From the Nightlife Guide —

From the Flicker to Doc Howard’s to now Public at The Brickyard, nightlife locales change with every generation.

Wichita State alumni and former students share their tales of nights on the town during their time as a Shocker.

When an independent art historian started at Wichita State in 1969, he pledged to Phi Delta Theta, a testament to most of his nightlife habits at the time. Their main hangout spot was the Flicker Lounge, a bar that was nestled in what is now a small strip mall on east 13th Street.

According to Jim Johnson, the Flicker was their spot mostly because a fraternity brother owned it. Nowadays, the Flicker is mostly known for being the site of the grisly murder of a 20-year-old WSU student in a storage room during a 1988 New Year’s Eve celebration.

Johnson said another popular spot was the Penthouse, a lounge located in what is now the international students building at the corner of 17th and Hillside Streets. Johnson’s high school band played there occasionally.

“I had a lot of good gigs there,” Johnson said. “A lot of fraternity parties would go up there.”

Johnson also said Embers was a good spot to get a beer and a sandwich. According to a 2011 obituary in The Wichita Eagle, Embers was the first restaurant opened by Gary Cocking, who later went on to own Harry’s Uptown Bar & Grill on Douglas Avenue until he died.

In the 1980s KMUW hosted a music program called “After Midnight” deejayed by WSU students.

Since then, Old Town in downtown Wichita and places on the outskirts of town, like Club Rodeo and the Cotillion, have become a hub for student hangouts.

But with every generation of student, the “hot” location changes with the culture.