by Rachel L. Miller

A mural painted on the outside of The River City Brewery in Wichita's Old Town. (c) 2001 RTM

The most important lesson you’ll learn while visiting Wichita for the first time is one in pronunciation. 

We all know how to pronounce the word Arkansas, right? Well, just throw that rule out the window when talking about the main river that runs through the city of Wichita.

“It’s called the Ar-kansas River, not the Ar-kansaw River,” I was told within my first 30 minutes inside the city limits. And even after being corrected, I still had to clumsily stop, think and mentally remind myself every time I mentioned the river. After all, it’s near impossible to disregard years of states-and-capitals quizzes and references to Bill Clinton’s home state to adapt to this way-too-phonetical pronunciation. So after the first day, I just decided to make it simple and deemed the Arkansas River “the river” or “the water” or  “that thing over there.” 

After using such generic, user-friendly terms, my stress level plummeted dramatically and I was free to enjoy the great Midwestern city of Wichita, which I now will share in turn with you.

The atrium of The Hotel at Old Town.  (c) 2001 RTM

While driving around in the city, I was constantly struck by how such a large metropolitan area (the largest city in Kansas) could retain the charm of a small all-American town.  This is especially evident in Wichita’s red-bricked Old Town, which is made up of over 60 restored buildings within an eight block area. In keeping with the small-town feel, Old Town hosts a farmer’s market every Saturday in its town square.  Down the area’s red-bricked streets and elevated boardwalks, you’ll discover unique shops, happening bars, nightclubs, restaurants and a gorgeous, historic hotel. 

The Hotel at Old Town, built in 1906 as a warehouse, was recently restored to become a tech-friendly lodging facility.  The natural light filtering in through the hotel’s atrium drew me in to examine the elaborate, colorful flower arrangements situated on dark wood tables on each end of the room. There are plenty of cushy, padded seats to choose from if you just want to sit back, relax and gaze up at the four stories of rooms that face the atrium. (CONTINUE...)