OK, so I just spent forever posting about the landmarks and attractions of Kansas City, and then Firefox crashed, just before I could hit send. Literally, I was just about to send it. So I will try to remember what all I wrote.
We've got a lot of little historical sort of things, but maybe not anything "famous" as such.
In Liberty, we have the Liberty Memorial, which is the national memorial for World War 1. I believe it opened in 1926. It also now houses the official World War 1 Museum, which opened in 2006.
Nearby, in Independence, is the Harry S Truman Home:
Downtown is Union Station, an old rail station.
It opened in 1914, and was the second-largest train station in the US. In 1933, it was the site of a shootout between gangsters and the FBI. People like to touch the bullets that are still imbedded in one of the outside walls from that shootout. Union Station has been renovated, and now still has some (limited) Amtrak train service. It also houses a planetarium, kids' science museum, our Irish Museum and Cultural Center, and traveling special exhibits (such as Bodies Revealed and the Dead Sea Scrolls).
We also have the super-nice Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
It has extensive collections of European, Asian, Ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and American art, with smaller collections of pre-Columbian art, as well as a large collection of English pottery.
The Bloch Building, an addition to the Museum, opened recently, and now houses the African and Contemporary collections, as well as the entire Hallmark Photographic Collection. When it opened, the Bloch Building got a lot of national press. I haven't been back since it opened, so I really need to get over there. (Free admission every day!)
Kansas City also has the Steamboat Arabia Museum.
The Arabia sank in a river nearby, in 1856,loaded with 200 tons of cargo that was headed to frontier merchants. Most of the cargo was perfectly preserved in the river mud, and is now on display here. Included are dishes, clothing, eyeglasses, food, medicines, building supplies, guns, etc. My mom made me go there once, and it was much cooler than I thought it would be.
I'm a short drive away from Lexington, Missouri, site of two US Civil War battles. (Confederate victories, both times.)
Also nearby is Lawrence, Kansas, which was a center for anti-slavery in the 1850's. (The whole town was burned down at least once, many people murdered, and sacked a few times.) There are little monuments and plaques all over the city.
I am also quite close to St. Joseph, Missouri, home of Jesse James. (His brother participated in the aforementioned massacre at Lawrence.)
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I am only 1 hour away from Brunswick, Missouri, home of The World's Largest Pecan:
:biggrin2:
