, from east to west, lie [[Derby, Kansas|Derby]] and [[Haysville, Kansas|Haysville]]. [[Goddard, Kansas|Goddard]] and [[Maize, Kansas|Maize]] border Wichita to the west and northwest, respectively.<ref name=CountyMap>{{cite web | title = General Highway Map - Sedgwick County, Kansas | publisher = [[Kansas Department of Transportation]] | date = June 2009 | url = http://www.ksdot.org/burtransplan/maps/county-pdf/sedgwick.PDF | access-date = January 1, 2011}}</ref> ===Climate=== ====Climatic influences on weather==== Wichita lies within the [[humid subtropical climate]] zone ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] [[Humid subtropical climate#Breakdown of letters|''Cfa'']]), typically experiencing hot, humid summers and cold, dry winters. 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. These occasionally bring large hail and frequent lightning. Particularly destructive ones have struck the Wichita area several times in the course of its history - in September 1965, during the [[Andover tornado outbreak|Andover, Kansas tornado outbreak]] of April 1991, and during the [[1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak|Oklahoma tornado outbreak]] of May 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tornadochaser.com/torhist3.htm|title=Kansas Tornado History - Historical Tornado Facts|publisher=Tornadochaser.com|access-date=September 12, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327070325/http://www.tornadochaser.com/torhist3.htm|archive-date=March 27, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kansas.com/2009/03/26/749271/1991-wichita-area-tornado.html|title=1991 Wichita-area tornado|access-date=April 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820160813/http://www.kansas.com/2009/03/26/749271/1991-wichita-area-tornado.html|archive-date=August 20, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kansas.com/2011/02/23/1732673/wichita-tornado-1965.html|title=Photos: 1965 Wichita tornado|access-date=April 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504232713/http://www.kansas.com/2011/02/23/1732673/wichita-tornado-1965.html|archive-date=May 4, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Winters are cold and dry; since Wichita is roughly midway between [[Canada]] and the [[Gulf of Mexico]], cold spells and warm spells are equally frequent. Warm air masses from the Gulf of Mexico can raise midwinter temperatures into the 50s and even 60s (°F), while cold-air masses from the Arctic can occasionally plunge the temperature below 0 °F. Wind speed in the city averages {{convert|13|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Weatherbase/> On average, January is the coldest month (and the driest), July the hottest, and May the wettest. ====Weather data==== [[File:Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020) - Wichita Area, KS(ThreadEx).svg|thumb|right|Climate chart for Wichita]] The average temperature in the city is {{convert|57.7|°F|1}}.<ref name="NCEI 1991-2020"/> Over the course of a year, the monthly daily average temperature ranges from {{convert|33.2|°F|1}} in January to {{convert|81.5|°F|1}} in July. The high temperature reaches or exceeds {{convert|90|°F|0}} an average of 65 days a year and {{convert|100|°F|0}} an average of 12 days a year. The minimum temperature falls to or below {{convert|10|°F|0}} on an average 7.7 days a year. The hottest temperature recorded in Wichita was {{convert|114|°F|0}} in 1936; the coldest temperature recorded was {{convert|-22|°F|0}} on [[Great Blizzard of 1899|February 12, 1899]]. Readings as low as {{convert|-17|°F|0}} and as high as {{convert|111|°F|0}} occurred as recently as February 16, 2021, and [[Summer 2012 North American heat wave|July 29–30, 2012]], respectively.<ref name = NOAA/> Wichita receives on average about {{convert|34.31|in|0}} of precipitation a year, most of which falls in the warmer months, and experiences 87 days of measurable precipitation. The average [[relative humidity]] is 80% in the morning and 49% in the evening.<ref name="Weatherbase">{{cite web | title = Historical Weather for Wichita, Kansas, United States of America | publisher = Weatherbase | url = http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weatherall.php3?s=5427&refer=&cityname=Wichita-Kansas-United-States-of-America&units= | access-date = January 25, 2012}}</ref> Annual snowfall averages {{convert|12.7|in|cm}}. Measurable snowfall occurs an average of nine days per year with at least an inch of snow falling on four of those days. Snow depth of at least an inch occurs an average of 12 days per year.<ref name="NCEI 1991-2020"/> The average window for freezing temperatures is October 25 through April 9.<ref name="NOAA" /> {{Weather box |collapsed = Y |location = Wichita, Kansas (1991–2020 normals,{{efn|Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.}} extremes 1888–present){{efn|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 (currently named Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport). For more information, see [http://threadex.rcc-acis.org Threadex]}} |single line = Y |Jan record high F = 75 |Feb record high F = 87 |Mar record high F = 92 |Apr record high F = 98 |May record high F = 102 |Jun record high F = 110 |Jul record high F = 113 |Aug record high F = 114 |Sep record high F = 108 |Oct record high F = 97 |Nov record high F = 86 |Dec record high F = 83 |Jan avg record high F = 65.8 |Feb avg record high F = 71.6 |Mar avg record high F = 79.9 |Apr avg record high F = 85.3 |May avg record high F = 92.0 |Jun avg record high F = 98.4 |Jul avg record high F =103.7 |Aug avg record high F =102.2 |Sep avg record high F = 97.3 |Oct avg record high F = 89.0 |Nov avg record high F = 75.5 |Dec avg record high F = 65.3 |year avg record high F = 104.9 |Jan high F = 43.9 |Feb high F = 48.9 |Mar high F = 59.1 |Apr high F = 68.3 |May high F = 77.5 |Jun high F = 87.9 |Jul high F = 92.6 |Aug high F = 91.0 |Sep high F = 83.3 |Oct high F = 70.8 |Nov high F = 57.0 |Dec high F = 45.8 |year high F = 68.8 |Jan mean F = 33.2 |Feb mean F = 37.6 |Mar mean F = 47.4 |Apr mean F = 56.5 |May mean F = 66.7 |Jun mean F = 76.9 |Jul mean F = 81.5 |Aug mean F = 79.9 |Sep mean F = 71.7 |Oct mean F = 59.0 |Nov mean F = 45.8 |Dec mean F = 35.6 |year mean F = 57.7 |Jan low F = 22.5 |Feb low F = 26.3 |Mar low F = 35.7 |Apr low F = 44.8 |May low F = 55.9 |Jun low F = 65.9 |Jul low F = 70.4 |Aug low F = 68.8 |Sep low F = 60.1 |Oct low F = 47.2 |Nov low F = 34.7 |Dec low F = 25.4 |year low F = 46.5 |Jan avg record low F = 5.1 |Feb avg record low F = 8.4 |Mar avg record low F = 17.1 |Apr avg record low F = 28.2 |May avg record low F = 40.5 |Jun avg record low F = 53.9 |Jul avg record low F = 61.4 |Aug avg record low F = 59.3 |Sep avg record low F = 44.6 |Oct avg record low F = 29.7 |Nov avg record low F = 17.9 |Dec avg record low F = 8.4 |year avg record low F = 1.0 |Jan record low F = −15 |Feb record low F = −22 |Mar record low F = −3 |Apr record low F = 15 |May record low F = 27 |Jun record low F = 43 |Jul record low F = 51 |Aug record low F = 45 |Sep record low F = 31 |Oct record low F = 14 |Nov record low F = 1 |Dec record low F = −16 |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation inch = 0.85 |Feb precipitation inch = 1.20 |Mar precipitation inch = 2.30 |Apr precipitation inch = 3.10 |May precipitation inch = 5.17 |Jun precipitation inch = 4.93 |Jul precipitation inch = 3.98 |Aug precipitation inch = 4.30 |Sep precipitation inch = 3.05 |Oct precipitation inch = 2.85 |Nov precipitation inch = 1.36 |Dec precipitation inch = 1.22 |year precipitation inch = 34.31 |Jul snow inch = 0.0 |Aug snow inch = 0.0 |Sep snow inch = 0.0 |Oct snow inch = 0.2 |Nov snow inch = 0.8 |Dec snow inch = 3.1 |Jan snow inch = 2.7 |Feb snow inch = 3.6 |Mar snow inch = 2.1 |Apr snow inch = 0.2 |May snow inch = 0.0 |Jun snow inch = 0.0 |year snow inch = 12.7 | Jan snow depth inch = 2 | Feb snow depth inch = 3 | Mar snow depth inch = 1 | Apr snow depth inch = 0 | May snow depth inch = 0 | Jun snow depth inch = 0 | Jul snow depth inch = 0 | Aug snow depth inch = 0 | Sep snow depth inch = 0 | Oct snow depth inch = 0 | Nov snow depth inch = 1 | Dec snow depth inch = 2 | year snow depth inch = |unit precipitation days = 0.01 in |Jan precipitation days = 4.8 |Feb precipitation days = 5.3 |Mar precipitation days = 7.4 |Apr precipitation days = 8.3 |May precipitation days = 11.3 |Jun precipitation days = 9.5 |Jul precipitation days = 8.3 |Aug precipitation days = 8.2 |Sep precipitation days = 6.9 |Oct precipitation days = 6.6 |Nov precipitation days = 5.1 |Dec precipitation days = 5.4 |year precipitation days = 87.1 |unit snow days = 0.1 in |Jul snow days = 0.0 |Aug snow days = 0.0 |Sep snow days = 0.0 |Oct snow days = 0.2 |Nov snow days = 0.6 |Dec snow days = 2.2 |Jan snow days = 2.7 |Feb snow days = 2.2 |Mar snow days = 1.0 |Apr snow days = 0.3 |May snow days = 0.0 |Jun snow days = 0.0 |year snow days = 9.2 |Jan sun = 190.9 |Jan percentsun = 62 |Feb sun = 186.4 |Feb percentsun = 62 |Mar sun = 230.4 |Mar percentsun = 62 |Apr sun = 257.8 |Apr percentsun = 65 |May sun = 289.8 |May percentsun = 66 |Jun sun = 305.0 |Jun percentsun = 69 |Jul sun = 342.1 |Jul percentsun = 76 |Aug sun = 309.2 |Aug percentsun = 73 |Sep sun = 245.6 |Sep percentsun = 66 |Oct sun = 226.3 |Oct percentsun = 65 |Nov sun = 170.2 |Nov percentsun = 56 |Dec sun = 168.7 |Dec percentsun = 57 |year percentsun = 66 |humidity colour = green |Jan humidity = 69.9 |Feb humidity = 68.3 |Mar humidity = 63.8 |Apr humidity = 62.8 |May humidity = 67.0 |Jun humidity = 64.3 |Jul humidity = 58.9 |Aug humidity = 61.1 |Sep humidity = 66.8 |Oct humidity = 65.1 |Nov humidity = 70.0 |Dec humidity = 71.7 |year humidity = 65.8 |Jan dew point C = -6.9 |Feb dew point C = -4.6 |Mar dew point C = 0.0 |Apr dew point C = 5.7 |May dew point C = 11.7 |Jun dew point C = 16.2 |Jul dew point C = 17.6 |Aug dew point C = 17.0 |Sep dew point C = 13.8 |Oct dew point C = 7.2 |Nov dew point C = 1.1 |Dec dew point C = -4.7 |Jan uv = 2 |Feb uv = 3 |Mar uv = 5 |Apr uv = 7 |May uv = 9 |Jun uv = 10 |Jul uv = 10 |Aug uv = 9 |Sep uv = 7 |Oct uv = 5 |Nov uv = 3 |Dec uv = 2 |source 1 = [[National Weather Service]] (relative humidity, dew point and sun 1961–1990)<ref name=NOAA>{{cite web |title = NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data (Wichita area) |publisher = [[National Weather Service]] Forecast Office - Wichita, KS |url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=ict |access-date = January 31, 2025}}</ref><ref name="NCEI 1991-2020">{{cite web |url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00003928&format=pdf |title = Summary of Monthly Normals 1991–2020 |publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |access-date = October 13, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230912153008/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00003928&format=pdf |archive-date = September 12, 2023}}</ref><ref name= noaasun >{{cite web |url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_IV/US/GROUP3/72450.TXT |title = WMO Climate Normals for Wichita/Mid-Continent Arpt KS 1961–1990 |access-date = March 11, 2014 |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230912151808/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_IV/US/GROUP3/72450.TXT |archive-date = September 12, 2023}}</ref> }} ====Pollen and other allergens==== Wichita is consistently ranked as one of the worst major cities in the nation for seasonal allergies, due largely to tree and grass pollen (partly from surrounding open plains and pastureland), and smoke from frequent burning of fields by the region's farmers and ranchers, driven by the strong Kansas winds.<ref name="allergy_capitals_aafa_org">[https://aafa.org/asthma-allergy-research/allergy-capitals/ "Allergy Capitals,"] website of the [[Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America]], retrieved March 31, 2023</ref><ref name="spring_allergies_2023_03_21_ksn">[https://www.ksn.com/video/wichita-doctors-seeing-an-increase-in-spring-allergies/8489667/ "Wichita doctors seeing an increase in spring allergies,"] March 21, 2023, [[Kansas State Network]], retrieved March 31, 2023</ref> The [[Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America]], ranked Wichita—out of the nation's 100 largest cities—sixth worst for people with allergies in 2016,<ref name="sixth_allergies_2016_04_04_kmuw_org">[https://www.kmuw.org/health/2016-04-04/wichita-ranks-sixth-in-nation-for-spring-allergies " Wichita Ranks Sixth In Nation For Spring Allergies,"] April 4, 2016, [[KMUW-FM]], retrieved March 31, 2023</ref> third worst in 2021,<ref name="wichita_3rd_2021_03_08_kansas_com">[https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article249633108.html "Wichita ranks 3rd in nation for allergies,"] March 8, 2021, ''[[Wichita Eagle]],'' retrieved March 31, 2023</ref> second worst in 2022,<ref name="seasonal_allergies_03_03_kake">[https://www.kake.com/story/45998809/wichita-is-one-of-the-worst-us-cities-for-seasonal-allergies-report "Wichita is one of the worst US cities for seasonal allergies: Report,"] March 3, 2022, [[KAKE-TV]] News, retrieved March 31, 2023, 12</ref> and worst nationwide in 2023.<ref name="allergy_capitals_aafa_org" /><ref name="worst_cities_allergies_2023_03_16_washpost">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/03/16/allergy-season-pollen-count-climate/ "The worst cities in the U.S. for allergies,"] March 16, 2023, ''[[Washington Post]],'' retrieved March 31, 2023</ref><ref name="dallas_wichita_2023_03_17_cbsnews">[https://www.cbsnews.com/video/dallas-wichita-among-hardest-u-s-cities-to-live-for-those-with-allergies-study-finds/ "Dallas, Wichita among the hardest U.S. cities to live for those with allergies, study finds,"] March 17, 2023, [[CBS News]], retrieved March 31, 2023</ref><ref name="wichita_worst_2023_03_17_kansas_com">[https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article273180880.html "Wichita, KS is the worst city in US for those with allergies,"] March 17, 2023, ''[[Wichita Eagle]],'' retrieved March 31, 2023</ref><ref name="wichita_worst_2023_03_17_kake">[https://www.kake.com/story/48569464/wichita-is-ranked-the-worst-us-city-for-allergies "Wichita is ranked the worst US city for allergies,"] March 17, 2023, [[KAKE-TV]] News, retrieved March 31, 2023, 12</ref> ===Neighborhoods=== {{main|Neighborhoods of Wichita, Kansas}} [[File:Wichita pan 1.jpg|thumb|Downtown Wichita & Century II Convention Center along the [[Arkansas River]]]] Wichita has several recognized areas and neighborhoods. The [[Downtown Wichita|downtown area]] is generally considered to be east of the Arkansas River, west of Washington Street, north of Kellogg, and south of 13th Street. It contains landmarks such as [[Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center|Century II]], the [[250 Douglas Place|Garvey Center]], and the [[Epic Center]]. Old Town is also part of downtown; this {{Convert|50|acre|km2|adj=on}} area is home to a cluster of nightclubs, bars, restaurants, a movie theater, shops, and apartments and condominiums, many of which make use of historical warehouse-type spaces. Two notable residential areas of Wichita are [[Riverside, Wichita, Kansas|Riverside]] and [[College Hill, Wichita, Kansas|College Hill]]. Riverside is northwest of downtown, across the Arkansas River, and surrounds the {{convert|120|acre|km2|adj=on}} Riverside Park.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wichitagov.org/CityOffices/Park/Parks.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030814171054/http://www.wichitagov.org/CityOffices/Park/Parks.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 14, 2003|title=Wichita Nightlife and Food - WichitaGov |website=wichitagov.org}}</ref> College Hill is east of downtown and south of Wichita State University. It is one of the more historic neighborhoods, along with [[Delano, Wichita, Kansas|Delano]] on the west side and [[Midtown, Wichita, Kansas|Midtown]] in the north-central city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wichita.gov/CityOffices/Planning/Preservation/|publisher=City of Wichita |title=Historic Preservation Main|access-date=October 30, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019030336/http://www.wichita.gov/CityOffices/Planning/Preservation/ |archive-date=October 19, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> Four other historic neighborhoods—developed in southeast Wichita (particularly near [[Boeing]], [[Cessna Aircraft|Cessna]] and [[Beech Aircraft|Beech]] aircraft plants) -- are among the nation's few remaining examples of U.S. government-funded temporary [[World War II]] housing developments to support war factory personnel: Beechwood (now mostly demolished), Oaklawn, Hilltop (the city's highest-density large neighborhood), and massive Planeview (where over 30 languages are spoken) -- in all, home to about a fifth of the city's population at their peak. Though designed as temporary housing, all have remained occupied into the 21st century, most becoming low-income neighborhoods.<ref name="miracle_city">{{cite journal |last=Courtwright |first=Julie |url=https://www.kshs.org/publicat/history/2000winter_courtwright.pdf |title=Want to Build a Miracle City? : War Housing in Wichita |date=2000 |journal=[[Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains]] |volume=23 |number=4 |access-date=February 20, 2020}}</ref><ref name="hilltop">''[https://www.wichita.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9140/Hilltop-Neighborhood-Plan-PDF A revitalization plan for the Hilltop Neighborhood: 60 years of community in southeast Wichita]'' May 2000, City of Wichita, retrieved February 20, 2020</ref><ref name="community_shocker">Geiszler-Jones, Amy, [http://wsu.wichita.edu/the-shocker/story.php?eid=1&id=228 "Community Health,"] ''The Shocker'', [[Wichita State University]], as posted at [[University of Kansas]] retrieved February 20, 2020</ref><ref name="google_extracts">[https://digital.lib.ku.edu/islandora/object/ku-phog%253A63131/datastream/OCR/download&usg=AOvVaw01MsIj-14nU5xoLoO7K4 OCR extracts from various publications], Google, retrieved February 20, 2020</ref><ref name="planeview_edu">Tihen, Edward, [http://specialcollections.wichita.edu/collections/local_history/tihen/pdf/People&Places/Planeview.PDF "Plainview (sic), Planeview, Beechwood,"], in ''Tihen Notes,'' Special Collections, [[Wichita State University]], retrieved February 20, 2020</ref> ==Demographics== {{main|Demographics of Wichita, Kansas}} {{US Census population | 1870 = 689 | 1880 = 4911 | 1890 = 23853 | 1900 = 24671 | 1910 = 52450 | 1920 = 72217 | 1930 = 111110 | 1940 = 114966 | 1950 = 168279 | 1960 = 254698 | 1970 = 276554 | 1980 = 279272 | 1990 = 304011 | 2000 = 344284 | 2010 = 382368 | 2020 = 397532 | estyear = 2023 | estimate = 396119 | estref = <ref name="USCensusEst2023"/> | align-fn = center | footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|author=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 18, 2014|author-link=United States Census Bureau}}</ref><br/>2010–2020<ref name="Census-2020-QF"/> }} In terms of population, Wichita is the largest city in Kansas and the 49th largest city in the United States, according to the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name="Census-2020-QF"/> Wichita has an extensive history of attracting immigrants. Starting in 1895, a population of [[Lebanese Americans]] moved to the city, many of whom were [[Eastern Christianity|Orthodox Christians]]. A second wave of Lebanese migrants moved to Wichita to flee the [[Lebanese Civil War|Civil War]] in their homeland.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Burgess |first=Katherine |date=May 8, 2018 |title=At St. George Cathedral, immigration resurgence recalls Lebanese heritage in Delano |url=https://www.kansas.com/living/religion/article210165974.html |website=The Wichita Eagle}}</ref> Thousands of [[Vietnamese Americans|immigrants from Vietnam]] moved to Wichita in the aftermath of the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davey |first=Monica |date=August 2, 2009 |title=In Kansas, Proposed Monument to a Wartime Friendship Tests the Bond |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/us/03wichita.html |access-date=August 28, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |+'''Wichita, Kansas – Racial and ethnic composition'''<br><small>{{nobold|''Note: the US census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}}</small> !Race / Ethnicity <small>(''NH = Non-Hispanic'')</small> !Pop. 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Wichita city, Kansas|url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=160XX00US2079000&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref> !Pop. 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Wichita city, Kansas|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US2079000&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref> !{{partial|Pop. 2020}}<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Wichita city, Kansas|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US2079000&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref> !% 2000 !% 2010 !{{partial|% 2020}} |- |[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] alone (NH) |246,924 |246,744 |style='background: #ffffe6; |233,703 |71.72% |64.53% |style='background: #ffffe6; |58.79% |- |[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] alone (NH) |38,732 |42,676 |style='background: #ffffe6; |42,228 |11.25% |11.16% |style='background: #ffffe6; |10.62% |- |[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] alone (NH) |3,525 |3,424 |style='background: #ffffe6; |3,400 |1.02% |0.90% |style='background: #ffffe6; |0.86% |- |[[Asian Americans|Asian]] alone (NH) |13,543 |18,272 |style='background: #ffffe6; |19,991 |3.93% |4.78% |style='background: #ffffe6; |5.03% |- |[[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] alone (NH) |168 |311 |style='background: #ffffe6; |429 |0.05% |0.08% |style='background: #ffffe6; |0.11% |- |[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Other race]] alone (NH) |528 |472 |style='background: #ffffe6; |1,585 |0.15% |0.12% |style='background: #ffffe6; |0.40% |- |[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed race or multiracial]] (NH) |7,752 |12,121 |style='background: #ffffe6; |23,410 |2.25% |3.17% |style='background: #ffffe6; |5.89% |- |[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race) |33,112 |58,348 |style='background: #ffffe6; |72,786 |9.62% |15.26% |style='background: #ffffe6; |18.31% |- |'''Total''' |'''344,284''' |'''382,368''' |style='background: #ffffe6; |'''397,532''' |'''100.00%''' |'''100.00%''' |style='background: #ffffe6; |'''100.00%''' |} ===2020 census=== The [[2020 United States census]] counted 397,532 people, 154,683 households, and 92,969 families in Wichita. The population density was 2,454.1 per square mile (947.5/km{{sup|2}}). There were 172,801 housing units at an average density of 1,066.7 per square mile (411.9/km{{sup|2}}).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov| access-date=December 15, 2023 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref> The U.S. census accounts for race by two methodologies. "Race alone" and "Race alone less Hispanics" where Hispanics are delineated separately as if a separate race. The racial makeup (including Hispanics in the racial counts) was 63.39% (251,997) [[White (U.S. census)|white]], 10.95% (43,537) [[African American (U.S. census)|black or African-American]], 1.33% (5,296) [[Native American (U.S. census)|Native American]], 5.09% (20,225) [[Asian (U.S. census)|Asian]], 0.12% (482) [[Pacific Islander (U.S. census)|Pacific Islander]], 7.41% (29,444) from [[Race (United States census)|other races]], and 11.71% (46,551) from two or more races.<ref>{{Cite web|title=P1: Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Wichita city, Kansas|url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALPL2020.P1?q=p2&g=160XX00US2079000|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref> The racial and ethnic makeup (where Hispanics are excluded from the racial counts and placed in their own category) was 58.79% (233,703) [[Non-Hispanic whites|White (non-Hispanic)]], 10.62% (42,228) [[African American (U.S. census)|Black (non-Hispanic)]], 0.86% (3,400) [[Native American (U.S. census)|Native American (non-Hispanic)]], 5.03% (19,991) [[Asian (U.S. census)|Asian (non-Hispanic)]], 0.11% (429) [[Pacific Islander (U.S. census)|Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic)]], 0.40% (1,585) from [[Race (United States census)|other race (non-Hispanic)]], 5.89% (23,410) from two or more races, and 18.31% (72,786) Hispanic or Latino.<ref name=2020CensusP2/> Of the 154,683 households, 26.6% had children under the age of 18; 42.6% were married couples living together; 29.4% had a female householder with no spouse present. 33.2% of households consisted of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.5 and the average family size was 3.2. 24.6% of the population was under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.3 years. For every 100 females, the population had 97.5 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 95.7 males. The 2016-2020 5-year [[American Community Survey]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov|access-date=December 15, 2023|website=data.census.gov}}</ref> estimates show that the median household income was $53,466 (with a margin of error of +/- $1,028) and the median family income $69,930 (+/- $1,450). Males had a median income of $38,758 (+/- $1,242) versus $26,470 (+/- $608) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $31,875 (+/- $408). Approximately, 10.9% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 21.4% of those under the age of 18 and 8.7% of those ages 65 or over. ===2010 census=== As of the [[2010 United States census|census of 2010]], 382,368 people, 151,818 households, and 94,862 families were residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|2,304.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The 167,310 housing units had an average density of {{convert|1,022.1|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 71.9% [[White American|White]], 11.5% [[African American]], 4.8% [[Asian American|Asian]], 1.2% [[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian]], 0.1% [[Pacific Islander American|Pacific Islander]], 6.2% from other races, and 4.3% from two or more races. [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanics and Latinos]] of any race were 15.3% of the population.<ref name=Census2010>{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|url=https://www.census.gov|access-date=November 12, 2011}}</ref> Of the 151,818 households, 33.4% had children under 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 not families. About 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.48, and the average family size was 3.14.<ref name=Census2010/> The median age in the city was 33.9 years; 26.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between 18 and 24; 26.9% were from 25 to 44; 24.9% were from 45 to 64; and 11.5% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.<ref name=Census2010/> The [[median household income|median income for a household]] in the city was $44,477, and 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.<ref name=Census2010/> ===Metropolitan area=== {{Main|Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area}} Wichita is the principal city of both the Wichita [[Metropolitan Statistical Area|Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)]] and the Wichita-Winfield [[Combined Statistical Area|Combined Statistical Area (CSA)]].<ref name=MSA1>{{cite web|title=OMB Bulletin No. 10-02|publisher=[[Office of Management and Budget]]|date=December 1, 2009|page=59|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/bulletins/b10-02.pdf|access-date=January 22, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121004722/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/bulletins/b10-02.pdf|archive-date=January 21, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=OMB Bulletin No. 10-02|publisher=[[Office of Management and Budget]]|date=December 1, 2009|page=117|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/bulletins/b10-02.pdf|access-date=January 22, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121004722/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/bulletins/b10-02.pdf|archive-date=January 21, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The Wichita MSA encompasses Sedgwick, [[Butler County, Kansas|Butler]], [[Harvey County, Kansas|Harvey]], and [[Sumner County, Kansas|Sumner]] counties and, as of 2010, had a population of 623,061, making it the 84th largest MSA in the United States.<ref name=MSA1/><ref name=MSA2>{{cite news|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/datacenter/metro-area-populations-july-1-2011.html?appSession=831116500703599&RecordID=930&PageID=3&PrevPageID=2&cpipage=1&CPIsortType=&CPIorderBy=|title=Metro Area Populations as of July 2011: 2011 - United States -- Metropolitan Statistical Area|work=2011 American City Business Journals|year=2011|access-date=April 30, 2011|first=G. Scott|last=Thomas}}</ref><ref name=PopEstCBSA>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/popest/data/metro/totals/2013/index.html |title=Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013 |work=2013 Population Estimates |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]], Population Division |date=August 18, 2014 |access-date=August 18, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114840/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/metro/totals/2013/index.html |archive-date=June 27, 2014 }}</ref> The larger Wichita-Winfield CSA also includes [[Cowley County, Kansas|Cowley County]] and, as of 2013, had an estimated population of 673,598.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_NSRD_GCTPL2.US41PR&prodType=table|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212211339/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_NSRD_GCTPL2.US41PR&prodType=table|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 12, 2020|title=Population and Housing Occupancy Status: 2010 - United States -- Combined Statistical Area|work=2010 Census National Summary File of Redistricting Data|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]], Population Division|year=2010|access-date=April 30, 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Population and Housing Occupancy Status: 2010 - State -- County / County Equivalent|work=2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST05&prodType=table|access-date=April 30, 2011}}{{dead link|bot=medic|date=April 2020}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> ==Economy== [[File:Boeing Wichita.jpg|thumb|[[Boeing]] plant in Wichita (2010): Boeing was once the largest employer in Wichita (as per a 2005 analysis), and aviation remains the city's largest industry.]] Restaurants founded in Wichita include [[White Castle (restaurant)|White Castle]] and [[Pizza Hut]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://consumerist.com/2015/07/14/the-white-castle-story-the-birth-of-fast-food-the-burger-revolution/|title = The White Castle Story: The Birth of Fast Food & the Burger Revolution|date = July 14, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pizzahut.de/en/about-pizza-hut/the-history-of-pizza-hut/ |title=The History of Pizza Hut |publisher=Pizza Hut |access-date=December 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212171427/https://www.pizzahut.de/en/about-pizza-hut/the-history-of-pizza-hut/ |archive-date=December 12, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A survey of well-known Kansas-based brands conducted by RSM Marketing Services and the Wichita Consumer Research Center showed many of the top-25 Kansas-based brands such as [[Koch Industries|Koch]], [[Coleman Company|Coleman]], [[Cessna]], Pizza Hut, [[Beechcraft]], [[Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers|Freddy's]], and more are based in Wichita.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/news/2019/08/12/slideshow-see-the-best-known-brands-in-kansas.html|website=www.bizjournals.com|access-date=August 14, 2019|title=Slideshow: See the best-known brands in Kansas|date=August 12, 2019}}</ref> Wichita's principal [[industrial sector]] is [[manufacturing]], which accounted for 21.6% 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/12/22/351204/hawker-beechcraft-secures-40-million-incentive-package-to-remain-in.html|access-date=January 2, 2011|title=Hawker Beechcraft secures $40 million incentive package to remain in Wichita}}</ref> [[Healthcare]] is Wichita's second-largest industry, employing about 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 Spine Hospital opened in 2004, as did a critical-care tower at [[Wesley Medical Center]].<ref name="wichitakansas.org"/> 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.<ref>[http://www.kansas.com/2010/07/18/1408862/hospital-ready-for-visitors.html "Hospital ready for visitors"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723133643/http://www.kansas.com/2010/07/18/1408862/hospital-ready-for-visitors.html |date=July 23, 2010 }}, ''Wichita Eagle and Kansas.com'', July 18, 2010.</ref> In 2016, Wesley Healthcare opened Wesley Children's Hospital, the first and only children's hospital in the Wichita area.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.kansas.com/news/business/health-care/article99429747.html|title=Wichita's Wesley Children's Hospital Officially Opens|last=Tanner|first=Becky|date=September 1, 2016|work=The Wichita Eagle}}</ref> 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]] in 1988. Koch Industries and [[Cargill]], the two largest privately held companies in the United States,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/21/private-companies-10_rank.html|title=Forbes article|work=Forbes}}</ref> both operate headquarters facilities in Wichita. Koch Industries' primary global corporate headquarters is in a large office-tower complex in northeast Wichita. [[Cargill Meat Solutions]] Div., at one time the nation's third-largest beef producer, is headquartered downtown. Other firms with headquarters in Wichita include amusement ride manufacturer [[Chance Rides]], 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 eighth-largest regional airline prior to its dissolution in 2008.<ref>"[http://ows.doleta.gov/dmstree/uipl/uipl2k2/uipl_3002c2a3.html uipl_3002c2a3.html]." [[United States Department of Labor]]. Retrieved on May 26, 2009.</ref> 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; and 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%).<ref name=Census2010/> 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.<ref name=CityData>{{cite web | title = Wichita, Kansas | publisher = City-Data.com | url = http://www.city-data.com/city/Wichita-Kansas.html | access-date = March 11, 2015}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Census2010/> ===Aircraft manufacturing=== [[File:NASA-2000Starship.jpg|thumb|right|[[Beechcraft Starship]] were built in Wichita from 1983 to 1995.]] From the early to late 20th century, aircraft pioneers such as Clyde Cessna, Emil Matthew "Matty" Laird, Lloyd Stearman, [[Walter Beech]], [[Al Mooney]] and [[Bill Lear]] began aircraft-manufacturing enterprises that led to Wichita becoming the nation's leading city in numbers of aircraft produced, earning Wichita, in 1928, the 1929 title "Air Capital City" from the nation's [[Aerospace Industries Association|Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce]] — a title the city would claim permanently.<ref name="we_built_2018_09_smithsonianmag" /><ref name="borne_south_wind">Rowe, Frank J. (aviation engineering executive) & Craig Miner ([[Wichita State University]] Dept. of History). ''Borne on the South Wind: A Century of Kansas Aviation'', [[Wichita Eagle|Wichita Eagle and Beacon Publishing Co.]], Wichita. 1994 (the standard reference work on Kansas aviation history)</ref><ref name="sampler_air">Penner, Marci, editor, and Richard Harris, contributor, in "[http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/commerceresults.php?id=131 Wichita Aviation Industry]" in "8 Wonders of Kansas Commerce" on the ''Kansas Sampler'' website of the Kansas Sampler Foundation, sponsored by the Kansas Humanities Council for the Kansas 150 Sesquicentennial, 2010–2011.</ref><ref name="wichita_av_hist_2020_03_31_thesunflower">[https://thesunflower.com/50981/news/wichitas-aviation-history-is-rich-but-the-industry-faces-unprecedented-challenges/ "Wichita's aviation history is rich, but the industry faces unprecedented challenges,"] May 1, 2020, ''The Sunflower,'' [[Wichita State University]], retrieved March 31, 2023</ref> The aircraft corporations [[Swallow Airplane Company|E. M. Laird Aviation Company]] (the nation's first successful commercial airplane manufacturer), [[Travel Air]] (started by Beech, Stearman, and Cessna), [[Stearman Aircraft|Stearman]], [[Cessna]], [[Beechcraft]], and [[Mooney Airplane Company|Mooney]] were all founded in Wichita between 1920 and early 1932.<ref name="borne_south_wind" /><ref name="sampler_air" /><ref name="wichita_av_hist_2020_03_31_thesunflower" /><ref name="wbj_back" /> By 1931, [[Boeing]] (of [[Seattle]], Washington) had absorbed Stearman, creating "Boeing-Wichita", which would eventually grow to become Kansas' largest employer.<ref name="capital_story">Harris, Richard, "[http://harris1.net/hold/av/avhist/wichita/aircap_x.htm The Air Capital Story: Early General Aviation & Its Manufacturers]", reprinted from ''In Flight USA'' magazine on author's own website, 2002/2003</ref><ref name="the_wichita_four">Bissionette, Bruce, ''The Wichita 4: Cessna, Moellendick, Beech & Stearman'' (from interviews with Matty Laird, Lloyd Stearman, Olive Ann Beech, Dwayne Wallace, Rawdon, Burnham, and other principals), Aviation Heritage Books, Destin, FL, 1999.</ref><ref name="boeing_sells_2023_02_23_spokesman">[[Associated Press]]: [https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2005/feb/23/boeing-sells-wichita-plant/ "Boeing sells Wichita plant,"] February 23, 2005, ''[[Spokesman-Review]],'' retrieved March 31, 2023</ref> During [[World War II]], employment peak at Boeing-Wichita was 29,795 in December 1943.<ref name="WOK">{{cite web |title=Boeing Wichita History |url=https://wingsoverkansas.com/legacy/a375/ |website=Wings Over Kansas |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102000841/https://wingsoverkansas.com/legacy/a375/ |archive-date=January 2, 2023 |date=November 28, 2004 |url-status=live}}</ref> Today, Cessna Aircraft Co. (the world's highest-volume airplane manufacturer) and Beechcraft remain based in Wichita, having merged into [[Textron Aviation]] in 2014, along with [[Learjet]] and Boeing's chief sub-assembly supplier, [[Spirit AeroSystems]]. Airbus maintains a workforce in Wichita, and [[Bombardier Aerospace|Bombardier]] (parent company of Learjet) has other divisions in Wichita, as well. Over 50 other aviation businesses operate in the Wichita MSA, as well as over 350 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.<ref name="capital_story" /><ref name="ks_av" /><ref name="borne_south_wind" /><ref name="sampler_air" /><ref name="we_built_2018_09_smithsonianmag" /> In the early 2000s, a national and international recession combined with the after-effects of the [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks]] to depress the aviation subsector in and around Wichita. Orders for new aircraft plummeted, prompting Wichita's five largest aircraft manufacturers, Boeing Co., Cessna Aircraft Co., Bombardier Learjet Inc., [[Hawker Beechcraft]], and [[Raytheon|Raytheon 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.<ref name="wichitakansas.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.wichitakansas.org/ |title=Wichita Chamber of Commerce |publisher=Wichitakansas.org |access-date=July 15, 2013}}</ref> 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.<ref name="sampler_air" /><ref name="ks_av">Harris, Richard, (Chairman, Kansas Aviation Centennial; Kansas Aviation History Speaker, Kansas Humanities Council; Amer. Av. Historical Soc.), [http://ks100aviation.org/story_detailed.htm#ks_av_now "Kansas Aviation History: The Long Story"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808154322/http://ks100aviation.org/story_detailed.htm#ks_av_now |date=August 8, 2017 }}, 2011, [http://ks100aviation.org/ Kansas Aviation Centennial website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229200102/http://ks100aviation.org/ |date=December 29, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="gama_stats_2007">[[General Aviation Manufacturers Association]] (GAMA), ''GAMA Statistical Databook & Industry Outlook 2007'', Washington, D.C.GAMA ([[General Aviation Manufacturers Association]]), ''[http://www.gama.aero/files/GAMA_DATABOOK_2011_web.pdf GAMA Statistical Databook & Industry Outlook 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722001714/http://www.gama.aero/files/GAMA_DATABOOK_2011_web.pdf |date=July 22, 2011 }}'', Washington, D.C. (which includes historical data for previous 10 years)</ref> In early 2012, Boeing announced it would be closing its Wichita plant by the end of 2013,<ref name="boeing_sells_2023_02_23_spokesman" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Boeing to close Wichita Facility by end of 2013|url=http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=2090|access-date=February 18, 2012}}</ref> which paved the road for [[Spirit AeroSystems|Spirit Aerosystems]] to open its plant (actually, the Boeing-Wichita factory, still producing the same aircraft assemblies for Boeing, but officially under a different corporation).<ref name="we_built_2018_09_smithsonianmag" /><ref name="legacy_spirit_aerosystems">[https://www.spiritaero.com/company/overview/history/ "A Legacy of Innovation: Our Heritage,"] [[Spirit AeroSystems]], retrieved March 31, 2023</ref> ==Arts and culture== ===Arts=== [[File:Wichita Art Museum.jpg|thumb|[[Wichita Art Museum]] (2012)]] Wichita is home to several art museums and performing arts groups. The [[Wichita Art Museum]] is the largest art museum in the state of Kansas and contains 7,000 works in permanent collections.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wichitaartmuseum.org/visitorInfo.html |title=Wichita Art Museum Visitor Information |publisher=Wichitaartmuseum.org |access-date=September 12, 2009 |archive-date=May 24, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090524054648/http://wichitaartmuseum.org/visitorInfo.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | title = About Us | publisher = Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University | url = http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=ulrichmuseum&p=/aboutus/about_ulrich | access-date = September 14, 2015}}</ref> ===Music=== 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.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} [[Music Theatre Wichita]], Wichita Grand Opera (both nationally renowned),<ref name="who_knew_eagle">[http://www.kansas.com/entertainment/ent-columns-blogs/keeper-of-the-plans/article141602109.html Who knew Wichita was such a talent pipeline to Broadway?"] March 29, 2017, ''Wichita Eagle'', retrieved April 3, 2017.</ref> and the [[Wichita Symphony Orchestra]] perform regularly at the [[Century II Convention Hall]] downtown. Concerts are also regularly performed by the nationally noted schools of music at Wichita's two largest universities.<ref name="who_knew_eagle" /><ref name="ramey_to_coach_2012_08_29_eagle">Leiker, Amy Renee, [http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article1098109.html "Opera singer Sam Ramey to coach vocal music at WSU,"] August 29, 2012, ''Wichita Eagle'', retrieved April 3, 2017.</ref> The [[Orpheum Theatre (Wichita)|Orpheum Theatre]], a classic [[movie palace]] built in 1922, serves as a downtown venue for smaller shows. The [[Cotillion Ballroom|Cotillion]], a special events facility built in 1960, serves a similar purpose as a music venue. ===Events=== 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, [[play (theatre)|plays]], interactive children's events, a [[flea market]], river events, a [[parade]], [[block parties]], a food court, [[fireworks]], and [[souvenir]]s for the roughly 370,000+ patrons who attend each year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wichita.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2006/05/22/daily13.html |title=River Festival estimates record attendance |website=wichita.bizjournals.com}}</ref> In 2011, the festival was moved from May to June because of rain during previous festivals. The Wichita River Festival has seen immense growth, with record numbers in 2016 and again in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.kansas.com/entertainment/river-festival/article91909497.html|title=Riverfest attendance and button sales up, arrests down|work=kansas|access-date=June 12, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Much of that growth is attributed to attractive musical acts at the festival.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.kansas.com/entertainment/river-festival/article155990844.html|title=Riverfest slowly turning critics to fans with killer concert lineups|work=kansas|access-date=June 12, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Wichita customarily holds major parades for the River Festival, [[Christmas]] season (shortly after [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]]), [[Veterans Day]], [[Juneteenth]], and [[St. Patrick's Day]].<ref name="parades_visit_wichita">[https://www.visitwichita.com/search/?q=parade "Search: Parades"] VisitWichita.org, City of Wichita and Sedgwick County, retrieved March 31, 2023</ref> 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]] event and parade also are common annual events. The annual Wichita Asian Festival, usually held at Century II in October, displays the native arts, crafts, cultural performances and foods of Wichita's large, diverse Asian community from the Middle East, Central and South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia. The event includes many varied performances of Asian music, dance, acrobatics and martial arts, talent pageant, and vendors of Asian arts and crafts.<ref name="asian_festival_2022_10_04_travelks_com">[https://www.travelks.com/blog/stories/post/things-to-know-about-wichitas-annual-asian-festival/ "5 things to know about Wichita's annual Asian Festival,"] October 4, 2022, [[Kansas Tourism Division]], State of Kansas, retrieved July 17, 2023</ref><ref name="asian_festival_2016_10_24_360wichita">Aulbach, Ashley: [https://www.360wichita.com/blog/Events/Wichita-Asian-Festival.html "10 Things You'll Find at Wichita Asian Festival,"] October 24, 2016, ''[[360Wichita]],'' retrieved July 17, 2023</ref><ref name="asian_festival_2022_10_kake_com">[https://www.kake.com/clip/15350232/wichita-asian-festival "Wichita Asian Festival with guest Manasi Kulkarni,"] (VIDEO), October 2022, [[KAKE-TV]] News, retrieved July 17, 2023</ref><ref name="asian_festival_2019_10_27_thesunflower">Thompson, Easton (photographer): [https://thesunflower.com/46487/arts-and-culture/photos-the-39th-annual-wichita-asian-festival-brings-cultural-performances-food-and-art-vendors-and-a-pageant-to-wichita-at-the-century-ii-performing-arts-and-convention-center/ "PHOTOS: The 39th annual Wichita Asian Festival brings cultural performances, food and art vendors and a pageant to Wichita at the Century II Performing Arts and Convention Center"] (photo essay), October 27, 2019, [[The Sunflower]], retrieved July 17, 2023</ref> Dozens of food vendors serve the cuisine of most Asian nations.<ref name="foodie_2022_10_12_kansas_com">Neil, Denise: [https://www.kansas.com/entertainment/restaurants/dining-with-denise-neil/article267202222.html "Wichita Asian Festival is October's big foodie event. This year, it's $5 to get in,"] October 12, 2022, ''[[Wichita Eagle]],'' retrieved July 17, 2023</ref><ref name="asian_festival_2022_10_kake_com" /><ref name="asian_festival_2016_10_24_360wichita" /> 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 fair]]s 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 (Kansas)|Newman University]]. The [[Wichita Public Library]]'s Academy Awards Shorts program is reportedly the oldest annual, complete, free public screening outside of Hollywood of the full array of [[short film]]s nominated for an [[Academy Awards|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.<ref name="academy_wpl">"[http://www.wichita.lib.ks.us/programs/shorts.htm Wichita Public Library - Programs - 28th Annual Academy Awards Shorts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006225942/http://www.wichita.lib.ks.us/Programs/Shorts.htm |date=October 6, 2014 }}, website of the Wichita Public Library, City of Wichita, Wichita, Kansas, 03/03/2014, downloaded 09/22/2014</ref><ref name="oldtownwichita">"[http://www.oldtownwichita.com/26th-annual-academy-award%C2%AE-shorts 26th Annual Academy Awards Shorts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231060628/http://www.oldtownwichita.com/26th-annual-academy-award%C2%AE-shorts |date=December 31, 2014 }}," press release, Wichita Public Library, as posted on [OldtownWichita.com], Wichita, Kansas, Jan.24, 2012, downloaded Sept.22, 2014</ref><ref name="shorts_26th">Pocowatchit, Rod "[http://www.kansas.com/entertainment/movies-news-reviews/article1086460.html Wichita Public Library to present Oscar-nominated short films]," Wichita ''Eagle'', Wichita, Kansas Feb 17, 2012, Updated: Feb 17, 2012, downloaded Sep 22, 2014</ref><ref name="academy_shorts_28th_orpheum">Pocowatchit, Rod "[http://www.wichitaorpheum.com/events/2014-03-01/#sthash.nzQA3iAH.dpuf Wichita Public Library Presents: Oscar Nominated Shorts 2014] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111060850/http://www.wichitaorpheum.com/events/2014-03-01/#sthash.nzQA3iAH.dpuf |date=November 11, 2016 }}" press release, The Orpheum Theatre, Wichita, Kansas January 3, 2014, downloaded Sep 22, 2014</ref><ref name="academy_gazette">Horn, John, Associated Press, "[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1960&dat=19980312&id=8IlGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pukMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3625,2535343 Obscure Oscar Nominated Films Face Battle]," as published in The Sunday ''Gazette'', March 12, 1998, Schenectady, New York, photocopied by Google News Archive Search, downloaded Sep 22, 2014</ref><ref name="academy_kansan">Jackson, Susan M., "[http://www.thekansan.com/article/20100326/NEWS/303269961?template=printart Academy Award director to speak in Wichita]," The Kansan, Salina, Kansas, March 26, 2010, downloaded September 22, 2014</ref> 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 the festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tallgrassfilmfest.com/content/previous-winners|title=Tallgrass Film Association|website=Tallgrass Film Association}}</ref> Aviation-related events are common in the Wichita area, including [[air show]]s, [[fly-in]]s, 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<ref name="flight_festival">[https://web.archive.org/web/20090516042346/http://www.wichitaflightfestival.com/ Wichita Flight Festival official website], visited September 22, 2014</ref> (originally the "Kansas Flight Festival") and the military-sponsored McConnell Air Force Base Open House and Airshow.<ref name="mcconnell_open">Brisbin, Airman 1st Class Katrina M., [https://www.mcconnell.af.mil/News/story/id/123320701/ "'Wings Over McConnell' showcases Airmen," press release], Public Affairs Office, 22nd Air Refueling Wing, U.S. Air Force, McConnell Air Force Base, Wichita, KS, Posted February 10, 2012, Updated March 10, 2012</ref> A wide range of car shows are also common in Wichita,<ref name="rollerz_2015_09_30_streetseen">[https://streetseen.com/rollerz-only-wichita-car-show-2015/ " Rollerz Only Wichita Car Show 2015,"] September 30, 2015, ''[[StreetSeen]],'' retrieved July 17, 2023</ref><ref name="adaptive_2023_allevents_in">[https://allevents.in/wichita/5th-annual-wichita-adaptive-sports-car-show/200024598679058 "5th Annual Wichita Adaptive Sports Car Show,"], AllEvents.in, retrieved July 17, 2023</ref><ref name="bugorama">[https://www.bugorama.org/ "Bug-O-Rama ICT ALL German Car Show – 2023,"] Bug-O-Rama ICT, retrieved July 17, 2023</ref><ref name="fathers_day_2023_06_17_scz_org">[https://scz.org/event/fathers-day-car-show "Father's Day Car Show,"] event: June 17, 2023, [[Sedgwick County Zoo]], retrieved July 17, 2023</ref> including the Blacktop Nationals,<ref name="blacktop_2016_06_10_ksn">[https://www.ksn.com/news/riverfest-attendance-could-be-higher-thanks-to-blacktop-nationals/ "Riverfest attendance could be higher thanks to Blacktop Nationals,"] June 10, 2016, [[Kansas State Network]] (KSN), retrieved July 17, 2023</ref><ref name="cars_line_2015_08_21_kansas_com">[https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article31866429.html "PHOTOS: Cars line Douglas at BlackTop Nationals on Friday"] (photo essay), August 21, 2015, ''[[Wichita Eagle]],'' retrieved July 17, 2023</ref><ref name="cars_inside_2015_08_21_kansas_com">[https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article31876161.html "PHOTOS: Inside Century II at the BlackTop Nationals on Friday"] (photo essay), August 21, 2015, ''[[Wichita Eagle]],'' retrieved July 17, 2023</ref> the Automobilia show (claiming over 1,000 vehicles on display<ref name="automobilia_visitwichita">[https://www.visitwichita.com/events/annual-events/automobilia-car-show/ "Automobilia Moonlight Car Show & Street Party: 2023 Event,"] VisitWichita.org, retrieved July 17, 2023</ref>),<ref name="automobilia_2023_06_23_kwch">[https://www.kwch.com/2023/06/23/city-wichita-automobilia-reach-permit-agreement/ "City of Wichita, Automobilia reach permit agreement,"] June 23, 2023, [[KWCH-TV]], retrieved July 17, 2023</ref> and the Riverfest Classic Car Show,<ref name="dozens_of_cars_2023_06_10_ksn">[https://www.ksn.com/news/local/dozens-of-cars-line-up-for-riverfest-classic-car-show/ " Dozens of cars line up for Riverfest Classic Car Show,"] June 10, 2023 (updated June 11, 2023), [[Kansas State Network]] (KSN), retrieved July 17, 2023</ref> each of which fill much of downtown Wichita.<ref name="cars_line_2015_08_21_kansas_com" /><ref name="automobilia_2023_06_23_kwch" /><ref name="dozens_of_cars_2023_06_10_ksn" /> Wichita is also home to the large Cars for Charities Rod & Custom Car Show (started in 1957 as the Darryl Starbird Show), one of the longest-running indoor car shows in the nation.<ref name="car_show_2021_01_17_kansas_com">[https://www.kansas.com/entertainment/article239350923.html "Car show will showcase classics from the 1920s on, rebuilt custom cars and modern SUVs,"] January 17, 2020, ''[[Wichita Eagle]],'' retrieved July 17, 2023</ref><ref name="cars_for_charities_2021_01_kake">[https://www.kake.com/calendar#!/details/2021-Cars-for-Charities-Rod-Custom-Car-Show/8804821/2021-01-16T00 "2021 Cars for Charities Rod & Custom Car Show,"] event: January 16, 2021, "Community Calendar," [[KAKE-TV]], retrieved July 17, 2023</ref><ref name="annual_2023_01_13_kwch">[https://www.kwch.com/2023/01/13/annual-long-running-charity-benefiting-car-show-returns-century-ii-this-weekend/ "Annual, long-running, charity-benefiting car show returns to Century II this weekend,"] January 13, 2023, [[KWCH-TV]], retrieved July 17, 2023</ref><ref name="cars_2019_01_18_classicrock1045_fm">[https://www.classicrock1045.fm/event/cars-for-charities-rod-custom-car-show/ "Cars for Charities Rod & Custom Car Show,"] event: January 18, 2019, [[KFXJ-FM]], retrieved July 17, 2023</ref> ===Points of interest=== [[File:Sedgwick co historical museum.jpg|thumb|[[Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum]], downtown Wichita (2008)]] [[File:Low shot 2 R.jpg|thumb|[[Kansas Aviation Museum]], former Wichita Municipal Airport terminal from 1935 to 1951, southeast Wichita (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]] science and discovery center, the [[Mid-America All-Indian Center]], the [[Old Cowtown Museum|Old Cowtown]] living history museum, and [[The Keeper of the Plains]] statue and its associated display highlighting the daily lives of [[Plains Indians]]. The [[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.<ref>{{cite web | title = Our Building | publisher = The Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum | url = http://wichitahistory.org/our_building/ | access-date = September 14, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170706025203/http://wichitahistory.org/our_building/ | archive-date = July 6, 2017 | url-status = dead }}</ref> Nearby is the 1913 [[Sedgwick County Memorial Hall and Soldiers and Sailors Monument]]. East of downtown is the [[Museum of World Treasures]] and railroad-oriented [[Great Plains Transportation Museum]]. The Coleman Factory Outlet and Museum was at 235 N St. Francis street and was the home of the [[Coleman Lantern]] until it closed in 2018.<ref>{{cite web|first=Keith |last=Stokes |url=http://www.kansastravel.org/colemanmuseum.htm |title=Coleman Factory Outlet and Museum - Wichita, Kansas |publisher=Kansastravel.org |access-date=July 15, 2013}}</ref> Wichita State University hosts the [[Lowell D. Holmes Museum of Anthropology]]. The [[Kansas Aviation Museum]], housed in the Terminal and Administration building of the former Municipal Airport, is in southeast Wichita adjacent to [[McConnell Air Force Base]]. The Original [[Pizza Hut]] Museum is also located on the Wichita State University campus for pizza lovers and fans to visit. 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wichitalinks.com/attractions.html |title=Wichita Kansas Attractions |publisher=Wichitalinks.com |access-date=September 12, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105183005/http://www.wichitalinks.com/attractions.html |archive-date=November 5, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The zoo is next to Sedgwick County Park and the [[Sedgwick County Extension Arboretum]]. [[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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intrustbankarena.com/general.asp?id=178 |title=INTRUST Bank Arena |publisher=INTRUST Bank Arena |access-date=July 15, 2013}}</ref> This arena in the middle of Wichita opened in January 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intrustbankarena.com/news.asp?id=10&pid=194&task=display&pcatid=|title=Search|website=INTRUST Bank Arena}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | title = Welcome to Old Town | publisher = OldtownWichita.com | url = http://www.oldtownwichita.com/ | access-date = September 14, 2015}}</ref> 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<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vlib.us/beats/oconnor.html |title=Moody's Skid Row Beanery by Pat O'Connor: 1960s Wichita, KS Beatniks, Hoboes: Moody Connell Beats In Kansas |publisher=Vlib.us |access-date=July 15, 2013}}</ref> and was visited by 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 indoor shopping malls: [[Towne East Square]], managed by [[Simon Property Group]], and Towne West Square. Towne East is home to four anchor stores and has more than 100 tenants. Towne West Square, which was put into foreclosure in 2019,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.kwch.com/content/news/Future-of-Wichitas-Towne-West-Square-unknown-506245881.html|title=Future of Wichita's Towne West Square Unknown|date=February 22, 2019|work=KWCH TV}}</ref> was still operational as of 2021. The oldest mall, Wichita Mall, was for many years largely a [[dead mall]], but has since been converted into office space.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rengers |first=Carrie |url=http://blogs.kansas.com/haveyouheard/2009/06/16/office-this-reaches-75-percent-occupancy-with-two-new-tenants/#more-1920 |title=Office This reaches 75 percent occupancy with two new tenants | Have You Heard? | Wichita Eagle Blogs |date=June 16, 2009 |access-date=July 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702071704/http://blogs.kansas.com/haveyouheard/2009/06/16/office-this-reaches-75-percent-occupancy-with-two-new-tenants/#more-1920 |archive-date=July 2, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> There are also two large outdoor shopping centers, Bradley Fair (which hosts jazz concerts and art festivals) located on the city's northeast side and [[New Market Square (shopping mall)|New Market Square]] located on the city's northwest side. Each establishment consists of over 50 stores spread out on several acres. In 1936, the Wichita post office contained two oil-on-canvas murals, ''Kansas Farming'', painted by [[Richard Haines]] and ''Pioneer in 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 [[United States Department of the Treasury|Treasury Department]]. The post office building became [[United States Post Office and Federal Building (Wichita, Kansas)|the Federal Courthouse]] at 401 N. Market Street and the murals are on display in the lobby.<ref>{{cite web|title=8 Wonders of Kansas Art|url=http://www.kansassampler.org/8wonders/artresults.php?id=98|website=kansassampler.org|publisher=Kansas Sampler Foundation|access-date=October 10, 2015}}</ref> Wichita also has a number of parks and recreational areas such as Riverside Park, College Hill Park, and [[McAdams Park]]. ===Libraries=== The [[Wichita Public Library]] is the city's library system, presently consisting of a central facility, the Advanced Learning Library in [[Delano, Wichita, Kansas|Delano]] and six branch locations in other neighborhoods around the city.<ref>{{cite web | title = Locations & Hours | publisher = [[Wichita Public Library]] | url = http://www.wichitalibrary.org/Locations | access-date = July 24, 2018}}</ref> The library operates several free programs for the public, including special events, technology training classes, and programs specifically for adults, children, and families.<ref>{{cite web | title = Free programs | publisher = [[Wichita Public Library]] | date = January 10, 2011 | url = http://www.wichita.lib.ks.us/Programs/ | access-date = February 12, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141030070051/http://www.wichita.lib.ks.us/Programs | archive-date = October 30, 2014 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> As of 2009, its holdings included more than 1.3 million books and 2.2 million items total.<ref>{{cite web | title = Wichita Public Library - 2009 Annual Report | publisher = [[Wichita Public Library]] | page = 26 | url = http://www.wichita.lib.ks.us/NR/rdonlyres/F461FBC8-64FE-48C4-8FE8-06578E8973BA/0/AnnualReport2009.pdf | access-date = February 12, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140715084949/http://www.wichita.lib.ks.us/NR/rdonlyres/F461FBC8-64FE-48C4-8FE8-06578E8973BA/0/AnnualReport2009.pdf | archive-date = July 15, 2014 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> ==Sports== {{main|Sports in Wichita, Kansas}} [[File:Intrustbank.jpg|thumb|[[Intrust Bank Arena]], home to the [[Wichita Thunder]] of the [[ECHL]], located in downtown Wichita (2010)]] Wichita is home to several professional, semi-professional, non-professional, and collegiate sports teams. Professional teams include the [[Wichita Thunder]] [[ice hockey]] team and the [[Wichita Force]] [[indoor American football|indoor football]] team. The [[Wichita Wind Surge]], a [[Minor League Baseball]] team of the [[Double-A Central]] play at [[Equity Bank Park]] on the site of the former [[Lawrence–Dumont Stadium]].<ref name=DLefler12-11-2018>{{cite web |last=Lefler|first=Dion|title=City Hall Picks Team to Design, Build Wichita's New Minor League Baseball Park|url=https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article222951200.html|website=The Wichita Eagle|date=December 11, 2018|access-date=January 28, 2019}}</ref> Their 2020 debut was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name=2020can>{{cite news |title=2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved|url=https://www.milb.com/news/2020-minor-league-baseball-season-shelved|website=Minor League Baseball|date=June 30, 2020|access-date=July 1, 2020}}</ref> In 2021, the team dropped down to the [[Double-A Central]] (From Triple-A) without having played a Triple-A game due to [[Major League Baseball]]'s realignment of the minor leagues. The city hosts the [[Air Capital Classic]], a professional golf tournament of the [[Korn Ferry Tour]] first played in 1990. Defunct professional teams which used to play in Wichita include the [[Wichita Aeros]] and [[Wichita Wranglers]] baseball teams, the [[Wichita Wings (2011–13)|Wichita Wings]] [[indoor soccer]] team, the Wichita Wind (farm team to the [[Edmonton Oilers]] [[National Hockey League]] team in the early 1980s) and the [[Wichita Wild]] indoor football team. Semi-pro teams included the Kansas Cougars and Kansas Diamondbacks [[American football|football]] teams.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kscougars.com/|title=kscougars.com|website=www.kscougars.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hometeamsonline.com/ksdiamondbacks/|title=Kansas Diamondbacks|website=www.hometeamsonline.com}}</ref> Non-professional teams included the Wichita Barbarians [[rugby union]] team and the Wichita World 11 [[cricket]] team.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wichitarugby.com/|title=Home|website=Wichita Rugby}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wwxicc.org/|title=Wichita World XI Cricket Club – Cricket Club in the Wichita Kansas Area|website=www.wwxicc.org}}</ref> Collegiate teams based in the city include the [[Wichita State Shockers|Wichita State University Shockers]], [[Newman Jets|Newman University Jets]], and the [[Friends Falcons|Friends University Falcons]]. The WSU Shockers are [[NCAA Division I]] teams that compete in men's and women's basketball, baseball, volleyball, track and field, tennis, and bowling. The Newman Jets are [[NCAA Division II]] teams that compete in baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, wrestling, volleyball, and cheer/dance. The Friends Falcons compete in Region IV of the [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]] in football, volleyball, soccer, cross country, basketball, tennis, track and field, and golf. [[File:Downtown Wichita, Riverfront Stadium.jpg|thumb|[[Equity Bank Park]] (left), [[Arkansas River]] and downtown Wichita (upper right) (2023)]] Several sports venues are in and around the city. [[Intrust Bank Arena]], downtown, is a 15,000-seat multi-purpose arena that is home to the Wichita Thunder. [[Lawrence–Dumont Stadium]], just west of downtown, was a medium-sized baseball stadium that has been home to Wichita's various minor-league baseball teams over the years. It was also home to the minor-league [[National Baseball Congress]] and the site of the Congress's annual National Tournament. [[File:Eck_Stadium_Tyler_Field.JPG|thumb|[[Eck Stadium]] at [[Wichita State University]] in northeast Wichita (2005)]] Wichita Ice Arena, just west of downtown, is a public ice-skating rink used for ice-skating competitions. [[Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center|Century II]] has been used for professional wrestling tournaments, gardening shows, sporting-goods exhibitions, and other recreational activities. 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. 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 motorsports events. Neighboring [[Park City, Kansas|Park City]] is home to [[Hartman Arena]] and the Sam Fulco Pavilions, a moderate-capacity low-roofed arena developed for small rodeos, horse shows, livestock competitions, and exhibitions. Wichita is also home to two sports museums, the [[Kansas Sports Hall of Fame]] and the Wichita Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kshof.org/|title=Kansas Sports Hall of Fame - Home|website=kshof.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wichitahof.com/|title=Wichita Sports hall of fame|website=Wichita Sports hall of fame}}</ref> ===Professional=== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;" |- ! Team !! Founded !! League !! Sport |- | align=left | [[Wichita Thunder]] || 1992 || [[ECHL]] || [[Ice hockey]] |- | align=left | [[Wichita Wind Surge]] || 2020 || [[Double-A Central]] || [[Baseball]] |- | align=left | [[Wichita Wings (2019)|Wichita Wings]] || 2019 || [[Major Arena Soccer League 2|MASL 2]] || [[Indoor soccer]] |} ===College=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! School !! School<br />nickname !! Level !! # of<br />teams |- | [[Wichita State University]] || [[Wichita State Shockers|Shockers]] || [[NCAA Division I]] || 15 |- | [[Newman University (Kansas)|Newman University]] || [[Newman Jets|Jets]] || [[NCAA Division II]] || 16 |- | [[Friends University]] || [[Friends Falcons|Falcons]] || [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]] || 15 |} ==Government== {{See also|List of mayors of Wichita, Kansas}} [[File:Wichita City Hall.jpg|thumb|Wichita City Hall (2018)]] Under state statute, Wichita is a [[Kansas#Important cities and towns|city of the first class]].<ref name="gov1">{{cite web | title = Wichita | work = Directory of Kansas Public Officials | publisher = The League of Kansas Municipalities | url = http://www.lkm.org/directory/cities.php?ID=68 | access-date = March 14, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120405092624/http://www.lkm.org/directory/cities.php?ID=68 | archive-date = April 5, 2012 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> Since 1917, it has had a [[Council–manager government|council–manager]] form of government.<ref name=Manager>{{cite web | title = City Manager | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/CityOffices/CityManager/ | access-date = April 30, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110706025136/http://www.wichita.gov/CityOffices/CityManager/ | archive-date = July 6, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> 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. The [[mayor]] is the seventh council member, elected [[Plurality-at-large voting|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.<ref>{{cite web | title = City Council | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/Government/CityCouncil/ | access-date = April 30, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110612135756/http://www.wichita.gov/Government/CityCouncil/ | archive-date = June 12, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> It meets each Tuesday.<ref name="gov1"/> 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.<ref name=Manager/> As of 2024, the city council consists of Mayor [[Lily Wu]], Brandon Johnson (District 1), Becky Tuttle (District 2), Mike Hoheisel (District 3), Dalton Glasscock (District 4), J.V. Johnston (District 5), and Maggie Ballard (District 6).<ref>{{cite web | title = City Council | publisher = City of Wichita | url = https://www.wichita.gov/Council | access-date = January 9, 2024}}</ref> The city manager is Robert Layton.<ref>{{cite web | title = City Manager's Office | publisher = City of Wichita | url = https://www.wichita.gov/CMO/Pages/default.aspx | access-date = March 15, 2019}}</ref> The [[Wichita Police Department (Kansas)|Wichita Police Department]], established in 1871, is the city's law enforcement agency.<ref>{{cite web | title = History of the Wichita Police Department | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/CityOffices/Police/History/WPDhistory.htm | access-date = April 30, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110727092553/http://www.wichita.gov/CityOffices/Police/History/WPDhistory.htm | archive-date = July 27, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> With over 800 employees, including more than 600 commissioned officers, it is the largest law enforcement agency in Kansas.<ref>{{cite web | title = -Departmental Information | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/CityOffices/Police/Support+Services/RecordsBureau/Records+Information/info.htm | access-date = April 30, 2011}}</ref> The Wichita Fire Department, organized in 1886, operates 22 stations throughout the city. Organized into four battalions, it employs over 400 full-time firefighters.<ref>{{cite web | title = About Us [Wichita Fire Department] | publisher = City of Wichita, Kansas | url = http://www.wichita.gov/Government/Departments/Fire/Pages/AboutUs.aspx | date = January 6, 2014 | access-date = December 29, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131230234430/http://www.wichita.gov/Government/Departments/Fire/Pages/AboutUs.aspx | archive-date = December 30, 2013 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> As the [[county seat]], Wichita is the administrative center of Sedgwick County. The [[county courthouse]] is downtown, and most departments of the county government base their operations in the city.<ref>{{cite web | title = Sedgwick County, Kansas Government | publisher = Sedgwick County, Kansas | url = http://www.sedgwickcounty.org/government.asp | access-date = July 30, 2012}}</ref> Many departments and agencies of the [[Federal government of the United States|U.S. Government]] have facilities in Wichita. The [[United States Post Office and Federal Building (Wichita, Kansas)|Wichita U.S. Courthouse]], also downtown, is one of the three courthouses of the [[U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Courthouse Information | publisher = [[U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas]] | url = http://www.ksd.uscourts.gov/locations/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120109174659/http://www.ksd.uscourts.gov/locations/ | url-status = dead | archive-date = January 9, 2012 | access-date = August 25, 2013 }}</ref> The [[U.S. Air Force]] operates [[McConnell Air Force Base]] immediately southeast of the city.<ref>{{cite web | title = FAQ Topic - Newcomers | publisher = [[U.S. Air Force]] | url = http://www.mcconnell.af.mil/questions/topic.asp?id=599 | access-date = August 25, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131005151857/http://www.mcconnell.af.mil/questions/topic.asp?id=599 | archive-date = October 5, 2013 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> The campus of the Robert J. Dole [[U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs|Department of Veterans Affairs]] Medical and Regional Office Center is on U.S. 54 in east Wichita.<ref name=VA>{{cite web | title = Locations - Robert J. Dole Department of Veterans Affairs Medical and Regional Office Center | publisher = [[U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs]] | url = http://www.va.gov/directory/guide/facility.asp?id=148 | access-date = August 25, 2013}}</ref> Other agencies, including the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]],<ref>{{cite web | title = Kansas City Division - Territory/Jurisdiction | publisher = [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] | url = https://www.fbi.gov/kansascity/contact-us/territory-jurisdiction | access-date = August 25, 2013}}</ref> [[Food and Drug Administration]],<ref>{{cite web | title = FDA Southwest Regional/District Offices | publisher = [[U.S. Department of Health & Human Services]] | url = https://www.hhs.gov/about/regions/fdaswr.html | access-date = August 25, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150201085912/http://www.hhs.gov/about/regions/fdaswr.html | archive-date = February 1, 2015 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> and [[Internal Revenue Service]]<ref>{{cite web | title = Contact My Local Office in Kansas | publisher = [[Internal Revenue Service]] | url = https://www.irs.gov/uac/Contact-My-Local-Office-in-Kansas | access-date = August 25, 2013}}</ref> among others, have offices around the city. Wichita lies within [[Kansas's 4th congressional district|Kansas's 4th U.S. Congressional District]], represented since 2017 by Republican [[Ron Estes]]. For the purposes of representation in the [[Kansas Legislature]], the city is 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 House of Representatives]].<ref name="gov1"/> ==Education== [[File:Wichita High School East, September 2012.png|thumb|[[Wichita East High School]] (2012)]] ===Primary and secondary education=== With over 50,000 students, [[Wichita USD 259]] is the largest school district in Kansas.<ref>{{cite web | title = 2012-13 Demographic Snapshot | publisher = [[Wichita Public Schools]] | date = October 1, 2012 | url = http://newsroom.usd259.org/modules/groups/group_pages.phtml?gid=1517498&nid=124949&sessionid=808af5663f406f16272fe5bcaa97f495&__utma=253149270.1851391986.1296856105.1296856105.1296856105.1&__utmb=253149270.2.10.1296856105&__utmc=253149270&__utmz=253149270.1296856105.1.2.utmcsr%3Dusd259.com | access-date = June 12, 2013}}</ref> It operates more than 90 schools in the city including 12 high schools, 16 middle schools, 61 elementary schools, and more than a dozen special schools and programs.<ref>{{cite web | title = Directory of Buildings | publisher = [[Wichita Public Schools]] | url = http://usd259.org/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/1521178/File/WPS%20map-directory.pdf?sessionid=808af5663f406f16272fe5bcaa97f495 | access-date = February 4, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110718195628/http://usd259.org/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/1521178/File/WPS%20map-directory.pdf?sessionid=808af5663f406f16272fe5bcaa97f495 | archive-date = July 18, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> Outlying portions of Wichita lie within suburban public unified 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]]. Some of these schools, despite being in other school districts, are within the Wichita city limits.<ref>{{cite web |title=USD 259 School District Map |date=June 10, 2016 |publisher=[[Kansas Department of Transportation]] |url=https://www.ksdot.org/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/burTransPlan/maps/SchoolDistrict/School%20District_259.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706092605/https://www.ksdot.org/Assets/wwwksdotorg/bureaus/burTransPlan/maps/SchoolDistrict/School%20District_259.pdf |archivedate=July 6, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> There are more than 35 private and parochial schools in Wichita.<ref>{{cite web | title = Education | publisher = Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce | url = http://www.wichitakansas.org/experience_wichita-moving_here-education.php | access-date = February 4, 2011 | archive-date = January 19, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110119023845/http://www.wichitakansas.org/experience_wichita-moving_here-education.php | url-status = dead }}</ref> The [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita]] oversees 16 [[Catholic school]]s in the city including 14 elementary schools and two high schools, [[Bishop Carroll Catholic High School]] and [[Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School]].<ref>{{cite web | title = 2010-2011 School Directory | publisher = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita]] | url = http://catholicdioceseofwichita.org/formsdownloads/doc_download/1441-10-11-schl-direc-brochure-doc | access-date = February 4, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110318103406/http://catholicdioceseofwichita.org/formsdownloads/doc_download/1441-10-11-schl-direc-brochure-doc | archive-date = March 18, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> The [[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]] operates three [[Lutheran school]]s in the city, Bethany Lutheran School ([[School grades (US)|Grades]] PK-5), Holy Cross Lutheran School (PK-8), and Concordia Academy (9-12).<ref>{{cite web | title = Classes | publisher = Bethany Lutheran School | url = http://www.bethanylutheranschool.com/classes.htm | access-date = February 4, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Welcome to Holy Cross Lutheran School | publisher = Holy Cross Lutheran School | url = http://www.lovemyschool.net/ | access-date = February 4, 2011}}</ref> There are also two [[Seventh-day Adventist education|Seventh-day Adventist schools]] in Wichita, Three Angels School (K-8) and Wichita Adventist Christian Academy (K-10).<ref>{{cite web | title = Three Angels School | publisher = Three Angels Seventh-day Adventist Church | url = http://www.threeangels.org/node/17 | access-date = February 4, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110728104736/http://www.threeangels.org/node/17 | archive-date = July 28, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Wichita Adventist Christian Academy | publisher = Wichita Adventist Christian Academy | url = http://angf96.adventistschoolconnect.org/ | access-date = February 4, 2011}}</ref> Other [[Christian school]]s in the city are Calvary Christian School (PK-12), Central Christian Academy (K-10), Classical School of Wichita (K-12), Sunrise Christian Academy (PK-12), Trinity Academy (K-12), Wichita Friends School (PK-6), and Word of Life Traditional School (K-12). In addition, there is an Islamic school, Annoor School (PK-8), operated by the Islamic Society of Wichita. Unaffiliated private schools in the city include [[Wichita Collegiate School]], The Independent School, and Northfield School of the Liberal Arts, as well as three [[Montessori school]]s.<ref>{{cite web | title = Private Schools | publisher = Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce | url = http://www.wichitakansas.org/user/file/Private%20Schools.pdf | access-date = February 4, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101225175102/http://wichitakansas.org/user/file/Private%20Schools.pdf | archive-date = December 25, 2010 | url-status = dead }}</ref> ===Colleges and universities=== [[File:Davis Full Front.JPG|thumb|right|Davis Administration Building at [[Friends University]] (2006)]] Wichita has several colleges, universities, technical schools and branch campuses of other universities around the state. These include the following: * [[Wichita State University]] * [[Friends University]] * [[Newman University (Kansas)|Newman University]] * [[University of Kansas]] - School of Medicine Wichita Campus (KU Wichita) * [[Kansas Health Science University–Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine|Kansas Health Science University – Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine]] * Wichita Technical Institute 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.<ref>{{cite web | title = Wichita State University | publisher = College Portraits of Undergraduate Education | url = http://www.collegeportraits.org/KS/WSU | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100322203013/http://www.collegeportraits.org/KS/WSU | url-status = usurped | archive-date = March 22, 2010 | access-date = February 5, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | title = College Comparison Tool | magazine = [[U.S. News & World Report]] | url = http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/compare-colleges | access-date = February 5, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110106042103/http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/compare-colleges | archive-date = January 6, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> WSU's main campus is in northeast Wichita with multiple satellite campuses around the metro area.<ref>{{cite web | title = Satellite Campuses | publisher = [[Wichita State University]] | url = http://www.wichita.edu/thisis/aboutus/satellite_locations.asp | access-date = February 5, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151017172552/http://www.wichita.edu/thisis/aboutus/satellite_locations.asp | archive-date = October 17, 2015 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> [[Friends University]], a private, non-denominational Christian university, has its main campus in west Wichita as does [[Newman University (Kansas)|Newman University]], a private [[Catholic university]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Friends Fact Sheet | publisher = [[Friends University]] | url = http://www.friends.edu/friends-fact-sheet | access-date = February 5, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = 2010-11 Admission Brochure | publisher = [[Newman University (Kansas)|Newman University]] | page = 5 | url = https://issuu.com/newman_publications/docs/viewbook0910?mode=embed&FlipBtn=true | access-date = February 5, 2011}}</ref> Wichita Area Technical College, founded in 1995, was merged into Wichita State University's College of Applied Sciences and Technology in 2018, and is now known as [[Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology|WSU Tech]]. 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.<ref>{{cite web | title = School of Medicine | publisher=[[KU Med Center|KU Medical Center]] | url = http://www.kumc.edu/som/ | access-date = February 5, 2011}}</ref> [[Baker University]], [[Butler Community College]], [[Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University]], [[Southwestern College (Kansas)|Southwestern College]], [[Tabor College (Kansas)|Tabor College]], [[Vatterott College]], and [[Webster University]] have Wichita facilities as do for-profit institutions including Heritage College and [[University of Phoenix]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Education | publisher = Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce | url = http://www.wichitakansas.org/experience_wichita-moving_here-education.php | access-date = February 5, 2011 | archive-date = January 19, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110119023845/http://www.wichitakansas.org/experience_wichita-moving_here-education.php | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=McConnell Campus |url=https://worldwide.erau.edu/locations/mcconnell |access-date=February 22, 2024 |publisher=[[Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Heritage College-Wichita | work = College Navigator | publisher = [[National Center for Education Statistics]] | url = http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Heritage+College&s=KS&id=456320 | access-date = February 5, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = ITT Technical Institute-Wichita | work = College Navigator | publisher = [[National Center for Education Statistics]] | url = http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=ITT+Technical+Institute&s=KS&id=450234 | access-date = February 5, 2011}}</ref> ==Media== {{Main|Media in Wichita, Kansas}} ''[[The Wichita Eagle]]'', which began publication in 1872, is the city's major daily newspaper.<ref>{{cite web | title = Wichita Eagle | publisher = Mondo Times | url = http://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/us/16/949/2445 | access-date = January 15, 2011}}</ref> It was founded and edited for forty years by Marshall Murdock (1837-1908), a major player in local and state Republican politics, as well as doubling as postmaster.<ref>Captain Henry King, "Marshall M. Murdock" ''Kansas State History'' [https://www.kspatriot.org/index.php/articles/13-kansas-people/395-marshall-m-murdock.html online]</ref> Colloquially known as ''The Eagle''. In 1960, the Wichita Eagle purchased Beacon Newspaper Corp. After purchasing the paper, the Wichita Eagle begin publishing the Eagle, which was a morning and afternoon newspaper, and the Beacon which was the evening paper.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article80656417.html | title=History of the Wichita Eagle | publisher=The Wichita Eagle | date=May 29, 2016 | access-date=February 12, 2021 | author=Tanner, Beccy}}</ref> The ''[[Wichita Business Journal]]'' is a weekly newspaper that covers local business events and developments.<ref>{{cite web | title = Wichita Business Journal | publisher = Mondo Times | url = http://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/us/16/949/2443 | access-date = January 15, 2011}}</ref> Several other newspapers and magazines, including local lifestyle, neighborhood, and demographically focused publications are also published in the city.<ref>{{cite web | title = Wichita Kansas Newspapers | publisher = Mondo Newspapers | url = http://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/us/16/949 | access-date = October 24, 2014}}</ref> These include: ''The Community Voice'', a weekly [[African American]] community newspaper;<ref>{{cite web | title = Voice It Wichita.com | publisher = TCV Publishing | url = http://www.voiceitwichita.com/ | access-date = October 24, 2014}}</ref> ''El Perico'', a monthly [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]] community newspaper;<ref name="Horwath">Horwath, Bryan in [https://www.kansas.com/news/business/article65121762.html "Hispanic community could be sleeping giant for Wichita economy,"] March 9, 2016, ''[[Wichita Eagle]]''</ref><ref name="comm_firms">Associated Press in [http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2003/may/25/communications_firms_cater/ "Communications firms cater to Wichita's Hispanic market,"] May 25, 2003, ''[[Lawrence Journal-World]]''</ref> ''The Liberty Press'', monthly LGBT news;<ref>{{cite web | title = Liberty Press | publisher = Mondo Times | url = http://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/us/16/949/25300 | access-date = January 15, 2011}}</ref> ''Splurge!'', a monthly local fashion and lifestyle magazine;<ref>{{cite web | title = Backstory | publisher = SplurgeMag | url = http://www.splurgemag.com/about.php?category=Backstory | access-date = October 24, 2014 | archive-date = October 24, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141024172014/http://www.splurgemag.com/about.php?category=Backstory | url-status = dead }}</ref> ''The Sunflower'', the [[Wichita State University]] student newspaper.<ref>{{cite web | title = About Us | publisher = The Sunflower | date = October 13, 2008 | url = http://www.thesunflower.com/web/isite.dll?1179197663515 | access-date = January 15, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070701020729/http://www.thesunflower.com/web/isite.dll?1179197663515 | archive-date = July 1, 2007 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=2009 Arbitron Radio Metro Map |publisher=[[Arbitron]] |url=http://blog.masslive.com/localbuzz_impact/2009/05/Arb_US_Metro_Map_09.pdf |access-date=March 14, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720131140/http://blog.masslive.com/localbuzz_impact/2009/05/Arb_US_Metro_Map_09.pdf |archive-date=July 20, 2011 }}</ref> Six AM and more than a dozen FM radio stations are [[city of license|licensed]] to and/or broadcast from the city.<ref>{{cite web | title = Radio Stations in Wichita, Kansas | publisher = Radio-Locator | url = http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/locate?select=city&city=Wichita&x=0&y=0&sid= | access-date = November 17, 2016}}</ref> Wichita is the principal city of the Wichita-Hutchinson, Kansas [[media market|television market]], which comprises the western two-thirds of the state.<ref name=TVMarket>{{cite web | title = TV Market Maps - Kansas | publisher = EchoStar Knowledge Base | url = http://dishuser.org/TVMarkets/Maps/kansas.gif | access-date = July 28, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110726000406/http://dishuser.org/TVMarkets/Maps/kansas.gif | archive-date = July 26, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> All of the market's [[network affiliate]]s broadcast from Wichita with the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[CBS]], [[The CW|CW]], [[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] and [[NBC]] affiliates serving the wider market through state networks of satellite and translator stations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Contact Us |publisher=[[KAKE]] |url=http://www.kake.com/station/misc/7013297.html |access-date=January 9, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817082224/http://www.kake.com/station/misc/7013297.html |archive-date=August 17, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=About Us - kwch.com |publisher=[[KWCH]] |url=http://www.kwch.com/about/kwch-about-us,0,4740020.story |access-date=January 9, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713175912/http://www.kwch.com/about/kwch-about-us%2C0%2C4740020.story |archive-date=July 13, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = About KSCW | publisher = [[KSCW-DT]] | url = http://www.kansascw.com/kscw/about/kscw_about_us,0,4618522.story | access-date = January 9, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131024022123/http://www.kansascw.com/kscw/about/kscw_about_us,0,4618522.story | archive-date = October 24, 2013 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Contact Us - Fox Kansas | publisher = [[KSAS-TV|KSAS]] | url = http://www.foxkansas.com/content/about_us/contact_us/default.aspx | access-date = January 9, 2011 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130102170355/http://www.foxkansas.com/content/about_us/contact_us/default.aspx | archive-date = January 2, 2013 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Contact Us - myTVwichita | publisher = [[KMTW]] | url = http://www.mytvwichita.com/content/about_us/contact_us/default.aspx | access-date = January 9, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110714144711/http://www.mytvwichita.com/content/about_us/contact_us/default.aspx | archive-date = July 14, 2011 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Contact Us - KSN TV | publisher = [[KSNW|KSN]] | url = http://www.ksn.com/content/about/contact.aspx | access-date = January 9, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130308002216/http://www.ksn.com/content/about/contact.aspx | archive-date = March 8, 2013 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> The city also hosts a [[PBS]] member station, a [[Univision]] affiliate, and several low-power stations.<ref>{{cite web | title = Contact Us | publisher = [[KPTS]] | url = http://www.kpts.org/contact.php | access-date = January 9, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101220110937/http://kpts.org/contact.php | archive-date = December 20, 2010 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Wichita-Hutchinson Television Stations | publisher = Station Index | url = http://www.stationindex.com/tv/markets/Wichita-Hutchinson | access-date = January 9, 2011}}</ref> ===Filmed in Wichita=== The 1980 horror film, ''[[The Attic (1980 film)|The Attic]],'' was set and filmed in Wichita.<ref name="the_attic_imdb_com">[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078806/ "The Attic: 1980," https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078806/Internet Movie Database], retrieved April 3, 2023</ref><ref name="reel_librarians">[https://reel-librarians.com/2013/10/23/the-killing-kind-vs-the-attic/ "'The Killing Kind' vs. 'The Attic',"] October 23, 2013, Reel Librarians, retrieved April 3, 2023</ref> Scenes from the films ''[[Mars Attacks!]]'' and ''[[Twister (1996 film)|Twister]]'' were filmed in Wichita.<ref>{{cite web |title=12 Movies You Didn't Know Were Filmed In Wichita |url=https://www.360wichita.com/blog/Entertainment/12-Movies-You-Didnt-Know-Were-Filmed-In-Wichita.html |website=360Wichita.com|date=November 17, 2015 }}</ref> ==Infrastructure== ===Flood control=== 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.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tanner|first1=Beccy|title=Ad Astra: Idea for Big Ditch grew after Wichita had sustained series of major floods|url=http://www.kansas.com/news/article1120671.html|website=kansas.com|publisher=The Wichita Eagle|access-date=March 24, 2015|date=August 11, 2013}}</ref> 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 (Kansas)|Interstate 235]] bypass.<ref name=CityMap/><ref>{{cite web | title = Storm Water Management | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/CityOffices/PublicWorks/StormWater/ | access-date = January 1, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110219020914/http://www.wichita.gov/CityOffices/PublicWorks/StormWater/ | archive-date = February 19, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> 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.<ref name=CityMap/><ref name=USACE>{{cite web | title = Wichita and Valley Center Local Protection Project | publisher = [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]] | url = http://www.swt.usace.army.mil/PROJECTS/civil/civil_projects.cfm?number=48 | access-date = January 1, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110927131224/http://www.swt.usace.army.mil/PROJECTS/civil/civil_projects.cfm?number=48 | archive-date = September 27, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|agency=Associated Press|title=Flood-control ditch needs $6M in repairs|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/jun/20/floodcontrol_ditch_needs_6m_repairs/|website=Lawrence Journal World|access-date=March 24, 2015}}</ref> In 2019, the Floodway was renamed the [[MS Mitch Mitchell Floodway]] in honor of the man credited for its creation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.kwch.com/content/news/Big-Ditch-renamed-in-honor-of-man-credited-for-saving-Wichita-512187362.html|title=Big Ditch Renamed In Honor Of Man Credited For Saving Wichita|date=July 3, 2019|work=KWCH TV}}</ref> ===Utilities=== [[Evergy]] provides electricity.<ref>{{cite web | title = History | publisher = Evergy | url = https://www.evergy.com/about-evergy/history | access-date = October 24, 2021}}</ref> [[Kansas Gas Service]] provides [[natural gas]].<ref>{{cite web | title = About Us | publisher = Kansas Gas Service | url = https://www.kansasgasservice.com/about-us/about-us | access-date = August 13, 2018 | archive-date = August 14, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180814035922/https://www.kansasgasservice.com/about-us/about-us | url-status = dead }}</ref> The City of Wichita provide water and sewer.<ref>{{cite web | title = Public Works & Utilities | publisher = City of Wichita, Kansas | url = http://www.wichita.gov/PWU/Pages/default.aspx | access-date = August 13, 2018}}</ref> Multiple privately owned trash haulers, licensed by the county government, offer trash removal and recycling service.<ref>{{cite web | title = Trash in Sedgwick County | publisher = Sedgwick County, Kansas | url = https://www.sedgwickcounty.org/environment/trash/ | access-date = August 13, 2018}}</ref> [[Cox Communications]] and [[Spectrum (cable service)|Spectrum]] offer cable television, and [[AT&T U-Verse]] offers [[IPTV]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Summary of Cable TV Providers in Wichita, KS | publisher = CableTV.com | url = https://www.cabletv.com/ks/wichita | access-date = August 13, 2018}}</ref> All three also offer home telephone and broadband internet service.<ref>{{cite web | title = Summary of Wichita Internet Providers | publisher = HighSpeedInternet.com | url = https://www.highspeedinternet.com/ks/wichita | access-date = August 13, 2018}}</ref> Satellite TV is offered by [[DIRECTV]] and [[Dish Network|DISH]]. Satellite internet is available from [[Viasat (American company)|Viasat]], [[Hughes Network Systems|Hughes]], and soon [[Starlink]]. ===Health care=== Ascension Via Christi operates three general medical and surgical hospitals in Wichita—Via Christi Hospital St. Francis, Via Christi Hospital St. Joseph, and Via Christi Hospital St. Teresa—and other specialized medical facilities.<ref>{{cite web | title = Via Christi hospitals | publisher = Via Christi Health | url = https://www.viachristi.org/locations/hospitals | access-date = August 10, 2018}}</ref> The [[Hospital Corporation of America]] manages a fourth general hospital, [[Wesley Medical Center]], along with satellite locations around the city.<ref>{{cite web | title = Locations – KS | publisher = Hospital Corporation of America | url = https://hcahealthcare.com/locations/?state=KS | access-date = August 10, 2018}}</ref> All four hospitals provide emergency services. In addition, the [[U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs]] runs the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center, a primary and secondary care facility for U.S. military veterans.<ref name=VA/> ===Transportation=== ====Highway==== [[File:Kta 042.jpg|thumb|Interstate 135 begins at this exit from the Kansas Turnpike (Interstate 35) in south-central Wichita.]] The average commute time in Wichita was 18.2 minutes from 2013 to 2017.<ref>[https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/wichitacitykansas Quickfacts: Wichita City, Kansas] U.S. Census.</ref> Several federal and state highways pass through the city. [[Interstate 35]], as the [[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]] runs generally north-south through the city, its southern terminus lying at its interchange with I-35 in south-central Wichita. [[Interstate 235 (Kansas)|Interstate 235]], a [[Bypass (road)|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 in Kansas|U.S. Routes 54]] and [[U.S. Route 400|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 in Kansas|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 (Kansas highway)|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 northeastern Wichita, ultimately terminating at an interchange with U.S. 54/U.S. 400 in the eastern part of the city. [[K-254 (Kansas highway)|K-254]] begins at I-235's interchange with I-135 in north-central Wichita and exits the city to the northeast. [[K-15 (Kansas highway)|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 (Kansas highway)|K-42]] enters the city from the southwest and terminates at its interchange with U.S. 54/U.S. 400 in west-central Wichita.<ref name=CityMap/> ====Bus==== [[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.<ref>{{cite web | title = Wichita Transit | publisher = City of Wichita | url = http://www.wichita.gov/CityOffices/Transit/ | access-date = January 8, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110114223518/http://wichita.gov/CityOffices/Transit/ | archive-date = January 14, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web | last = Christie | first = Les | title = New Yorkers are top transit users | website = CNNmoney.com | url = https://money.cnn.com/2007/06/13/real_estate/public_transit_commutes/index.htm | access-date = June 29, 2007 | date=June 13, 2007}}</ref> [[Greyhound Lines]] provides intercity bus service northeast to [[Topeka, Kansas|Topeka]] and south to [[Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]]. Bus service is provided daily north towards [[Salina, Kansas|Salina]] and west towards [[Pueblo, Colorado]] by BeeLine Express (subcontractor of [[Greyhound Lines]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beeline-express.com/|title=Beeline Express|website=beeline-express.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.greyhound.com/|title=Home|website=greyhound.com|access-date=January 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906232014/https://www.greyhound.com/|archive-date=September 6, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Greyhound bus station that was built in 1961 at 312 S Broadway closed in 2016, and services relocated 1 block northeast to the [[Wichita Transit]] station at 777 E Waterman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article52756815.html|title=Greyhound relocating to city's downtown transit station|website=kansas.com}}</ref> ====Air==== The Wichita Airport Authority manages the city's two main public airports, [[Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport]] and [[Colonel James Jabara Airport]].<ref name=WAA>{{cite web | title = Mid-Continent Airport History | publisher = Wichita Airport Authority | url = http://www.flywichita.com/MCA-history.php | access-date = January 9, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101215054522/http://flywichita.com/MCA-history.php | archive-date = December 15, 2010 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> Located in the western part of the city, Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport is the city's primary airport as well as the largest airport in Kansas.<ref name=CityMap/><ref name=WAA/> Seven commercial airlines (Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, Southwest & United) serve Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport with non-stop flights to several U.S. [[airline hub]]s.<ref>{{cite web | title = Airline Information | publisher = Wichita Airport Authority | url = http://www.flywichita.com/airline-information.php | access-date = January 9, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101215053716/http://flywichita.com/airline-information.php | archive-date = December 15, 2010 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> Jabara Airport is a [[general aviation]] facility on the city's northeast side.<ref>{{cite web | title = KAAO - Colonel James Jabara Airport | publisher = AirNav.com | url = http://www.airnav.com/airport/KAAO | access-date = January 9, 2011}}</ref> The city also has several privately owned airports. [[Cessna Aircraft Field]] and [[Beech Factory Airport]], operated by manufacturers Cessna and Beechcraft, respectively, lie in east Wichita.<ref>{{cite web | title = KCEA - Cessna Aircraft Field Airport | publisher = AirNav.com | url = http://www.airnav.com/airport/KCEA | access-date = January 9, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = KBEC - Beech Factory Airport | publisher = AirNav.com | url = http://www.airnav.com/airport/KBEC | access-date = January 9, 2011}}</ref> Two smaller airports, Riverside Airport and Westport Airport, are in west Wichita.<ref>{{cite web | title = K32 - Riverside Airport | publisher = AirNav.com | url = http://www.airnav.com/airport/K32 | access-date = January 9, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = 71K - Westport Airport | publisher = AirNav.com | url = http://www.airnav.com/airport/71K | access-date = January 9, 2011}}</ref> ====Rail==== [[File:Wichita Kansas Former Train Station (3616104314).jpg|thumb|[[Union Station (Wichita, Kansas)|Union Station]], Wichita's former passenger rail station (2009)]] Two [[Class I railroad]]s, [[BNSF Railway]] and [[Union Pacific Railroad|Union Pacific Railroad (UP)]], operate freight rail lines through Wichita.<ref name=Metro>{{cite web | title = Getting Around the Metro Area | publisher = Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce | url = http://www.wichitakansas.org/economic_development-wichita_metro_profile-transportation.php | access-date = January 9, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110119024104/http://www.wichitakansas.org/economic_development-wichita_metro_profile-transportation.php | archive-date = January 19, 2011 | url-status = dead }}</ref> UP's OKT Line runs generally north-south through the city; north of downtown, the line consists of trackage leased to BNSF.<ref name=CityMap/><ref>{{cite web | title = UPRR Common Line Names | publisher = [[Union Pacific Railroad]] | url = http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/maps/graphics/upcomnam2.gif | access-date = January 9, 2011}}</ref> An additional UP line enters the city from the northeast and terminates downtown.<ref name=CityMap/> BNSF's main line through the city enters from the north, passes through downtown, and exits to the southeast, paralleling highway K-15.<ref name=CityMap/><ref>{{cite web | title = Kansas Operating Division | publisher = [[BNSF Railway]] | date = April 1, 2009 | url = http://www.bnsf.com/customers/pdf/maps/div_ks.pdf | access-date = January 9, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110325001559/http://www.bnsf.com/customers/pdf/maps/div_ks.pdf | archive-date = March 25, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}</ref> The [[Wichita Terminal Association]], a joint operation between BNSF and UP, provides [[switching (railroad)|switching]] service on three miles (5 km) of track downtown.<ref>{{cite web | title = Rail Plan 2005-2006 | publisher = [[Kansas Department of Transportation]] | pages = 66–67 | url = http://www.ksdot.org/burrail/rail/publications/ksrailpln06.pdf | access-date = January 9, 2011}}</ref> In addition, two lines of the [[Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad]] enter the city, one from the northwest and the other from the southwest, both terminating at their junction in west-central Wichita.<ref name=CityMap/> Wichita has not had passenger rail service since 1979.<ref>{{cite news | last = Wistrom | first = Brent | title = Proposed Amtrak line would mean millions for Wichita | newspaper = [[USA Today]] | date = January 11, 2010 | url = https://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2010-01-11-amtrak-northern-flyer-wichita_N.htm | access-date = January 9, 2011 | archive-date = November 26, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111126033331/http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2010-01-11-amtrak-northern-flyer-wichita_N.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref> The nearest [[Amtrak]] station is in [[Newton, Kansas|Newton]] {{convert|25|mi|km}} north, offering service on the ''[[Southwest Chief]]'' line between [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] and [[Chicago]].<ref name=Metro/> Amtrak offers bus service from downtown Wichita to its [[Newton station (Kansas)|station in Newton]] as well as to its [[Santa Fe Depot (Oklahoma City)|station]] in [[Oklahoma City]], the northern terminus of the ''[[Heartland Flyer]]'' line.<ref>{{cite web | title = Thruway Bus Connection ties two Amtrak routes together through Wichita | publisher = Amtrak | date = April 18, 2016 | url = http://media.amtrak.com/2016/04/wichita-returns-to-the-amtrak-map/ | access-date = March 7, 2017 | archive-date = March 8, 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170308045301/http://media.amtrak.com/2016/04/wichita-returns-to-the-amtrak-map/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> ====Walkability==== A 2014 study by [[Walk Score]] ranked Wichita 41st most walkable of fifty largest U.S. cities.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.walkscore.com/KS/Wichita | title=City and Neighborhood Rankings | publisher=Walk Score | year=2014 | access-date=February 16, 2015}}</ref> ====Cycling==== After numerous citizen surveys showed Wichitans want better bicycle infrastructure, The Wichita Bicycle Master Plan, a set of guidelines toward the development of a 149-mile Priority Bicycle Network, was endorsed by the Wichita City Council on February 5, 2013, as a guide to future infrastructure planning and development. As a result, Wichita's bikeways covered 115 miles of the city by 2018. One-third of the bikeways were added between 2011, when the plan was still in development, and 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wichita.gov:80/Planning/Pages/BicycleMasterPlan.aspx|title=Wichita-Sedgwick County Planning Wichita Bicycle Master Plan|website=www.wichita.gov|language=en-US|access-date=January 1, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kansas.com/news/business/forward/article203818959.html|title=Wichita builds on bike-friendly status|website=kansas|language=en|access-date=January 1, 2019}}</ref> ==Notable people== {{Main|List of people from Wichita, Kansas}} {{See also|List of Wichita State University people|Friends_University#Notable_alumni|l2=List of Friends University people}} <!-- Please put college students in their lists instead of the city article --> ==In popular culture== Wichita is mentioned in the 1968 hit song "[[Wichita Lineman]]" by [[Glen Campbell]]. It is also mentioned in the songs "[[I've Been Everywhere#North American version|I've Been Everywhere]]", and "[[Seven Nation Army]]". [[Allen Ginsberg]] wrote about a visit to Wichita in his poem "[[Wichita Vortex Sutra]]", for which [[Philip Glass]] subsequently wrote a solo piano piece.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://washburn.edu/reference/cks/mapping/plymell/index.html |title=Charles Plymell |website=Map of Kansas Literature |access-date=March 19, 2022}}; {{cite web |url=http://www.othercinema.com/otherzine/goldmouth-an-introduction-to-the-films-of-robert-branaman/ |title=Goldmouth: An Introduction to the Films of Robert Branaman |work=Otherzine |last=Olmsted |first=Marc |access-date=March 19, 2022}}; {{cite web |url=https://verdantpress.com/checklist/auerhahn-press/ |title=Auerhahn Press |website=verdantpress.com |access-date=March 19, 2022}}; {{cite web |url=https://www.kmuw.org/post/exhibition-celebrates-60-years-bruce-conners-print-works |title=Exhibition Celebrates 60 Years Of Bruce Conner's Print Works |work=KMUW Wichita 89.1 |date=September 17, 2014 |access-date=March 19, 2022}}</ref> The stage play ''[[Hospitality Suite (play)|Hospitality Suite]]'' takes place in Wichita as does its 1999 film adaptation, ''[[The Big Kahuna (film)|The Big Kahuna]]''.<ref>{{cite video | people = Swanbeck, John (director) | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0189584/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 | title = The Big Kahuna | medium = Film | publisher = [[Lions Gate Entertainment|Lions Gate Films]] | location = U.S.A. | date = 1999}}</ref> The city is the setting for the comic strip ''[[Dennis the Menace (U.S. comics)|Dennis the Menace]]''.<ref>{{cite news | agency = AP | title = 'Dennis the Menace' creator dies at 81; strip to continue | newspaper = [[The Topeka Capital-Journal]] | date = June 2, 2001 | url = http://cjonline.com/stories/060201/new_ketcham.shtml | access-date = October 19, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131025114907/http://cjonline.com/stories/060201/new_ketcham.shtml | archive-date = October 25, 2013 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all | author-link = Associated Press }}</ref> The films ''[[Wichita (1955 film)|Wichita]]'' (1955) and portions of ''[[Wyatt Earp (film)|Wyatt Earp]]'' (1994), both of which dramatize the life and career of former Wichita lawman [[Wyatt Earp]], are set in Wichita,<ref>{{cite video | people = [[Jacques Tourneur|Tourneur, Jacques]] (director) | title = Wichita|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048806/ | medium = Film | publisher = [[Allied Artists Pictures Corporation]] | location = U.S.A. | date = 1955}}</ref><ref>{{cite video | people = [[Lawrence Kasdan|Kasdan, Lawrence]] (director) | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111756/ | title = Wyatt Earp | medium = Film | publisher = [[Warner Bros.]] | location = U.S.A. | date = 1994}}</ref> as were early episodes of ''[[The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp]]'' (1955-1961),<ref name="season_2_tv_guide">[https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-life-and-legend-of-wyatt-earp/episodes-season-2/1000224531/ "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp Season 2 Episodes,"] ''[[TV Guide]]'' retrieved April 3, 2023</ref><ref name="life_and_legend_S1_E5_imdb">[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0631823/ "Wyatt Earp Comes to Wichita"], S1.E5, ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,'' [[Internet Movie Database]], retrieved April 3, 2023</ref> the first adult-oriented [[Western (genre)|western]] TV series.<ref name="obrien_obit_latimes">[https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-hugh-obrian-snap-story.html "Hugh O'Brian, actor who played Wyatt Earp, dies at 91,"] September 5, 2016, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' retrieved April 3, 2023</ref><ref name="eastern_2016_09_05_baltimore_sun">[https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2005-05-10-0505100100-story.html "The Eastern Earps,"] September 5, 2016, ''[[Baltimore Sun]],'' retrieved April 3, 2023</ref> The short-lived 1959–1960 television [[Western (genre)|western]] ''[[Wichita Town]]'' was set during the city's early years.<ref>{{cite web | title = Wichita Town | website = [[IMDb]] | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052525/ | access-date = October 19, 2013}}</ref> Other films wholly or partially set in the city include ''[[Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff]]'' (1979),<ref>{{cite video | people = [[Marvin J. Chomsky|Chomsky, Marvin J.]] (director) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079228/ | title =Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff | medium = Film | publisher = Bel Air/Gradison Productions | location = U.S.A. | date = 1979}}</ref> ''[[Planes, Trains and Automobiles]]'' (1987),<ref>{{cite video | people = [[John Hughes (filmmaker)|Hughes, John]] (director) | url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093748/?ref_=nv_sr_1 | title = Planes, Trains & Automobiles | medium = Film | publisher = [[Paramount Pictures]] | location = U.S.A. | date = 1987}}</ref> ''[[The Ice Harvest]]'' (2005),<ref>{{cite video | people = [[Harold Ramis|Ramis, Harold]] (director) | title = The Ice Harvest|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0400525/?ref_=nv_sr_1 | medium = Film | publisher = [[Focus Features]] | location = U.S.A. | date = 2005}}</ref> and ''[[Knight and Day]]'' (2010). In the 2016 remake of ''[[The Magnificent Seven (2016 film)|The Magnificent Seven]],'' the lead character is identified as a Wichita lawman.<ref name="reviews_2016_10_03_new_yorker">[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/03/the-magnificent-seven-and-goat "'The Magnificent Seven' and 'Goat': Reviews..."], October 3, 2016, [[The New Yorker]], retrieved April 3, 2023</ref><ref name="delivers_2016_10_02_lake_co_news">[https://lakeconews.com/news/48033-magnificent-seven-delivers-the-western-goods-lethal-weapon-on-tv "'Magnificent Seven' delivers the western goods; 'Lethal Weapon' on TV,"] October 2, 2016, ''Lake County News'', [[Clear Lake (California)]], retrieved April 3, 2023</ref> Wichita's [[Old Cowtown Museum]], a re-creation of early Wichita, has served as a setting for various [[Western (genre)|western]]- and pioneer-themed films,<ref name="cowtown_2016_04_03_kansas_com">[https://www.kansas.com/news/local/article69779527.html "Cowtown becomes star of Western film"] April 3, 2016, ''[[Wichita Eagle]],''retrieved April 3, 2023</ref> including two of the ''[[Sarah Plain and Tall]]'' trilogy.<ref name="film commission_2004_01_05_wbj">[https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2004/01/05/daily41.html "Film commission works to drum up business,"] January 5/9, 2004, ''[[Wichita Business Journal]],'' retrieved April 3, 2023</ref><ref name="temporary_2020_07_22_oldcowtown_org">[https://www.oldcowtown.org/CB/Pages/Temporary-Exhibit.aspx "Temporary Exhibit,"], July 22, 2020, [[Old Cowtown Museum]], retrieved April 3, 2023</ref> A Wichita-area airport served as settings for ''[[The Gypsy Moths]]''.<ref name="active_age">Fogle, Tammara: [https://theactiveage.com/when-hollywood-came-to-town/ "When Hollywood came to town,"] August 1, 2019, ''The Active Age,'' Wichita, Kansas, retrieved April 3, 2023</ref><ref name="gypsy_moths_filming_imdb_com">[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064397/locations "The Gypsy Moths (1969): Filming & Production,"], [[Internet Movie Database]], retrieved April 3, 2023</ref> ==Sister cities== *{{flagdeco|MEX}} [[Cancún]], [[Quintana Roo]], Mexico - November 25, 1975<ref>{{cite web |title=Wichita Sister Cities |url=http://www.wichita.gov/Council/Pages/WSC.aspx |publisher=City of Wichita |access-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725183952/http://www.wichita.gov/Council/Pages/WSC.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> *{{flagdeco|PRC}} [[Kaifeng]], [[Henan]], China - December 3, 1985<ref>{{cite web |title=Wichita Sister Cities |url=http://www.wichita.gov/Council/Pages/WSC.aspx |publisher=City of Wichita |access-date=August 11, 2018 |archive-date=July 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725183952/http://www.wichita.gov/Council/Pages/WSC.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> *{{flagdeco|FRA}} [[Orléans]], [[Loiret]], France - August 16, 1944,<ref name="Avignon jumelages">{{cite web|title=Jumelages et Relations Internationales - Avignon|trans-title=Twinning and International Relations - Avignon|url=http://www.avignon.fr/fr/pratique/jumelage/ville.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716104225/http://www.avignon.fr/fr/pratique/jumelage/ville.php|archive-date=July 16, 2013|access-date=July 13, 2013|work=Avignon.fr|language=fr}}</ref><ref name="Avignon Ministère">{{cite web|title=Atlas français de la coopération décentralisée et des autres actions extérieures|trans-title=French Atlas of Decentralized Cooperation and Other External Actions|url=http://www.cncd.fr/frontoffice/bdd-recherche-resultat.asp?searchField=avignon&x=70&y=21|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130226021826/http://www.cncd.fr/frontoffice/bdd-recherche-resultat.asp?searchField=avignon&x=70&y=21|archive-date=February 26, 2013|access-date=July 13, 2013|work=Ministère des affaires étrangères – French Ministry of Foreign Affairs|language=fr}}</ref> through [[Sister Cities International]] *{{flagdeco|Mexico}} [[Tlalnepantla de Baz]], [[State of Mexico]], Mexico<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sister-cities.org/interactive-map/Wichita,%20Kansas |title=Interactive City Directory |publisher=Sister Cities International |access-date=December 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301164810/http://www.sister-cities.org/interactive-map/Wichita,%20Kansas |archive-date=March 1, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ==See also== {{Portal|Kansas|Cities|United States}} * [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Sedgwick County, Kansas]] * [[Abilene Trail]] * [[Arkansas Valley Interurban Railway]] * [[Joyland Amusement Park (Wichita)|Joyland Amusement Park]] * [[Wichita Public Schools]] * [[McConnell Air Force Base]] * [[USS Wichita|USS ''Wichita'']], 3 ships ==Notes== {{Notelist}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Further reading== {{Kansas books}} {{See also|Sedgwick County, Kansas#Further reading|l1=List of books about Sedgwick County, Kansas}} {{See also|Chisholm Trail#Further reading|l1=List of books about Chisholm Trail}} * ''Wichita Memories : A Photographic History of the Early Years''; The Wichita Eagle; Pediment Publishing; 144 pages; 2019; ISBN 978-1597258524. * ''Wicked Wichita''; Joe Stumpe; History Press; 163 pages; 2018; ASIN B07HS11TPS. * ''Wichita : 1930-2000''; Jay Price & Keith Wondra; Arcadia Publishing; 128 pages; 2013; ISBN 978-0738598550. * ''Wichita : The Magic City''; H. Craig Miner; Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum Association; 230 pages; 1988; ISBN 978-0962125003. * [https://archive.org/details/wichitana-rea-woodman/ ''Wichitana 1877-1897'']; H. Rea Woodman; 283 pages; 1948. * [https://archive.org/details/wichita00harv/ ''Wichita'']; Fred Harvey; 140 pages; 1914. (color illustrations) * [https://archive.org/details/illustratedhisto00daug/ ''Wichita : Illustrated History 1868 to 1880'']; Eunice S. Chapter; 52 pages; 1914. * [https://archive.org/details/historyofwichita01bent/ ''History of Wichita and Sedgwick County Kansas : Past and Present'' (Volume 1)]; Orsemus H. Bentley; C.F. Cooper & Co; 454 pages; 1910. * [https://archive.org/details/historyofwichita02bent/ ''History of Wichita and Sedgwick County Kansas : Past and Present'' (Volume 2)]; Orsemus H. Bentley; C.F. Cooper & Co; 479 pages; 1910. * [https://www.kansasmemory.gov/item/1629/ ''Year Book'']; Automobile Club of Wichita; 92 pages; 1909 to 1910. Contains detailed maps of roads and railroads in City of Wichita, and Sedgwick / Harvey / Sumner / Harper / Rice / Pawnee Counties. * ''Illuminated Resume of City of Wichita, Sedgwick County, and State of Kansas''; Wichita Chamber of Commerce; ? pages; 1905. * [https://www.kansasmemory.org/item/216914 ''Wichita : The Magic City - Picturesque and Descriptive'']; Geo. Peatt; Art Publishing Co; 55 pages; 1889. * [https://www.kansasmemory.gov/item/211103 ''1887 Wichita Map'']; L.H. Everts Co; 1 page; 1887. * [https://www.kansasmemory.gov/item/211104 ''1877 Wichita Map'']; Bird & Mickle; 1 page; 1877. ==External links== {{sister project links|voy=Wichita|d=Q49266}} * [https://www.wichita.gov/ City of Wichita] * [https://www.lkm.org/members/?id=41261115 Wichita - Directory of Public Officials] * [http://specialcollections.wichita.edu/wdl/search.asp Wichita Photo Archives] - Wichita State University {{Wichita}} {{Sedgwick County, Kansas}} {{Navboxes |title = Articles relating to Wichita, Kansas |list = {{Kansas}} {{USPopulousCities}} {{All-American City Award Hall of Fame}} }} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Wichita, Kansas]] [[Category:1868 establishments in Kansas]] [[Category:Cities in Kansas]] [[Category:County seats in Kansas]] [[Category:Cities in Sedgwick County, Kansas]] [[Category:Populated places established in 1868]] [[Category:Kansas populated places on the Arkansas River]] [[Category:Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area]] [[Category:World War II Heritage Cities]]
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