Old Town Square, Wichita, Guida per visitatori e cosa fare nei dintorni

Old Town Square sits in Old Town, the former warehouse district of downtown Wichita, Kansas. Once a hub for freight and wholesale trade, the area is now a neighbourhood of restaurants, bars, shops, a cinema and loft apartments set in old brick buildings. It is one of the best places in Wichita to see how a working city reuses its past.

The story behind it

Old Town covers about 50 acres of Wichita's old warehouse district. For much of the 20th century these streets were about freight: wholesale companies filled their buildings with goods that arrived by rail and left for towns across Kansas. When trucking and highways took over, the warehouses gradually emptied.

In the late 1990s and 2000s, city government and local groups set out to redevelop downtown, and Old Town was reborn. Bars, restaurants, shops, a cinema, apartments and condos moved into the brick buildings. One example stands just north of the square, the International Harvester Building on North Rock Island, built in 1910 and later converted into loft apartments known today as the Historic 1910 Lofts. People now eat, sleep and dance in rooms that were built for crates and machinery.

What to look for

• Look at the heavy brick walls of the former warehouses, which still show the plain, practical design of buildings made for storing and moving goods.
• Notice the old loading docks along the streets, a reminder that wagons and trucks once pulled up here to load and unload freight.
• Walk a short way north to the International Harvester Building from 1910 and see how a factory-style block has become a home.
• Pay attention to the painted brick on many facades, which gives the district its character, especially after dark.

Tips for your visit

• Allow an hour or two if you want to stroll the streets, look at the buildings and stop for a meal or a drink.
• Come in the late afternoon or evening for the liveliest atmosphere, or earlier in the day if you prefer quieter streets for photographs.
• The district is made up of public streets, so you can walk around freely, but check current opening hours for any shop, restaurant or cinema you want to visit.
• Wear comfortable shoes, since the best way to see Old Town is on foot, block by block.

See it on a quest

Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Old Town, Wichita takes you through these streets on foot as one stop of a longer route. The app tells you about each place as you arrive and you solve a puzzle on the spot. It is a good fit if you like a crime-story mood with your sightseeing. One ticket covers the whole group.

Wichita Detective Mystery: Infiltrate a Secret Society. is a detective-style walk that passes this part of downtown. You move from place to place, hear about each one in the app and solve a puzzle in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.

Ghost Hunt in Wichita suits anyone who likes a spooky theme. You reach Old Town on foot as one stop of a longer route, learn about each place as you get there and solve a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group.