From the 1800's, the area now known as Old Town was a center
of commerce in Wichita. At the turn of the century, the area along the railroad
tracks was brimming with the energy and activity of manufacturers, wholesalers,
jobbers and retailers. It was Wichita's premiere "manufacturing and
transportation" district. As trucking and airlines became the
transportation of choice for businesses, the necessity of locating business
adjacent to the railroad became a thing of the past.
The area's large buildings began to be abandoned
throughout the 1900's. But by 1990, the City of Wichita realized it could not
afford to let the area totally decay. It would be both a liability and a sad
waste to let these buildings go to the point where they would have to be razed.
Developers and the City joined forces to transform and restore the area to a
focal point of entertainment and shopping. There are now over 60 upscale
businesses from restaurants and night clubs to hotels and loft apartments, as
well as shopping. The Museum of Ancient Treasures will soon move to the area
too.
From spring to fall, the area known as the Farm and Art
Market also hosts an open-air farmers' market on Saturday mornings. At the south
end of the Farm and Art Market, there is a group of plaques detailing the
historical aspect of business in the Old Town area. Virtually all of these
pioneering businesses are names well-known to Wichita, yet either totally
defunct or not present in Old Town now.
To claim this cache email
me with the answer to the following question: One of the plaques talks about
a company that had an important function before home refrigeration was
wide-spread: City Ice Delivery. What was the address of City Ice Delivery?
The usual virtual rules apply: I reserve the right to
delete logs which have not been verified, please do not post answers or pictures
that show the answers with your logs, etc. Enjoy this little history lesson.