Kansas' Once-Thriving Shopping Center Is Now A Recently Abandoned, Eerie Wichita Location
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.
Whatever the reason, Boulevard Plaza shuttered its doors in 2019. There was an attempt to revitalize it in 2022, but because of a lack of permits, it remained empty, subject to the whims of vandals. Three of the buildings were put up for auction in 2023, including the medical center, but currently, the future of this once-thriving site remains unknown. Instead, it stands as a ghostly remnant of a bygone time, and its abandoned buildings look as if they'd fit right in with the world's largest living ghost town located outside of Wichita.