America’s old parking behemoths are falling into disrepair. But some of them have a future.
By David Kidd | Governing
Knightley’s Parking Garage opened for business in Wichita, Kan., on March 13, 1950, a shining example of mid-century auto-centric architecture. An announcement in The Wichita Eagle hailed the newest addition to downtown as “The Midwest’s Largest and Most Modern Parking Garage.” Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, it charged 50 cents to park for the day, 75 cents for the evening and one dollar to leave a car overnight.
Navigating the five-level facility and finding a parking spot was not a problem. Motorists would leave their cars at the entrance and a Knightley’s valet took care of everything. At the end of a shopping trip or workday, customers relaxed in an air-conditioned waiting room while an attendant fetched the family Ford or Chevy. Downtown stores sent purchases directly to the garage where they were stored in a safe until they were transferred to the car for the drive home.
Times changed. By the 1980s, people preferred to park themselves and carry their own packages. The last paying customer pulled out of the deteriorating garage in 2009, and what was once the Midwest’s most modern parking facility continued its fall into a state of neglect and dilapidation.
