Kingman (City)

Kingman Schools

Kingman-Norwich 331

Kingman-Norwich USD 331 serves students from Kingman, Norwich, and the surrounding area. Total enrollment for is 992. Students can participate in Battle of the Books, Scholar’s Bowl, FBLA, FFA and many more activities. 

Kingman Lifestyle

Kingman is home to 3,158 (2013) residents. Kingman is brimming with historic content and scenery. Residents enjoy quick commutes to Wichita, Pratt and Hutchinson.

Kingman Transportation

Highway US-400/54 runs through Kingman. Downtown Wichita is under 50 minutes from Kingman. Pratt is only 35 minutes away and Hutchinson is a 45 minute commute.

Kingman Local Attractions/Activities

Kingman is home to many local and national restaurants including Smitty’s Carry Out, Ribordy Grumpy’s Steakhouse & Bar, and Pizza Hut. Kingman has several churches including Calvary Baptist Church and St. Patrick Catholic Church. Kingman is home to the Kingman Historic Theatre which shows new releases. Surrounding towns offer many other attraction including the Strataca Salt Museum in Hutchinson and the Sedgwick County Zoo.

Kingman Historic Theatre

The Kingman Theatre is one of the earliest Boller Brother designed theaters, completed in 1920 as a silent movie/vaudeville house. It opened as the Meade Theatre. The theatre had some unique features including a clear span balcony all in wood without any center supports. There are no steel beams and you can feel a slight bounce when you walk around on it.

The Theatre also has wood floors built over concrete. This was a luxury and very expensive in its day, but the wood helped keep your feet warm and away from the cold concrete.

The decor is not as fancy as some theatres. It was remodeled in the 1930's when the talking movies came out to the present "Art Deco" look. Mr. Meade improved the sound by covering up the beautifully painted plaster walls and the plaster ceiling that had curved edges and indirect lighting with coconut fiberboard. Only a little of the original plaster dental molding is visible at the top of the theatre walls.

The theatre didn't change again until the return of the veterans from WWII who came with their families to the movies. It was in the 1950's that the current Marquee was added. A final renovation was done around 1995 by Jack and Sue Birdsong. Patric and Joan Conner purchased the theatre in 1997 and installed a digital DTS sound system, added stage lighting and a new screen.

(Source- Kingman Historic Theatre-www.kingmantheatre.org)