(originally posted 8/24/2022)
Century II is a hot topic these days. On one side you have Save Century II who wants to preserve one of the iconic buildings in Wichita and part of our skyline (yes, we do have one of those). On the other side, you have people singing Miley Cyrus who want to bring in the wrecking ball to the blue dome.
I am not here to conjecture for either side (although I do enjoy the topic, so we can grab coffee sometime to discuss), but rather to lay out what came before.
Dutch Bill (39 years: 1871 – 1910)
Wichita started out as a cowtown and was officially combined into a township in 1870.
William “Dutch Bill” Greiffenstein built the first structure on the land where Century II now sits. He built his 2-story home in 1871 on south Water Street. At the time and for many years after, it was the largest house in Wichita.
Ole Dutch was known as the “Father of Wichita” because he helped finance the commercial center of the town along Douglas Avenue and gave away plots along main street to drive traffic that way.
He was also the mayor from 1878 to 1884. Dutch Bill’s fortune dried up when real estate crashed in the 1880’s. He died in 1899.
His home was finally destroyed around 1910 to build what became known as the Forum (remember that name).
You can still see where he resided as there was a bronze plaque placed there in 1993 towards the entrance of the Bob Brown Expo Hall entrance.
The Forum (54 years: 1911 – 1965)
The Forum was centrally located and performed many functions for the city including:
- Primary Auditorium
- Convention Hall
- Performance Arena
- Exposition Hall
The first section (south end) officially opened in 1911 and the Expo Hall and Arcadia Theater (north end) was opened in 1918.
Fun alternative names for the Forum included:
- Hippodrome (any Shockers recognize this name?)
- Wigwam
- Wichitorium (this is my vote if we replace Century II)
Once the 1960’s came around, Wichita decided the Forum could no longer serve as a civic center. 128 “unattractive business and industry structures” + the Forum were leveled along the area south of Douglas between Main and the River to make room for the new edifice in town.
Quoted from Wikipedia – “By the 1960s, The Forum was showing its age and did not have adequate facilities that performances or shows required.” I’ll just leave that there.
Century II (53 years and counting: 1969 – Today)
With funding help from the Urban Renewal Agency, the City of Wichita built Century II to provide a large, attractive civic center to commemorate the 1970 centennial of Wichita.
John Hickman was the architect who designed Century II. Hickman was an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright and use a similar style when designing the “shallow domed roof style”.
Susan Hickman (daughter of John) said her “father felt that the inspiration for the building vast fields of wheat (represented by the sand-colored pillars) and the limitless sky (by the pale blue-colored dome).
Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center officially opened on January 11, 1969 and included:
- Concert Hall
- Convention Hall
- Exhibition Hall
- Theatre
The Bob Brown Expo Hall was built in 1986 and the Hyatt Regency was built and attached in 1997.
Century II is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as of 2020.
Fun facts:
- almost 200,000 sq ft of contiguous exhibit space
- 20 meeting rooms
- Concert Hall seats 2197 people in continental seating
- Mary Jane Teall Theatre seats 650 in continental seating
- Convention Hall seats 4700 people
- hosted the Miss USA pageant from 1990 to 1993
Century II Limitations
One of the biggest points that “Tear Down Century II” advocates always go back to is the limitations of the facilities themselves. This year Century II and Broadway in Wichita hosted Lion King and next year they will host Hamilton. This brings up the question, what are the limitations if we’re still getting two of arguably the biggest shows out there.
A couple limitations include:
- pie shape – many shows require a square or rectangular stage with more space backstage
- the loading dock that was built with 44’ long trucks in mind, but now trucks are 53’ long – now large scale productions have to park in Kennedy Plaza and haul the set and equipment across the building
A few issues like those can’t be renovated, we would simply need a different space.
Where do we go from here?
That is way above my pay grade, but I would love to hear what you have to say.
The Riverfront Legacy Master Plan will ultimately push forward a new performing arts center whether or not Century II was renovated or torn down.
If you want to learn more about the Riverfront Legacy Master Plan, visit the downtownwichita.org website. I’ll break it down in a separate deep dive, but I will leave you with one of the best proposals for the area (extra credit for the incredible photoshop skills):
