| Wichita started the decade of the 1880’s with a population of 4,911 and ended the decade with 23,853, according to census figures. However, in 1888 the officials of the city had claimed a population of 40,000. The city went through a period of boom and bust; but this was undoubtedly the period of the city’s greatest growth, both as to population and area.
As the city continued to expand and the environment of the society changed, it became illegal to break horses on the city streets. The existing jail continued to deteriorate, and the Committee of Jail and Police made notification to the City Council that repairs were required as it was now impossible to keep prisoners with the jail in this condition.
The passage of a statewide prohibition law late in 1880 put a crimp in regional drinking styles. On April 20, 1881, the day before state prohibition took effect on April 21, 1881, the major Wichita gambling and drinking establishment, known as Keno Corner, stayed open from sunrise to midnight to allow residents a final fling. Keno Corner had for nine years served free meals to its gamblers and in its time had taken in an estimated $700,000. Thereafter, Keno Corner at Main and Douglas was occupied by a series of bank buildings. “When the saloons closed the city lost over $7,000 a year in revenue, and was loath to increase already unpopular taxes to over the current ten mills to fill the gap.
On November 28, 1888, the city authorized a payment of $19.50 for police badges which had been purchased from the Wichita Novelty House. A policeman from the ranks, Lewis “Lew” Aspey, succeeded Thomas McNamara as City Marshal on June 9, 1889, and the former marshal was reduced to the rank of policeman. Aspey served as marshal for five months and returned to the rank of patrolman, relinquishing his position to James Cairns. Charles E. Burrows was appointed City Marshal by the Police Commission in April, 1890.
The city, not wishing to be outdone, began discussing the new city building shortly after construction began on the courthouse. Both the north and south sections of the city competed for the new city building with the south side the winner when the final location was picked on the southeast corner of William and Main in the Greiffenstein Addition. Wichita voters approved this decision at the election on November 5, 1889, and design competition began but was only open to Wichita architects. The city council liked the design of the county courthouse but chose a different architect, Willis Proudfoot and George Bird, whose design proposed a four story structure of native stone, built in the Richardson Romanesque style. The architects used spires, turrets, and arches liberally and included a tall central tower. The cornerstone of the building was set in a full Masonic ceremony on July 4, 1890. The 170 foot by 80 foot city building was built of Cambridge limestone quarried in Butler County and was completed in 1892 at a cost of $71,000. The new city building included space for the regular offices, as well as for a new jail, the police and fire departments, courtrooms, offices for the board of education, and a large city library. The tower originally housed a 1000 pound bell cast by the McShane Bell Foundry of Baltimore, Maryland, and in 1917 a Seth Thomas clock was purchased and installed. This building, remodeled numerous times, served to house city offices until 1975 when city services moved to the new City Hall at 455 N. Main.
Also included in the History Book:
Keno Corner
First Paved Streets
Marshall Murdock
New City Building
Wichita Beacon
Frisco Railroad |