It’s always a bit unsettling to encounter abandoned buildings in the heart of an urban center, particularly ones that were once bustling hubs like the Boulevard Plaza in Wichita, Kansas’ bustling yet wildly underrated city. J.W. and R.W. Womer developed this shopping center, which was designed by architect S.S. Platt, and opened in 1951. A beauty salon, appliance shop, camera store, and even a medical arts center were all offered at this mall, with an opening day that was attended by thousands.
The Boulevard Plaza quickly became a beloved staple of Wichita, a foodie hot spot with affordable dining to boot. While the variety of shops met the needs of adults looking to take care of personal and household responsibilities, the center attracted younger folks, too. Many locals spent their youth or childhoods at the plaza, getting ice cream cones, books, and clothing at its shops. This shopping center even sponsored youth baseball teams like the Whiz Kids in the 1950s and the Boulevard Plaza Pirates in the ’60s. So, how did a busy commercial center come to be abandoned and transform from a lively mall into an eerie location?
How did Boulevard Plaza become abandoned?
From the very beginning, Boulevard Plaza suffered from the bad luck of break-ins. There were a handful that occurred in the ’50s, including one just a year after it opened, when the burglars stole over $2,000 from Heads Shoes and Murray’s W.W. Virtue. In 1957, some of the shop owners worked with the police to track down two people who had been committing check fraud around the state, but the plaza wasn’t so lucky the next year, when robbers broke in again and ransacked the medical center.
Even so, the shopping center survived, bringing in folks throughout the decades until it started suffering the decline that turned it into an empty, abandoned location today. Some people think it was because of the rising popularity of online shopping and big-box stores, which have rendered small, local businesses like those in the Boulevard Plaza obsolete. Others believe it was due to the purposeful neglect of the landlord, who let pipes freeze — so shops would flood, and owners would move out — and who refused to repair the pothole-filled parking lot…