From the time of the first European settlement Kansas City has had a diverse population. Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont is the first recorded nonindigenous visitor of the area and he and his Native American wife settled there. The 1753 Treaty of Paris established Spanish control. West Port was founded in 1833 and a year later Westport Landing was established as the last provisioning stop for travellers going further west. In 1850 Westport officially became a town named Kansas. www.visitkc.comThe French introduced slavery into the area in 1719. They were largely from Haiti and worked in the lead mines. The French also bartered for native slaves with the tribes. Generally Missourians did not have plantations with large numbers of slaves with the vast majority of owners holding less than ten slaves. There was a free black population prior to the Civil War and by the January 11, 1865 emancipation 39% of the service eligible black men fought with the US Colored Troops.
A few years prior to and when the Great War began in 1914 rural African Americans migrated north for better jobs. This movement (1900-29) caused the rise of a black middle class and the growth of black owned and operated businesses. At the close of the war America viewed itself differently and returning African Americans were determined to avail themselves of the American Dream. Kansas City stood at the nexus of historic changes and it has maintained museums and attractions that allow today’s visitors to become immersed in the events and meet the people who changed our way of life.
The National WWI Museum and Memorial is the absolute best place to start. It is the country’s sole museum dedicated to preserving and promulgating the stories of this global conflict. A drive began to build it in 1919 and 2-years later the site was dedicated in the presence of the military leaders of the 5 Allied nations, the only time they were together. It opened in 1926, is one of the top 23 museums in the nation and is a National Historic Landmark. The collection exceeds 100,000 objects.
Entrance into the museum is gained via a glass bridge over a field of 9,000 red poppies, each poppy representing 1,000 battle casualties. Self-guided tours should begin with the introductory film. Galleries explore the war from all viewpoints and they are filled with large photographs, artifacts, dioramas, interactive areas, personal stories and films. Highlights of the tour include replicated trenches, a 1917 battlefield Harley, von Hindenburg’s tunic and a 1918 Model T ambulance.
More than 375,000 African Americans served in WWI, 200,000 of them served overseas and approximately 10% saw combat. The most famous of the black combatants were the Harlem Hellfighters of the 369th Infantry, originally the 15th New York Colored National Guard regiment. The French suffered massive casualties and in 1917 the 369th was sent to replenish their numbers. The French called them 'Les Enfants Perdus,’ The Lost Children, until their prowess in battle caused them to dub them the Hellfighters. In 1918 two of the men were awarded the Croix de Guerre, the first Americans to receive the award in the war. They spent more days, 191, on the front than any other Americans, none of them were ever captured and they never lost any ground once taken.
Guardian Spirits, Courage, Honor, Patriotism and Sacrifice, adorn the 217-ft. tower above the Liberty Memorial. It is illuminated at night and a portico affords visitors a panoramic view. Displays inside are dedicated to Missouri’s WWI participation. Housed within the building is the Pantheon de Guerre, once the world’s largest painting. Currently it measures 400-ft. long and 42-ft. high. www.theworlsdwar.org
The Hellfighters left an indelible mark abroad under the leadership of bandleader and regimental lieutenant James Reese Europe. He was assigned to form a band, he did and they introduced jazz to the world. To better understand the impact of jazz on the world you can stroll over to the 18th & Vine Historic District and the American Jazz Museum and Walk of Fame.
The museum interprets the history of jazz through changing exhibits, the Masters Exhibit and Jazz and Technology and the Blue Room, an on-site jazz club, presents regularly scheduled live performances. Highlighted masters include Armstrong, Ellington, Fitzgerald and “Yardbird” Parker. The jazz experience is conveyed through use of memorabilia, artifacts, photographs and personal items. www.americanjazzmuseum.org
Selected jazz artists are honored annually with a bronze star placed on the walkway around the museum. The ceremony is followed by a concert at the nearby historic Gem Theater. This year’s inductees included Louis Armstrong, George Benson and Nina Simone. www.americanjazzwalkoffame.com
The American Jazz Museum shares a facility with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum just as the stars in both fields shared the period before and between the World Wars. No lens better relates the story of the African American’s 20th-century pursuit of their goals than this $2.5-million museum. Baseball, America’s sport, tells a uniquely historical American story. From the Civil War until 1890 there were black and interracial baseball teams. In 1890 the National Association of Base Ball Players agreed to bar blacks from organized teams, nonetheless urbanized areas of the country continued to have all black teams.
In 1920, a group of owners led by Rube Foster, established the Negro National League, the first black league.
Visitors enter through stadium-style turnstiles and begin the tour with an orientation film, “They Were All Stars.” The museum tells the story with a masterful use of artifacts, photographs, documents and 15 interactive stations. As you complete the tour visitors are invited to join the most legendary players of the Negro Leagues in the form of 10 life-sized bronze sculptures at their positions on the Field of Legends. Satchel Paige’s original gravestone is on display and it should be noted that there is no birthdate. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum has a complete schedule of educational activities and special events. This information can be accessed online. www.nlbm.com
Two of the Negro Leagues’ greatest legends, Leroy Robert “Satchel” Paige and John Jordan “Buck” O’Neil, are interred in Forest Hills Cemetery. O’Neil’s gravesite is unadorned but a monument dedicated to his career and tireless work on behalf of the Negro Leagues is located in Monarch Garden. Satchel Paige is honored with a large memorial on Paige Island. Visitors can obtain information and a map in the office.
Walt Disney moved to KC with his family at the age of 9. During WWI he served in France as an ambulance driver but returned in 1919 and took a job with a newspaper. That same year he was laid off and went into the cartoon business for himself. He raised $15,000 and founded Laugh-O-Gram Studio at 31st and Forest Ave. His business took a downturn and he was forced to sleep in the studio, his only companion a mouse that would serve as the inspiration for Mickey Mouse. The studio is not open for tours but it is decorated on the exterior.
KC has several world-class museums and exhibitions that cast a spotlight on the cultural history of the United States up to and after WWI. Each offers self-guided tours and each is totally unique.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is actually 2 structures, the first built in the 1930s. The newer, Bloch Building has been deemed an “architectural marvel.” The museum’s collection encompasses 5,000-years of world art and is rated one o the top museums of its type in the nation. The African Galleries are creatively displayed, incorporate videos and encourage seated contemplation. The stunning American Indian Galleries include objects from pre-European contact to contemporary American Indian art of North America. Galleries are arranged geographically beginning in the East. The exhibit areas flow into one another representing the fact that early boundaries were permeable. There are two restaurants and a garden on-site so that visitors can make a day of it. www.nelson-atkins.org
The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art exhibits a collection of modern and contemporary art. The restaurant, Café Sebastienne, is an absolute must see. The café serves seasonal, local cuisine in an artistic setting. The Kempers commissioned African American artist, Frederick James Brown, to adorn the restaurant’s walls. His work, “The History of Art,” is specific to the site and features 110 variously shaped, interlocking, canvasses that interpret individual artworks that span the globe and date from 1445 to the mid-1990s. Dining there is a totally unique experience. www.kemperart.org
KC’s Union Station dates from 1914 and closed as a depot in 1985. This station was the one used by soldiers returning from all the major wars as well as musicians spreading jazz around the country. The Grand Hall has ceilings 95-ft. high and a Harvey’s Restaurant. Harvey’s has always been located there. It achieved fame for its food, service and the fact that it was the first restaurant to have women servers.
Union Station now hosts special events and exhibits and is the home of the top-rated Science City. “Union Station stories” are displayed over 3-floors in conjunction with a special “Shoe Shiners Exhibit.” It recognizes the role of the shoe shiners who worked in the station and visitors learn that a master shiner could earn up to $200 per day. www.unionstation.org
Kansas City Fun Trolley Tours depart from the station. These guided tours provide a good overview of the history and attractions in the city. Tickets are available online and reservations are recommended. www.kcfuntours.com
Fine-scale miniatures are tiny, functioning, replicas of furniture, artwork and ceramics created by artisans. The world’s largest collection of miniatures and one of the largest antique toy collections is on view at the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures. Two KC women gathered the foundation of the 33,000-sq. ft. collection. The museum now houses 72,000 objects, 21,000 miniatures, largely on a 1:12 scale, 1-inch equals 12-inches. The miniatures are stunning, displayed singularly and in room settings, and each drawer opens and each painting is framed and exquisite. A 7-inch cabinet with 19 secret compartments is a real showstopper. Self-guided tours include several galleries with interactive displays so visitors can test their skill.
Toys are exhibited on the 2nd-floor both thematically and chronologically. No matter what your age you are bound to find the toys that evoke childhood memories. A series of dollhouses are displayed, the featured one is a 9-ft., furnished dollhouse that once had working electricity.
Also on this floor is a special exhibition, “Civil Rights: Black Paper Dolls in America.” The paper dolls are part of the collection of Arabella Grayson and it ranges from the first commercially produced black paper doll, the 1863 Topsy, to current dolls of the Obamas. Interpretive panels help visitors explore the cultural and historic implications of these toys. It will be on view until August 2016. www.miniaturemuseum.org
Kansas City is recognized as the Barbecue Capital of the World and it is home to more than 100 barbecue restaurants. Henry Perry, an African American, is considered the “father of Kansas City barbecue” because his was the first documented commercial barbecue restaurant. Henry moved to the city in 1907 and began selling slabs of barbecue wrapped in newspaper from a cart. Annually the American Royal World Series of Barbecue, with 500 international teams, is held in KC. This year the dates are Oct. 26-30.
KC has many other restaurants that serve a variety of cuisines. One of the most famous of the other eateries is the Flea Market Bar & Grill in Westport. It serves the “best burger” in the city and has been featured on the Food Channel five times. www.westportfleamarket.com
The Hilton President is a best bet for accommodations. This 4-star hotel is located within the 8-block Power and Light Entertainment District, within walking distance to many attractions and 1-block from the free trolley that offers access to all the others.
Lieber and Stoller wrote, “I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City, here I come,” in 1952. I think that is still a great idea. #visitKC
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