The airport site, known then as Wichita’s “California Section,” was identified in the 1920’s by then-City Manager L.W. Clapp. In 1927, the city purchased 640 acres of buffalo grass sod. The land, a square mile east and south of 31st South and Oliver, was still nothing more than prairie when the first air show was held on the site in August 1924.

Breaking Ground

In June 1930, Clapp turned the first spade of dirt to break ground on construction of the administration building. Within a year, financial pressures placed on local and state government forced a work stoppage and the partially completed building stood idle. By 1934, money and manpower was available through the New Deal and the Works Progress Administration, allowing construction to resume. The building was finally dedicated on March 31, 1935.

The upper control tower was added in 1941. Tower operators used light guns that flashed red and green warning lights to signal planes. Mary VanScyoc was the nation’s first female air traffic control operator, working in the tower beginning in 1944. She was on duty when the airport’s main hangar, used as an administration building while construction continued on the terminal, burned down in 1945. She spotted the burning hangar during her shift, closed down the airport and stopped all air travel coming in or out. You can see the entire city from the tower, including excellent views of McConnell Air Force Base, Boeing and the museum’s own ramp.

Another Plane Every 90 Seconds

In its heyday, Wichita Municipal – ICT in aviation parlance – was a major mid-continent stopover for airlines. During the 1940’s, it was one of the busiest airports in the nation, with tower operators managing the constant stream of incoming and outgoing commercial flights. In 1944, a take-off or landing occurred every 90 seconds.

Wichita was also a major destination for nearly every aviation luminary of the times. Charles Lindbergh, Kansas’ own Amelia Earhart and many other celebrities crossed the ramp, admired the beautiful art deco terminal and dined in its cafeteria. The story is even told that Fred Astaire once entertained fellow passengers by dancing in the atrium while awaiting a flight.

Wartime Expansion

A wing was added in the 1940’s at each end of the original terminal, in part to accommodate the War Department’s Army Procurement Division, which used a large part of the building throughout World War II. From this site, the military supervised the Stearman Company’s work on the Kaydet trainer being built across the street at what is now Spirit AeroSystems.

World War II brought an explosion in aviation manufacturing in Wichita, including major efforts by Boeing to build bombers and other aircraft for the war effort. After the war, Boeing’s central presence in U.S. defense strategies meant continued economic benefits for Wichita, but also led to the decision to relocate the city’s airport.

Answering the Call

In January 1951, the United States Air Force announced its intention to establish a base large enough for 6,500 personnel in Wichita in just three weeks. Shortly after the announcement came word that the USAF would take over the Wichita Municipal Airport for pilot training on B-47s. All non-military operators were asked to stop using the facility as soon as possible, with the exception of commercial airline traffic. Construction soon began on what is the current Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport and by 1954, all non-military traffic including commercial airline traffic moved to the new airport.

The USAF and the Kansas Air National Guard used the former Wichita Municipal Airport administration building for the next 30 years. During much of that time, it served as Building One of McConnell Air Force Base. Halls previously walked by Gregory Peck on his way to a waiting airline were redesigned into office space. The restaurant, which formerly fed such notables as Howard Hughes and Wiley Post, likewise became offices. By 1984, the building was no longer needed. The doors were locked and the building abandoned.