Vaccinations spur library discussion: ‘How could we ever think of bulldozing it?’

A funny thing happened when Wichitans went to the old downtown library to get vaccinated.

Instead of being mired in thoughts of a pandemic, people looked upon the open space with awe, delighting in its floor-to-ceiling windows offering streaming light and scenes of downtown Wichita. Some were experiencing it for the first time; others were rediscovering it.

“That Brutalist architecture is amazing,” said Wade Hampton, a designer with Spectrum Promotional. “They don’t do stuff like that anymore.”

Though he always thought the building was cool, Hampton said, “It’s funny, because if I’m being brutally honest . . . I probably took it for granted.”

Like others, he saw the space — empty of its massive book shelves — with new eyes.

“I saw a lot of people posting photos going, ‘Oh, my god, this building, I miss it so much,’ so I started thinking about it.”

Then he, like others, made a Facebook post about it. With a spur-of-the-moment idea, Hampton suggested making the space a museum for contemporary art. Other comments poured in either agreeing with him or sharing other ideas.

There are lots of opinions and even dreams about what the space might be, but there’s one sentiment that seems overwhelming: Don’t tear down this building.

“How could we ever think of bulldozing it?” said Deanna Harms, executive vice president of Greteman Group.

She said she previously thought of the library as “big and cold — institutional.” Then she went for the vaccine.

“It was like I was gobsmacked. . . . This building is a gem.”

Harms said it doesn’t take much imagination to envision how special an event would be in the space, with places such as the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum and the Wichita Carnegie Library surrounding it.

“It would showcase Wichita to its maximum advantage. It’s the heart of Wichita, and it’s beautiful.”

Before the pandemic brought public life to a halt, there had been citywide discussions about the Riverfront Legacy Master Plan. The potential redesign of the riverfront area includes razing the library and the nearby Century II as part of a bigger redevelopment plan.

Mayor Brandon Whipple said those discussions need to start again and include specific conversations about what to do with the library.

“The goal is to put people and what they want to see in the driver’s seat on this,” he said.

Personally, he’d like “some type of community space.”

Whipple said no decisions will be made until there’s a better understanding of what everything looks like coming out of the pandemic.

“The world has changed, right?”

Wichita City Council member Brandon Johnson, in whose district the library sits, said he’s followed the library discussions on social media since the vaccinations began at the building. He said he’d like to see it “repurposed if possible,” although, “There are some considerable repairs that would have to be made.”

Regardless, he said his feelings will take a back seat on the library and the riverfront.

“Public feedback and input is going to drive what the final plan is.”

Intriguing space, imaginative ideas

Brutalist architecture doesn’t refer to structures that are brutal in the ordinary sense of the word. The term’s actually an Americanization of the French term “beton brut,” which means “raw concrete.”

Rather than covering up a structure with smooth drywall, the Brutalist style highlights the natural texture of poured concrete, picking up the imperfections from the wooden forms used to shape it.

Wichitan Richard Davies isn’t a fan of the style, but he’s always been intrigued by the old library building. His wife, Teri Mott, admires it as well. They’ve both discussed what could be done there, and Mott said they’ve “had a little fantasy about this for a while.”

Davies was in the Army in Germany, and he and Mott want to see an East German-style disco open at the former library.

“We’d love to see a thousand disco balls glittering through the widows at night . . . and splashing the light on the buildings around the library.”

Mott, director of marketing and communication for the Wichita Festivals, was one of the people who commented on Hampton’s Facebook post with her idea. Hampton replied with a GIF of a little girl asking, “Why not both?” The two agreed there’s plenty of room for a disco and art.

“Now, I don’t know where all this money comes from, but I can dream,” Mott said.

Sedgwick County resident Victoria Davis sees an economic benefit with her idea. She wants the space to be a combination aquarium and restaurant like ones in Denver, Houston and elsewhere.

“I just think if Wichita had something like that . . . it could be a tourist destination.”

Davis said she’s open to other ideas as well.

“I guess I just wish Wichita city planners just had the foresight to come up with some cool stuff.”

She is tired of getting her hopes up. For instance, Davis said she wanted restaurants or some sort of public space along the river.

“They put a bunch of apartments up on it instead. It’s just disappointing.”

As ShiftSpace gallery manager and the placemaking coordinator for Wichita State University, Kristin Beal spends a lot of time thinking about building public spaces that people want to be in, and she’s thought about the former library space.

“It should be a gathering site. A healthy public space that connects to the heart of our city.”

Beal is thankful for the vaccinations opening an opportunity for the building.

“Whoever decided to do that . . . deserves a high-five or something because it’s pulling all the community into the library, and that could end up being the thing that saves it or triggers whatever’s next for the library.”

Beal also is co-founder and program coordinator of Harvester Arts, which is all about artistic experimentation and community involvement, and that’s what she wants for the old library.

“It would just be this incredible space to have this sort of immersive art experience.”

Think Meow Wolf, a multimedia artistic experience in several cities.

Beal, who called the library building a treasure, said she knows she couldn’t fill all 89,000 square feet with an immersive art experience, though.

It’s interesting that as people are visualizing what the space could be, they’re also being realistic about it, which is how City Council member Cindy Claycomb is approaching it.

Before the vaccination process, Claycomb attended an evening event at the building and had a somewhat magical experience of watching snow fall out of the night sky outside the towering windows.

“This is kind of weird, but once we got all the stuff out of there . . . it opened up that building, and you could see the beauty of it.”

Claycomb said she’s curious to hear people’s thoughts for the space.

Still, she said, “My question is always, ‘And how would we make this happen?’ ”

‘A feeling of strength’

When Mayor Jeff Longwell was still in office, he began talking with various groups about possibly sharing space at the former library.

Two of those groups, the Kansas African American Museum and the Museum of World Treasures, appreciate the building but don’t think it’s right for their uses.

“From a historical standpoint, we certainly see the value of the building,” said Mike Noller, president and CEO of the Museum of World Treasures.

He said because of the windows and some other issues, he doesn’t see it being ideal for most museums.

Board president Ted Ayres agreed it’s not a good fit for the Kansas African American Museum, but he doesn’t want to lose the building, which he said has a holdover feeling of knowledge and education from its library days.

“It gives you such a feeling of strength. . . . It just kind of soaks through you.”

PBS Kansas president and CEO Victor Hogstrom still would like to move the station from its address along West 21st Street to part of the former library.

“Of course. The building is very majestic,” he said. “We’re sitting here in this same old spot in this rundown place.”

Talks ended with Longwell’s departure and the focus on the riverfront plan, much to Hogstrom’s dismay.

“I had it all . . . mapped out.”

Possible art or venue uses seem to be leading the wish list for the space, but there are other ideas as well, such as a boutique hotel and restaurant, a children’s museum, a place for various kinds of classes, movies or retail.

No decisions are imminent. It sounds like there will be time for discussion and input once things start to return to their new normal.

Hampton acknowledged that it’s not likely to be an easy transition to whatever a new library use will be.

“I realize it’s a beast to pull off something.”

Assuming it remains standing, Hampton knows how the new space should be branded, courtesy of one of the replies to his Facebook post.

“I do like that someone said no matter what they do, they should call it the Library.”