Richard Crowson | Political Commentary

I’m a fan of Wichita’s Century II. It’s an iconic component of our city’s skyline. The architecture is unique and eye-catching. It was designed by John Hickman, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, and it looks like it. Sand-colored pillars represent our Kansas wheat fields. The baby-blue domed roof is a reminder of our big, beautiful Kansas sky. Lit up at night it looks like a giant flying saucer has landed downtown. That’s weird and that’s wonderful. Who wants our city to look like a clone of every other urban dwelling place? We shouldn’t look like a city that has Des Moines-ites trudging around it in snow boots. We shouldn’t look like a city that has cigar-chomping Oklahoma oil barons trying to walk bowlegged as if they were real cowboys. Is it any wonder the issue of Century II’s future has beamed itself smack dab into the middle of our mayoral race? People don’t want this beautiful building felled by a wrecking ball. And they have reasons to be suspicious of the decision-making