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Greetings, Internet Stranger! I’m Stella Jane, and welcome to 24 hours in Wichita—a city that is about to make a very strong case for itself.
You are, of course, a highly cultured person. You want to talk about philosophy, art, or the meaning of life. And yet—tragically—you sometimes find yourself at work surrounded by people who only want to discuss the latest episode of Real Housewives. A modern problem. A timeless pain.
May I suggest a solution?
Leave.
Specifically, leave for Wichita.
Because while Wichita may not scream “culture” at first glance, it turns out to be quietly stacked with it: excellent museums, a genuinely great zoo, unexpected Frank Lloyd Wright connections, live theater, and enough thoughtful surprises to make you feel intellectually nourished without being emotionally exhausted.
This post features two different 24-hour itineraries, depending on your mood and tolerance for whimsy. Whether you want art and architecture or animals and civic pride, Wichita is here to gently—and politely—exceed your expectations.
So pack your curiosity, lower your skepticism just a notch, and join me for 24 hours in Wichita. You might not stop your coworkers from talking about reality TV—but at least you’ll have something better to talk about afterward.
🏨 Where to Stay in Wichita?
If you’re visiting Wichita as a tourist, Old Town is where you want to be. It’s walkable, lively, and packed with many of the city’s best museums, restaurants, and evening activities—aka the highest concentration of things that make you feel smugly well-planned.
For my 24 hours in Wichita, I stayed at the Courtyard Wichita at Old Town, and honestly? I wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again.
The rooms are huge and extremely comfortable, the location is genuinely flawless, and the staff could not have been more helpful—even when I needed to get to the Wichita Airport at 4:30 in the morning, which is not a time when anyone should be required to be cheerful. And yet! They were. Heroes.
Staying in Old Town means you can spend less time driving and more time enjoying Wichita’s culture, food, and general pleasantness—which is really the whole point of the exercise.
👉: If you’re planning your own 24 hours in Wichita, book a hotel in Old Town—especially the Courtyard—early. Location, comfort, and stellar service make all the difference.
🌞 Day One: Animals, Art & a Very Good Dinner
We’re kicking off Day One in Wichita with a lineup that proves—immediately and decisively—that this city is not here to bore you.
This is a day for pleasant surprises. We’ll start with one of the best zoos in the Midwest (yes, really), move on to a genuinely excellent art museum, and finish the evening with a relaxed-but-polished dinner that feels exactly right after a full day of cultured wandering.
First up is the Sedgwick County Zoo, which is spacious, thoughtfully designed, and home to far more animals than you’d expect. This is not a sad roadside zoo situation. This is a real zoo. A zoo with opinions.
In the afternoon, we’ll slow things down at the Wichita Art Museum, a bright, welcoming space that pairs American art with enough calm energy to reset your brain after all that animal excitement.
And because we believe in ending the day on a high note, we’ll wrap things up with dinner at Public at the Brickyard—a stylish but unfussy spot where the food is thoughtful, the drinks are solid, and no one makes you feel weird for ordering dessert.
Animals in the morning, art in the afternoon, and a very good meal at night—Day One understood the assignment.
Let’s begin 🐘🎨🍽️
🌅 Morning: Sedgwick County Zoo
No day in Wichita would be complete without a visit to the Sedgwick County Zoo. (Wichita is located in Sedgwick County, which I personally find confusing. Why isn’t it called Wichita County? And why isn’t this the Wichita Zoo? These are valid questions. Sadly, this is why I am not a professional zoo namer.)
Name quirks aside, this is a fantastic zoo and one of the most popular tourist attractions in the entire state of Kansas. Yes—even more popular than Dorothy Gale’s old house that got flattened by that tornado. Tough break, Dorothy.
The Sedgwick County Zoo is AZA-accredited and filled with animals from all over the world. I visited on a balmy spring day, which was ideal, but because the zoo includes both indoor and outdoor exhibits, it’s a solid year-round destination. Rain? Cold? Existential dread? The zoo has options.
It’s spacious, thoughtfully laid out, and the kind of place that immediately makes you feel like you made a good decision with your morning.
Which brings us to…
Three Fun Facts: Sedgwick County Zoo
(Animals, but make it educational.) 🦁🐘
1) How is the zoo organized?
One of the coolest things about the Sedgwick County Zoo is that the animals are organized by continent of origin. This means you can casually stroll from Australia to Africa in a single morning—no passport, no TSA line, no removing your shoes for reasons no one can explain.
I loved being able to see animals from all over the world in one place, from an Asian tiger to a South American anteater, all without the emotional stress of airport security. Truly the ideal way to travel internationally.
That said, my favorite continent had to be Africa. You get all the classic heavy hitters—elephants, lions, the usual celebrities—but I have a special fondness for the odder residents, like the meerkat. I was deeply tempted to try to hold his hand and sing “Hakuna Matata” with him, but then I remembered that would almost certainly result in my arrest. Growth.
Also, do not miss the red river hog, another African beastie. I was grateful for the nearby sign explaining that the hog is named for its red fur, not because it lives in a literal red river.
Because naturally my next thought was:
Are there red rivers out there?
Are they flowing with Kool-Aid instead of water?
This mental image will haunt me for the rest of my days.
2) Are there any more local animals?
But of course, Internet Stranger! North American animals are not neglected at the Sedgwick County Zoo.
The North American exhibit was under construction when I visited, but I still managed to get an eyeful of the black-tailed prairie dog, who is—objectively—one of the cutest creatures on Earth. Little guy. Tiny hands. Big eyes. No notes.
Unfortunately, prairie dogs have enemies. Some people believe they’re dangerous to farming, which has led to efforts to remove them. This has had an unfortunate domino effect, because prairie dogs are a major food source for ferrets—and now ferret populations are declining too.
Nature is vicious and complicated.
I feel sad thinking about ferrets starving.
I also feel sad thinking about ferrets eating prairie dogs.
It is rough out there for a prairie dog, emotionally and otherwise.
On a happier note, you can also see American bison at the zoo—majestic, shaggy beings who were once brought terrifyingly close to extinction. Thankfully, Theodore Roosevelt and other conservation-minded friends helped launch a breeding program at the Bronx Zoo, and today there are many more bison roaming the world.
So yes, these bison may currently reside in Kansas—but let’s be clear: they are New Yorkers at heart.
If you listen closely, you can hear them mutter things like:
“Hey! I’m walkin’ here!”
“Gimme a slice to go!”
and, inexplicably,
“Red Sox suck!”
3) What can I do if it’s cold?
No worries, Internet Stranger—you will not freeze at the zoo.
I visited the Sedgwick County Zoo on a classic Wichita spring day, which means the temperature could not commit to a personality. Luckily, the zoo has several indoor exhibits, making it a solid choice year-round.
One of my favorites is the tropics greenhouse, which is sunny, lush, and warm no matter what nonsense is happening outside. Inside, you can get up close with absolute stunners like the Victoria crowned pigeon—a bird so glamorous it looks like it’s wearing a fascinator to a royal wedding. Its conservation status is listed as vulnerable, which I assume is because too many people want to steal its fabulous hat. I get it. I truly do.
Another major indoor stop is the Koch Orangutan and Chimpanzee Habitat. I’ll admit, the name surprised me at first—where I come from, the Koch name is usually associated with political donations, not apes. But then I learned the family is actually from Wichita, so local philanthropy makes perfect sense.
While visiting the ape habitat, I learned something sobering: ape populations are declining worldwide. In fact, there are more people in Sedgwick County than there are apes on the entire planet.
There is a mean joke to be made there.
I am choosing not to make it.
I had a very nice time in Sedgwick County, and I refuse to mock its citizens. Growth! Personal development! Plus, the zoo was warm, educational, and emotionally grounding—which is really all you can ask of a cold-weather contingency plan.
🎨 Afternoon: Wichita Art Museum
Up next: the tres classy Wichita Art Museum.
When I visited, the museum was absolutely jam-packed. It felt like every culture vulture in the state of Wichita had flocked here for the day, lured in by a wildly popular special exhibit on Georgia O’Keeffe. Truly—if Kansas has a bat signal for art lovers, this was it.
And listen, the exhibit was fantastic. You won’t see that exact one when you visit, but I strongly recommend checking out whatever special exhibition happens to be on during your stay. The museum clearly knows how to curate a moment, and Wichita shows up when there’s art to be appreciated.
That said, even without a blockbuster exhibit, the Wichita Art Museum is well worth your time. The permanent collection is thoughtful, approachable, and the perfect way to spend a hot or cold afternoon feeling cultured without feeling overwhelmed.
Allow me to guide you through my…
Approximately Top 5: Wichita Art Museum
(Art appreciation, minus the pretension.)
1) Lunch at the Museum
We are not about to derail a carefully planned afternoon by wandering off in search of a random lunch spot. Luckily, the restaurant inside the Wichita Art Museum serves very tasty food, which is exactly what we need right now.
I recommend the soup-and-sandwich lunch special, which is a genuinely good deal. I ordered a pleasantly sour corned beef soup (yes—soup, not a sandwich) paired with a cranberry chicken salad croissant that was rich, sweet, and extremely lunch-affirming.
One small heads-up: service here can be a bit slow. This is not the fault of the waitstaff—multiple museum regulars told me the café is sometimes understaffed. So if you’re eating here, do yourself a favor and build in extra time. This is a lunch for people who are not in a rush and are emotionally prepared to wait while contemplating art.
Which, frankly, feels on theme.
2) Special Exhibits
Some art museums are so enormous that first-time visitors have to choose between seeing the permanent collection or the special exhibit. The Wichita Art Museum is refreshingly not one of those museums. You can comfortably see everything in one afternoon without collapsing onto a bench in despair.
I was doubly lucky when I visited because the museum was hosting a fantastic special exhibition on Georgia O’Keeffe and her personal style—an intersection of art and fashion that felt tailor-made for me, a known O’Keeffe enthusiast.
Even better, there was a free docent-led tour of the exhibit while I was there. Do yourself a favor and check the museum’s calendar before your visit—docent tours, talks, and free lectures pop up regularly and add a lot of depth without adding any cost.
One delightful fact I learned on the tour: if Georgia O’Keeffe found an article of clothing she liked, she would often buy six identical copies of it.
I do something similar, except I buy the same item in multiple colors so I can pretend I’m expressing range.
And that concludes today’s episode of Fashion Tips From Great Artists.
Coming up next: mustache-grooming advice from Salvador Dalí.
3) Kansas Cornfield
I’m going to end our museum visit by drawing your attention to one of the most important works in the permanent collection. You simply cannot visit the Wichita Art Museum and skip Kansas Cornfield.
This painting was one of the first works ever acquired by the museum, and it was created by Kansan artist John Steuart Curry. Which feels appropriate—if you’re going to anchor your collection, you might as well start with a love letter to home.
There are so many images of Kansas floating around in popular culture that paint it as flat, dull, and endlessly beige. The opening of The Wizard of Oz springs immediately to mind. Sepia! Despair! Dust!
So I was genuinely moved to see a vision of Kansas that was lush, green, and beautiful. This painting doesn’t apologize for the landscape or treat it as something to escape—it celebrates it. And standing there in the gallery, it felt like an invitation.
I hope Kansas Cornfield does the same for you. Let it be the artwork that nudges you into giving Wichita a try—because if this museum, this zoo, and this city have taught us anything, it’s that Kansas has been quietly exceeding expectations this whole time.
4) Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper is one of my all-time favorite American artists. Of course, his most famous painting lives in an entirely different Midwestern art museum (you know the one), but I am deeply partial to Sunlight on Brownstones, which you can see right here at the Wichita Art Museum.
What I love about this painting is the tension. The sunlit façade of the brownstone feels warm and calm, while the trees behind it sit in shadow, quietly ominous. Are these people being menaced by some unknown threat lurking just out of sight? And why are they all staring off into the distance instead of looking at one another? What, exactly, are they seeing?
Personally, I assume the answer is an alien invasion, because that is clearly the most interesting option.
In my version, this painting gets a sequel—one where the brownstone is being vaporized by laser beams from the sky, Independence Day-style. Hopper: The Sci-Fi Years. Call me, museums.
Until then, Sunlight on Brownstones remains one of those perfect Hopper works that makes you pause, speculate wildly, and feel just a little unsettled—which is, in my opinion, art doing its job.
5) Art Garden
One of the best things to do in Wichita on a sunny day is to take a stroll through the art garden at the Wichita Art Museum. It’s calm, green, and thoughtfully curated with sculptures by notable contemporary artists like Jun Kaneko and Tom Otterness.
You can always recognize an Otterness sculpture because of the recurring diminutive, rotund, Doozer-like figures that populate his work. They’re charming. They’re whimsical. They look like they should be minding their own business and unionizing.
Sadly, it was too late for me to save the Doozers from a fiendish hook-handed man sculpture nearby. Between this villain and the earlier alien-invasion threat inside the museum, the Wichita Art Museum is honestly a much more dangerous place than it initially appears.
Stay alert, Internet Stranger.
💡 24-Hour Tip
If the weather is still nice when you leave the museum, keep the good vibes going with a walk along the Arkansas River. This path is a genuine hidden gem, dotted with interesting sculptures and excellent people-watching opportunities.
And do not miss the massive Keeper of the Plains statue (you can spot it in the distance in my photo above). This powerful work honors the Native American tribes of the Wichita area and was sculpted by Blackbear Bosin.
It’s striking, meaningful, and the perfect way to close out a museum afternoon—grounded in history, art, and a sense of place.
🌙 Evening: Dinner at Public at the Brickyard
Of course one of the best things to do in Wichita is eat—and Public at the Brickyard is one of the most well-reviewed restaurants in town for very good reasons. If you like excellent drinks, craveable small plates, and a cozy-but-buzzy atmosphere, Public is absolutely your spot.
Even better: if you’re staying near Old Town like I suggested (and you did listen to me, right?), Public is within easy walking distance. We love a city that lets us eat well without calling a rideshare.
Start your meal with one of their creative craft cocktails. I recommend the Public Smash, made with Bulleit Bourbon, mint, and jalapeño. It’s sweet and spicy at the same time—like an angry mint julep with opinions.
Public is a small-plates restaurant, so two or three dishes per person is the sweet spot. I kicked things off with the Buffalo cauliflower, one of their most popular dishes. It’s everything you love about Buffalo wings, but made with fried cauliflower instead of chicken—which is great, because I’m fairly certain fried vegetables do not contain calories. That’s just science.
It may actually be a crime to dine at Public and not order the prairie sliders. These were ranked the best bar snack in Kansas by Thrillist, in case my humble recommendation isn’t enough for you, Internet Stranger. The sliders are deeply flavorful, thanks to the mix of bison and beef—and before you feel bad, know that bison is actually a sustainable and healthy meat choice. You’re doing great.
You get your choice of side, and I strongly recommend the potato salad. The paprika adds a nice kick, and the potatoes are as firm and dependable as a John Grisham novel.
And now, a Slider Fun Fact, because I care about your education:
The slider was actually invented in Wichita, since White Castle got its start right here in Old Cowtown. So when you bite into your prairie slider, you’re not just eating dinner—you’re biting into history.
And with that, Day One in Wichita comes to a close: animals, art, cocktails, and culinary legacy.
🌞 Day Two: Prairie Modernism, Old Cowtown & Applause Encouraged
Day Two in Wichita is for people who like their history hands-on, their architecture opinionated, and their evenings capped off with a little bit of theatrical nonsense.
We’re starting strong with the Allen House, because nothing says “good morning” like a Frank Lloyd Wright building reminding you that corners are a social construct. From there, we’ll pivot hard—emotionally and chronologically—to the Old Cowtown Museum, where Wichita’s frontier past comes fully alive and everyone is deeply committed to the bit.
Dinner will be charming, unfussy, and deeply Midwestern at the Old Mill Tasty Shop, because sometimes what you really want is comfort food served with zero irony. And finally—because I believe every great day should end with applause—we’ll catch a show at the Mosley Street Melodrama, where booing the villain is not only allowed but encouraged.
Day Two is playful. Day Two is nostalgic. Day Two is Wichita saying, “Relax, I’ve got layers.”
Let’s begin.
🌅 Morning: Allen House
People who aren’t from Kansas sometimes assume the state is… how shall I put this… culturally sparse. Perhaps the only image they have in mind is the gray, windswept opening scene of The Wizard of Oz. Which is unfair. And lazy. And frankly, Wichita would like a word.
Some of the very best attractions in Wichita are packed with fascinating cultural details—and staffed by docents who are deeply passionate about what they do. And one of the crown jewels of this scene is the Allen House, designed by legendary American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
The Allen House offers several different tour options, but I strongly recommend the Grand Tour, for one very important reason: it’s the only tour that allows photography inside. Your Instagram account will thank you later. Your followers will think you’re more sophisticated than you are. Everyone wins.
But beyond the photo ops, the Grand Tour gives you deeper insight into Wright’s vision, the lives of the original owners, and the surprising ways this modernist masterpiece fits right into Wichita’s story.
And it offers far more than just good angles and good lighting—starting with…
Three Fun Facts: Allen House
(Architecture nerds, this is your moment.) 🏛️✨
1) Who owned this house?
Excellent question, Internet Stranger.
This house clearly belonged to the kind of family that could spare a few kopeks for a very fancy abode—and since it’s called the Allen House, it will not shock you to learn that their last name was Allen.
The father of the family was Henry J. Allen, a successful businessman who later became governor of Kansas. That promotion required him to relocate to Topeka (Wichita may be the biggest city, but Topeka gets the crown). While he was busy governing, Mrs. Allen held down the fort back in Wichita.
And she did not phone it in.
Mrs. Allen was in charge of maintaining and decorating the home, and you can see her portrait displayed above the couple’s bed. She was a patron of the arts and extremely fond of knitting—two traits I respect deeply. Sometimes I wish I were married to a rich man who lived in Topeka so I could stay in my NYC apartment all day and knit in peace. But alas. We cannot have everything.
The most interesting member of the household, to me, was the daughter. She was beautiful, stylish, and did not marry until the age of 32, which was considered quite late for the era. But when she did marry, she married well: she became the wife of the Ambassador to Romania and went on to live a glamorous life filled with travel, diplomacy, and balls—capital-B Balls.
Why has no one made a movie about this woman?
I would call it From Wichita to Bucharest.
Netflix, I am once again asking you to step up.
2) What Does the House Look Like?
Like many houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Allen House shows a strong Japanese influence. In fact, the home is filled with pieces from Japan, which adds to its calm, intentional feeling. Wright believed deeply in harmony, balance, and borrowing wisely from other traditions—and it shows.
Every Frank Lloyd Wright house has its own distinct color scheme, though he famously favored colors drawn from nature. In the Allen House, the dominant palette is ochre, green, and gold—warm, earthy tones that somehow feel both grounding and elegant at the same time.
Our docent also shared a delightful detail: each FLW house sells unique merchandise designed using that home’s specific colors and patterns. Collect them all, like Pokémon—but for architecture nerds.
The most beautiful room in the house is unquestionably the living room. My photo truly does not do it justice. You enter through a surprisingly small, compressed space—and then suddenly you step into a room flooded with light and loveliness. It’s a classic Wright move: make the entrance modest so the reveal feels dramatic.
The living room feels even larger because of the way the windows frame the garden outside, blurring the line between indoors and out. It’s the kind of space that makes you want to sit quietly and rethink all your furniture choices.
I do wish there were a way to get Frank Lloyd Wright to design a living room like this for me. Sadly, he is dead—and I suspect Ghost Frank Lloyd Wright charges even more than regular Frank Lloyd Wright.
3) Any Good Frank Lloyd Wright Stories?
Oh, Internet Stranger—there are so many good Frank Lloyd Wright stories. The man was a freaky genius, after all.
Wright was actually friends with the Allen family, and he would stay at the house when traveling between Wisconsin and Arizona. Which sounds charming until you learn that, because he designed the house and the fixtures, he felt a strong sense of personal ownership over the space.
Translation: he would rearrange their knickknacks and doodads when they weren’t looking.
Was this invasive? Yes.
Was it annoying? Probably.
Was it worth it to be able to casually say, “Oh, Frank Lloyd Wright stays here sometimes”?
Absolutely.
Wright was wildly successful, but I maintain he could have been even more successful if he’d patented his greatest invention: the wall-hung toilet. Please admire it in my photo. Look how sleek and classy it is. Look how easy it is to clean underneath. This man was living in the future.
Tragically, Wright never patented it, and other people went on to make all the money from his excellent toilet ideas.
So let this be a lesson to us all:
Always get a patent, kids.
🏜️ Afternoon: Old Cowtown Museum
I haven’t been to every attraction in Wichita, but I can say with great confidence that the Old Cowtown Museum was my absolute favorite of everything I did see. And that is saying something.
When many people think of museums, they picture standing quietly in a room, staring at paintings, possibly through a monocle, and murmuring serious things about brushstrokes. Old Cowtown is not that kind of museum.
Old Cowtown is a living history museum—which means you’re not just looking at the past, you’re walking straight into it. You can explore original and reconstructed buildings from the heyday of Wild West Kansas, wander dirt streets, pop into shops, and even stumble across a historical reenactment or two if you time it right.
It’s immersive, it’s interactive, and it somehow manages to be both educational and genuinely fun. You don’t need to know anything about frontier history to enjoy it—you just need curiosity and comfortable shoes.
I encourage you to explore Old Cowtown at your own pace, poke your head into everything, and talk to the costumed interpreters (they are committed, and I respect that). But to get you started, allow me to share my…
Approximately Top 5: Old Cowtown Museum
(Yeehaw, but historically accurate.)
1) Lunch at Ziggy’s Pizza
Before we dive deeper into Old Cowtown, we’re going to need lunch—and I suggest stopping at the local chain Ziggy’s Pizza. There are several locations around Wichita, but for this itinerary you want the East Douglas Avenue spot.
Now, I’m from New York City, so yes—it may sound a little funny that I’m recommending Kansas pizza. But Ziggy’s knows exactly what it’s doing. This is the kind of tasty, floppy pizza that has been pleasing college students across America for generations. It’s not trying to be New York–style pizza, and I respect that confidence.
I ordered the Ziggy Special, because I firmly believe in ordering the house specialty. It comes loaded with olives, peppers, mushrooms, sausage, and pepperoni—generous, classic, and deeply satisfying. Everything was delicious, but the real standout for me was the tomato sauce. It was so flavorful that I have to assume it’s made from scratch. You don’t fake that kind of sauce.
Fortified with pizza and good judgment, we’re now ready to head back into the Wild West.
2) Old Buildings of Wichita
Now that our tummies are full, it’s time to head over to the Old Cowtown Museum—by car or Uber—and get ready to learn some things.
There are many different kinds of buildings at Old Cowtown, but I suggest starting with the very oldest, because that’s where the story really begins.
Long before Wichita existed, this area was home to the Osage Nation and the Wichita people. Eventually, European-Americans arrived and attempted to establish a settlement focused on cattle trading. Hence the original name: Old Cowtown.
Now, “Old Cowtown” did not last as a name—probably because it’s hard to convince people to relocate to a place that sounds like it smells bad. So eventually, the settlement became Wichita, which is both more dignified and easier to put on stationery.
But let’s be honest: if you build a community almost entirely around dudes trying to make money off cattle, things are going to get rowdy. Drinking. Gambling. Shenanigans. The few families and women living in early Wichita were not thrilled with the vibe.
Their response? Build a church.
The First Presbyterian Church was established as a stabilizing force, and yes—you can go inside. It’s a lovely, peaceful building and well worth a visit. That said, you may notice that the saloon nearby is significantly more popular with visitors.
Some things, it seems, have not changed much since the 19th century.
3) Old-School Hotels
As trade in Wichita began to boom—thanks in large part to its prime location along the Arkansas River—money followed. And wherever money goes, visitors are sure to trail behind. Naturally, Wichita needed hotels.
Now, this was still very much a frontier town, so the hotels weren’t fancy. No turndown service. No robes. No tiny bottles of shampoo you immediately steal. But even the simplest hotels tried to give guests a solid bang for their buck.
For two dollars a day, you got a room and meals. And these were not sad, questionable meals either. Guests could order dishes ranging from mock turtle soup to calf’s liver with onions, and even something mysteriously called “Yankee doughnuts.” (I have questions.)
Even better, the Old Cowtown Museum has vintage hotel menus on display, so you can see for yourself that I am not making any of this up. It’s oddly comforting to know that travelers have always been deeply invested in what was for dinner.
Room, board, and a menu that sounds like a dare—frontier hospitality was truly built different.
4) Farm Life
The Old Cowtown Museum isn’t just about city streets and saloons. Remember, this museum showcases life from 19th- and early 20th-century Kansas as a whole—not just Wichita. Which means you also get a peek at what Kansas farm life was really like.
And don’t worry: Miss Gulch will not show up to steal your little dog. I promise.
One of the most impressive sights here is an authentic grain elevator from 1910. According to the museum, it’s the only fully restored, operational grain elevator in North America—which means if you’ve always dreamed of seeing a grain elevator in action (and who among us hasn’t?), this is apparently your one and only shot.
Kansas farmers could either sell their grain directly to the elevator operators or store it here temporarily. I don’t fully understand why they couldn’t just keep it on their own farms—but that’s probably why I’m not an olde-tymey Kansas farmer with opinions about grain logistics.
Still, it’s fascinating to see how central agriculture was—and remains—to life in Kansas. The scale, the machinery, the sheer importance of grain suddenly makes a lot more sense when you’re standing right next to it.
Frontier cities may get the headlines, but farm life? That’s the backbone.
5) Gun Fights on Main Street
Do not miss the chance to see a gunfight while you’re at the Old Cowtown Museum. They are shockingly entertaining—and before you panic, no, you will not be injured. These are not real gunfights. They’re public performances inspired by dime novels, and they absolutely commit to the bit.
Dime novels were cheap, sensational books that cowboys took with them on the road to pass the time. They couldn’t afford fancy books, and often they didn’t even have one copy per person—one cowboy would read aloud while the others sat around the campfire listening. The plots were dramatic, violent, and designed to keep everyone awake and engaged.
In other words, they were the 19th-century Western equivalent of Marvel movies.
Today, Old Cowtown even publishes its own dime novels, and I assume they’re similar to the performance I witnessed—which involved an angry gunman avenging the murder of his wife.
Spoiler alert: basically everyone died in a gory fashion at the end.
I imagine the real cowboys would have approved.
Two thumbs up.
Fine holiday fun for the whole family.
6) Wichita Shops
There are oodles of re-created shops lining Main Street at the Old Cowtown Museum. You can pop into everything from furniture stores to blacksmith shops to funeral parlors—which really lets you run the full emotional spectrum in under an hour.
But my favorite stop was the recreation of the newsroom of The Wichita Eagle.
The paper’s editor was a man named Marshall Murdock (no relation to Rupert Murdoch, thank goodness). Murdock was a tireless—and I mean relentless—promoter of Wichita. He was absolutely convinced the city was destined to become the next Chicago, and he used his newspaper to tell everyone so.
He even coined a series of nicknames for Wichita, including:
- “The Darling of Destiny”
- “The Queen City of the Southwest”
- and my personal favorite, “The Athletic Ajax of the Aboundful Arkansas”
Listen. I admire the passion. Truly. But you are trying too hard.
A good nickname needs to roll off the tongue. Something clean. Something punchy. The Big Apple. The Big Easy.
May I suggest: The Big Cow?
No?
OK, Marshall. You gave it your best shot.
🌙 Evening: Dinner and a Show
Don’t worry, Internet Stranger—the excitement does not end with the gunfight. Wichita has plenty of nightlife left in it, and after a full day of frontier drama and historical wandering, we absolutely deserve dinner.
We’ll start with a meal at Old Mill Tasty Shop, a true classic American diner and the kind of place that’s getting harder and harder to find. This is a no-frills, do-it-right joint, famous for its sandwiches and milkshakes. In fact, their shakes taste so authentically 1950s that they might as well have walked straight off the set of Happy Days.
You half expect someone to yell, “Ayyyy!” from a nearby booth.
For dinner, I suggest the green chile BLT. It’s always exciting to find green chile outside of New Mexico, and adding bacon only improves the situation. Bacon makes everything better. That’s not an opinion—that’s just science.
Fuel up here, because once we’re done eating, it’s time to walk off dinner with something truly special: a live show where booing is encouraged and subtlety is discouraged.
Onward to melodrama.
🎭 24-Hour Treat: Mosley Street Melodrama
I have traveled all over the world, Internet Stranger, and I have seen a lot of wild things. But I have never—never—seen anything quite as unhinged (said with love) as the Mosley Street Melodrama.
And yes, that is a compliment.
The Mosley Street Melodrama is a full-on audience participation experience. You cheer the hero and heroine. You boo, hiss, and emotionally annihilate the villain. Subtlety is not only discouraged—it is actively mocked. Every show is a parody of something familiar, filtered through a distinctly Kansan lens.
When I visited, I saw a show called The Doctor Is In, an absolutely deranged parody of medical soap operas like General Hospital. But depending on when you visit, you might catch something equally iconic, like Saving Pirate Ryan (not a typo, and frankly, a masterpiece of a title).
The cast is local. The audience is local. And the jokes are extremely Kansas-specific—which somehow made them even funnier, despite this being my first trip to the state. My personal favorite line claimed that Palmer is “where the men are lonely and the sheep are scared.”
(My sincerest apologies to any readers from Palmer.)
Your ticket includes a free bag of popcorn, which feels generous and correct. Drinks are extra—but honestly, the show is even more fun if you’re a little tipsy, so why not indulge? I ordered the very pink Heroine cocktail, which felt both festive and affirming.
I’ve always known I was a heroine—but it’s nice when a theater acknowledges it.
And with that, Day Two in Wichita comes to a close: architecture, frontier chaos, diner food, parody theater, and a room full of strangers yelling at a villain together.
🤔 Three Quirky Questions About Wichita
- Which surprised you more: the Frank Lloyd Wright house in the middle of Kansas, the surprisingly excellent zoo, or the fact that booing at a live theater is not only allowed but encouraged?
Be honest. Wichita thrives on honesty. - If you had to choose just one Wichita experience to defend passionately to skeptical friends back home, would it be Old Cowtown, the Art Museum, or Saving Pirate Ryan (again: not a typo)?
Your answer reveals a lot about your soul. - What would you rename Wichita if you were trying as hard as Marshall Murdock?
Please aim for something catchier than “The Athletic Ajax of the Aboundful Arkansas.”
💌 Now it’s your turn, Internet Stranger!
Email me your answers at stellajane@aroundtheworldin24hours.com. I read every message, I treasure your thoughts, and I may gently judge your choices while nodding in approval. And thank you for visiting Around the World in 24 Hours.
And with that, our 24 Hours in Wichita adventure comes to a close—full of art, animals, architecture, melodrama, and proof that Kansas has been quietly cool this whole time.
Until the next city 🌍✨