WICHITA, Kansas (KSNW) — The Old Cowtown Museum plans to rebuild an old business to showcase what it calls “vehicles.”
“This is a very unique piece of the collection, which includes buggies, wagons, and currently lacks sufficient storage space, and for this reason has never really been shown to the public,” said City of Wichita Arts. the director said. Lindsey Benacka of Cultural Services said:
A donation of $250,000 from the Historic Cowtown Board of Directors and former Wichita Eagle film critic Bob Cartwright has made rebuilding possible, according to District 5 Council member Brian Fry.
“The proposed new donation provides a solution to safely store and display our vehicle collection and further advance the museum’s mission,” said Benacka.
The museum began working on the design of the exhibits in 2018.
The name of the former local business that the museum is rebuilding is Wichita Carriage Works.
“The Wichita Carriage Works opened in 1884, which fits the timeline Cowtown is currently trying to recreate and re-envision,” said Benacka. “It was a fairly large facility with two floors. The one proposed is not very large, but it has been modeled with this in mind.”
It will be built across the livery stables and the veterinarian’s office.