According to Kake, yesterday it was officially hotter than hell (Michigan).
Stay cool out there.
- Landon Huslig
TOGETHER WITH KHAN LAB SCHOOL WICHITA
We can all agree that kids learn in vastly different ways.
Khan Lab School is an innovative and collaborative approach to learning in Wichita and they are opening their doors in August 2024 for 4th - 9th graders.
If you have any interest at all in learning more about how your child may fit into the brand-new school, check out their site and reach out to learn more!
Another day, another deep dive inspired by Veloace.
This time our friend highlighted the Boathouse. One tidbit he included about the original Boathouse got me thinking that I don’t know much about the history of either Boathouse.
Buckle up folks, here. we. go.
To be completely honest, I always thought the Boathouse was supposed to be some historic building close to Wichita’s heart, but really never looked into it.
First off, the building sits over 100 feet from the water. It does showcase a boat so the name isn’t completely off base, but still a little bit odd.
Second off, this building wasn’t created at the turn of the 20th century or something, it was built in the 1990s. It opened in 1994.
Before I get ahead of myself, let’s go back to the beginning.
The History of the Boathouse
Riverside Boathouse
Eagle-Beacon Archive Photo
A quick google search does not give much info on the Riverside Boathouse, but diving deep into past newspapers does give some insight into what was happening back in the day.
You can see here in this 1928 photo looking east across the Little Arkansas River at the Riverside Boat Co which was formerly known as Israel's Boathouse or the Murdock Avenue Boathouse.
Riverside Boat Company in 1928. Photo from Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum.
The Riverside Boathouse was founded near the intersection of Murdock and Waco, in the late 1890s.
Originally, started in 1898 when Robert and Carl Israel began renting out six rowboats to “keep them out of trouble”, the business evolved into the Murdock Avenue Boathouse before eventually turning into the four-story Riverside Boathouse.
For years it was one of the region’s most popular centers for recreation and socializing that included speed boat races to open the season, swimming, canoe rentals, and tilting contests (Wichita Eagle 1931).
It even drew crowds of 25,000 people in its heyday.
The boat rental business and its original small structure, grew in size and commercial enterprise for more than 50 years before it was demolished during the "urban renewal" efforts of the 1960s.
You can see it here in 1900:
Riverside Boathouse 1900. Photo from Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum.
Back in the 1960’s, part of the $20 million, 44-acre Park Plaza urban renewal project was demolishing the Riverside Boathouse and surrounding buildings. The Boathouse was set to be one of the first buildings to be torn down, but as of March 24, 1967 it was one of the few buildings left standing.
The Boathouse was set to be replaced by a new river level dock including a new boat rental facility and marina which I'm not sure ever happened.
As of July 16, 1967 the building was still standing and was finally torn down in 1968.
All that is left today is the partial concrete wall next to Murdock bridge in central riverside park.
Screenshot from the Veloace Video
There were plans in the 1970’s to fundraise $100,000 to create a new boathouse that would serve Wichita State, the community, and high schools, but from what I could see, it never got off the ground.
The Wichita Boathouse Up to Today
Wichita Eagle Photo
Fast forward to 1994 and the concept of a new boathouse became reality.
Bill Koch (of the Koch family tree) helped out with a large donation as he wanted to showcase the America^3 yacht, Jayhawk, and related memorabilia.
Originally, it did serve as an actual boathouse with exhibits about the Arkansas River as well as renting out sailboats, canoes, and skiffs.
This was viewed as a big step for downtown Wichita revitalization (sound familiar?) as our city would take an old abandoned brick building and renovate it to bring a boathouse back to downtown.
The design was based on the Riverside Boat Co building.
This project was seen as “the ideal public-private project” built on public land with private money:
"It will operate with private money and proceeds, but in every sense it is a facility designed to open the river to more and better public use. It will draw people downtown, not just from Wichita neighborhoods but from across the region." - Reid Ashe, Publisher
This new boathouse never quite caught on like the original in the first half of the 1900s, and a waterfront portion was never built.
In 2005, it closed and was falling apart.
Local builders almost pressured the city into demolishing it for corporate offices (🙄) as part of the WaterWalk Project (that’s a whole deep dive in itself).
2010 and a $650k donation came around from Bill Koch to renovate the building which reopened as an event venue and the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and has done so since.
Ironically, the boathouse has now served those roles longer than the boathouse role.
Boathouse Events
You may have been to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, but if you’ve been to the Boathouse you were most likely attending a private event or an event like Xclusive Events Final Friday which is always a blast (and is happening this Friday!) that consists of art and live music as well as food and booze trucks. Free to attend!
The Future
Would it be a Wichita Life Deep Dive if we didn't think bigger?
The building itself isn't in terrible shape, but what if we extended it to the water and filled it out to truly be boathouse boathouse. Naw mean?
Why can't we complete the vision that never quite came to be? This would also complete another dream of mine for Wichita to have a restaurant on the river, which almost came true back in the 1990's, but never quite made it over the hump.
Here are a couple of options of what a new boathouse could look like:
Obviously AI isn't perfect, but look at the boats + lots of space overlooking the river!
I will leave you with a quote from the April 23, 1994 Wichita Eagle when we still had hope in a true Boathouse:
"And it is, finally, a marvelous way - through recreation, entertainment, and education - to make use of the Wichita community's best natural resource." - Reid Ashe, Publisher
And another from August 18, 1997:
"To reach its full potential, the boathouse needs to be part of something bigger." - Mark B West, President of the Arkansas River Foundation
December 23, 2024 | Sign Up | Support Us Good morning, Wichita! This is the final Update for 2024. I hope you all have a great Christmas, New Year, and Holiday Season. See you in 2025! - Landon p.s. Go Shockers. Great dub on Saturday! TOGETHER WITH YOU As approach 2025, we are looking for a couple local small businesses to work with. You know how you're reading this right now? So are thousands of other people. Wouldn't it be awesome to get your business or event in front of thousands and...
December 20, 2024 | Sign Up | Support Us TOGETHER WITH Good morning, Wichita! I'll stop bringing it up after today, but you have approximately 13 hours left to enter our 12 Days of Giveaways! You can enter over on our Instagram or by sharing this link: [RH_REFLINK GOES HERE] Today's giveaway is $500 in gift cards to 5 of the best food spots in Wichita. Let's get to it! - Landon Huslig NEWS The End of Free Parking u/trav2974 The verdict is in. Starting in the summer of 2025, downtown visitors...
December 19, 2024 | Sign Up | Support Us Good morning, Wichita! Only 6 days until Christmas! And only 2 days left to enter our 12 Days of Giveaways! Share this link: [RH_REFLINK GOES HERE] or head to our Instagram to enter! Let's get to it! - Landon TOGETHER WITH YOU As approach 2025, we are looking for a couple local small businesses to work with. You know how you're reading this right now? So are thousands of other people. Wouldn't it be awesome to get your business or event in front of...
