The spotlight is dimming on one of Wichita’s iconic stages.The nearly 100-year-old Crown Uptown Theatre, nestled in the heart of College Hill, is back in the spotlight after the city of Wichita debates the theater’s status as a historical landmark. On Tuesday, July 15, the City Council “considered” whether the landmark theatre should be placed on the city’s historical registry.
They ultimately failed to register the building as historical.
Owner Mike Brown filed for a permit to tear it down months ago; his course of action came shortly after the Wichita City Council denied his request to more than double the venue’s seating capacity from 850 to 2,066.
Local businesses and residents pushed back, raising valid concerns about parking overflow, increased traffic and general safety — and the city listened. But Brown’s response is a final curtain call that reads not as a negotiation, but more like an embarrassing temper tantrum.
The City Council voted 6-1 to extend a 180-day interim control period, delaying any demolition until early August. The extension gives the city time to evaluate if the nearly 100-year-old building qualifies for Wichita’s historic registry — a designation that requires further review before a wrecking ball has the chance to swing on stage.
In the same meeting, Mayor Lily Wu and council members Dalton Glasscock and JV Johnston voted against even beginning the process. Their reasoning was concern over violating the property owner’s rights.
In an interview with The Wichita Eagle, Wu said, “I believe in the value of the Crown Uptown and its historic presence and part of our Wichita history. However, I’m very concerned when we are taking away a property owner’s right to say whether they do or do not consent to have something done to their property.”
The statement feels like a polite nod rather than real support, as if she were trying to just get a participation trophy. The Crown Uptown isn’t an abandoned building or some random Wichita house — it is a cherished part of various communities.
Despite her claim that she “believes in the value of the Crown Uptown and its historic presence,” Wu ultimately preferred to let a grown man try to bully people to get his way by threatening a landmark in the city.
Wu was not present during the registry vote this past week.
The council members who voted “no” to the building being put on the registry — Becky Tuttle, Dalton Glasscock and JV Johnston — according to Channel 12, stated that “They do not support telling a property owner how to manage their property. However, they expressed that they do not want to see Crown Uptown demolished.”
Perhaps this jumpscare, to destroy the cherished landmark, was part of Brown’s scheming all along. But whatever the case, the threat to destroy a building that holds creativity, history and love by the community should not be sent to a death sentence because of “property rights.”
If Brown can’t responsibly manage the venue under its current limitations, he shouldn’t have bought it in the first place. Preserving the Crown Uptown isn’t about denying someone the right to run their business; it is about honoring and celebrating the city’s past.
The Crown Uptown should have been on the city’s historical registry years ago. The fact it’s still in limbo is shocking, especially considering it is not that much younger than the Orpheum Theatre, just a few miles west of the Crown Uptown.
While the Orpheum is notably the first atmospheric theater in the United States and the oldest one still standing, it was also built in 1922. The Crown Uptown was built in 1928.
Now, with the demolition delayed and the conversation ongoing, we have a real opportunity to change the script — to keep this story from ending in tragedy.
Brown may want his final bow, but the rest of Wichita isn’t ready to leave its seat.
