College Hill, Wichita, Kansas

History

College Hill was platted as a series of developments during a real estate speculation boom of the 1880s. The name came from a proposed Methodist college that would have been located in the neighborhood at Douglas and Rutan, but the Methodist church instead choose to build its college, today known as Southwestern College, in Winfield, Kansas. While a few houses in the neighborhood were built prior to the turn of the century, most were built between 1900 and 1934. In December 1926, the Lincoln Heights Addition between Douglas and Kellogg and Oliver and Crestway consisting of 73 acres and 250 lots was placed on the market. Construction of Lincoln Heights Shopping Center at Douglas and Oliver, begun in June 1948, was completed in July 1949.

The area that is now College Hill Park served as the Wichita Country Club from 1901-1912. It was redeveloped from an overgrown golf course into its current park configuration, including its swimming pool, via WPA funds during the Great Depression.

Geography

College Hill is located at 37°41′13″N 97°17′22″W (37.686944, -97.289444) at an elevation of 1,360 feet (410 m). It comprises the area between Central Avenue to the north and U.S. Route 54 to the south and between Hillside Street to the west and Oliver Avenue to the east. Located approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) east of Downtown Wichita, College Hill borders the neighborhoods of Sleepy Hollow and Country Overlook to the north, Crown Heights North and Crown Heights South to the east, Fairfax and Longview to the south, and East Front and Uptown to the west.

Government

For the purposes of representation on the Wichita City Council, College Hill lies within Council District 1.

For the purposes of representation in the Kansas Legislature, College Hill is located in the 29th district of the Kansas Senate and the 84th district of the Kansas House of Representatives.

Parks and recreation

Points of interest