Photo Galleries

Anniversary celebration of local radio quiz show called ÒQuizzer Baseball.Ó The show was broadcast by KFH radio station from the Civic Theatre, located at 725 West Douglas Avenue. 1943

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Public swimming pool located in South Riverside Park. Bathhouse in the background. Popular features included the slides and the water wheel. Circa 1955

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Night view of marquee for the Meadow Lark Drive In Theatre at 4445 East Harry. The motion pictures ÒFlame of ArabyÓ and ÒCattle DriveÓ were released in 1951.

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

McConnell & Planeview, Planeview community (lower right) was built under federal guidelines in 1943 to provide housing for defense workers arriving to find employment in the aircraft companies. Hilltop Manor and Beechwood were similar developments. In 1951, adjacent land belonging to the Municipal Airport was converted into an Air Force Base. The "tent city" (above left) provided early, temporary housing for Air Force personnel.

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Pan American CafŽ, four women peeling potatoes near the back door of the restaurant at 150 North Market. They were employed as waitresses and kitchen helpers. The restaurant was owned by a partnership of six Chinese men who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1920s.

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Gage Brewer's Versatile Radio Orchestra. Group leader Gage Brewer is standing at left of woman vocalist, circa 1940.

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Farewell to Marines by the Semper Fidelis Club, St. Paul, MN. Photograph, 1942. Collection Minnesota Historical Society.

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Collection Minnesota Historical Society / Courtesy

Exterior, front view of ÒWichita House,Ó constructed near Wichita in Rose Hill, Kansas, in 1948. A 1948 Packard automobile is parked at right. The visionary design by R. Buckminster Fuller was based on his 1927 plan for a mass-produced house called the Dymaxion Dwelling Machine. Beech Aircraft Company constructed the house to demonstrate affordable, prefabricated housing that would take advantage of World War II surplus materials. The structure was made of aluminum and designed to withstand the elements, including a Kansas tornado. This model was one of only two prototypes ever produced. In 1991 the William Graham family donated it to the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan.

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Interior of the West-Urn Grill with employees. Located at 715 West Douglas, 1939-1958. Circa 1945

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Walker Brothers Dry Goods Store, Interior view of department store featuring a large crowd of women shoppers. Location, 129 North Main Street.Circa 1935

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Dockum Drug Store, ooking southeast in intersection of Douglas and Broadway Avenues. Union National Bank Building houses Dockum Drug Store Number 2 on the ground floor (301 East Douglas). Businesses visible on the second floor include James E. Bennett & Company, stockbrokers, and GoldieÕs Dress Salon. Circa 1955

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Children standing outside a theater. Photograph, c. 1930. Collection Minnesota Historical Society.

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Collection Minnesota Historical Society Minnesota Historical Society. / Courtesy

Seven young Chinese men (all identified, on file) on an outing at Santa Fe Lake, playing checkers. All were Chinese immigrants who came to Wichita in the 1930s and were employed at the Pan American CafŽ. Circa 1941, photo by M.S. Fong.

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Men and women seated for a social evening at the Blue Moon, 3401 South Oliver Street. Telephone book ad states ÒSouthwestÕs Swankiest Nite Spot,Ó ÒDine & Dance to the strains of the NationÕs Leading Orchestras.Ó A photographer circulated among the tables and snapped souvenir photos such as this one for purchase.Circa 1945

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Birdseye view looking northwest from the Broadview Hotel (101 North Waco). Site of the Ackerman Island removal project, which was funded by federal funds during the Great Depression. The island was removed and displaced as lines of workmen hauled soil from the island in wheelbarrows and dumped it as fill on the west bank of the river. The Civil Works Administration, one of RooseveltÕs New Deal programs, paid the men about $12.00 a week for 30 hours of work [Wichita Eagle, 11/21/1933]. Ackerman Island had been the site of Wonderland Amusement Park and a baseball stadium. The bridges at center served the Missouri Pacific Railroad. The tall smokestack in the background was at the Kansas Gas and Electric Company plant. The Arkansas River winds northwesterly through the view. Circa 1933

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

First home purchased by James and Arline Lew. The house, at 646 North Battin, is typical of single-family homes that were built to accommodate the growing population of the city during the defense work of WWII. Mrs. Lew, seen seated on the porch with her son and another child, was the first known Chinese American woman to live in the city. After the war, many Chinese men living in Wichita were finally able to bring their wives to the U.S. from China. 1944

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Looking northwest from intersection of First Street and Lawrence (now known as Broadway). Businesses visible include: White Castle Hamburgers, Union Bus Depot, Tostwich Cafe, Butts New & Used Cars, Edler School of Dancing. The automobile in the left foreground appears to have an "Air Capital" emblem mounted on the grille.Circa 1931

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Looking northwest at west side of North Volutsia Street. View of newly-constructed homes typical during the housing boom of World War II. Sometimes described as "American Vernacular" or "Minimal Traditional" architecture. Many such neighborhoods accommodated the influx of defense workers in Wichita.

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Birdseye view looking east on Douglas Avenue from Broadview Hotel. The street extends through downtown commercial buildings, past the railroad overpass, and on to the Hillcrest Apartments building on the horizon at Hillside Avenue. Circa 1930

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum

Birdseye view looking east on Douglas Avenue from Broadview Hotel. Skyline shows a cluster of tall commercial buildings in downtown Wichita and the Wichita City Hall with clock tower. The image blurs into the horizon at the barely visible Hillcrest Apartments building

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Collection of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum