A Touch of the Jazz Age

Should you find yourself in the vicinity of Wichita, Kansas, or anywhere nearby, by all means make your way to the old Broadview Hotel downtown. Ideally located on the lush banks of the Arkansas River, near the historic Delano District to the east and Old Town to the west, it is within walking distance to numerous museums, education centers, entertainments, shopping areas, walking trails, and parks. But best of all is the hotel itself and its immediate grounds and environs. The hotel opened in 1922, its construction having been begun on September 15, 1921. It was to become one of the most renown hotels in the Midwest and was replete with a clandestine basement speakeasy during prohibition. Through the years to come, the hotel was enlarged with a north wing and a large ballroom.

In 2011, Drury Hotels acquired the Old Broadview, renovating and restoring much of its original splendor and creating a beautiful park area on its property along the river. Further afield, lush walking trails wind themselves along the river, over and around bridges, by stone structures, and around the magnificent Keeper of the Plains, a 44-foot steel Native American sculpture with arms stretched outward.

My husband and I discovered the Broadview Drury Plaza some years ago on a trip across the Midwest. We come back here from time to time. This is one of those times. With its Jazz Age style, I always find myself waiting for Jay Gatsby to stroll down its sconce-lit hallways in white tie and tails or run into him having martinis with Daisy in the grand lobby. Fortunately, the Broadview exudes the romance of Scott Fitzgerald’s novel without bringing to mind its characters’ shallow lives and the tragic ending to Gatsby’s American Dream.