Wichita Facts

• Wichita is known as the "Air Capital of the World."
• Wichita is the birthplace of Pizza Hut and White Castle fast-food chains.
• A.A. Hyde discovered Mentholatum in 1894 in the current The Spice Merchant & Company building. 
• In 2008, the NAACP recognized Wichita as the site of the first sit-in by African Americans at an all-white lunch counter in August 1958 (Dockum Drug Store Sit-In)
• Actress Kirstie Alley, best known for her role as Rebecca Howe in "Cheers," was born in Wichita on Jan. 12, 1951.
• First electric guitar was played at the Shadowland Ballroom in Wichita by Wichitan Gage Brewer in 1932.

Wichita's Numbers

• 5-million Longhorns driven up the Chisholm Trail to the Wichita railhead
• Population of Wichita - 389,255 (as of 2018); 644,510 (MSA as of 2017)
• 8,100+ Hotel Rooms
• 1,200+ Restaurants
• 225 days of sunshine
• 162 performances during Riverfest
• 43 percent of U.S. manufactured general aviation shipped out of Kansas
• 67 percent of general aviation aircraft produced worldwide is manufactured in Kansas
• 19 Museums
• 39 Art Galleries
• 13 Golf Courses
• 28 Great Attractions
• 21 Live Theaters
• 3 Universities
• More than 100 miles of bicycle and walking paths
• More than 23 food trucks in the Wichita Food Truck Coalition
• 32 annual festivals
• 11 Shopping Districts
• 10 local breweries; 1 taproom
• 7^th largest zoo in the United States with third-largest elephant exhibit
• One of 7 wildlife parks with Humane Certified Award
• Largest dinosaur theme park in the country

Wichita's Weather

• Average annual rainfall: 28.61 inches
• Average annual snowfall: 15 inches
• Coldest month: January
• Hottest month: July
• Air quality index in Wichita is 21% better than the national average
• Pollution index in Wichita is 95% better than the national average