Kansas City, Missouri has become an incredible destination location for food lovers, cultural arts connoisseurs and sports fans, so let’s join the bandwagon and head to the City of Fountains, the BBQ Capitol of the World, and the Paris of the Plains…
Going to Kansas City
For many years, this district of nearly 500,000 people has struggled with its “cowtown” image. While the stockyards certainly still exist, they’ve been joined by world class art galleries, musical venues and baseball teams. Today, more than ever, travelers are singing “Going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come!”
Here’s just a few of the reasons why:
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Opening its doors in 1933, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an internationally renown institution housing over 35,000 works of art, ranging from ancient to contemporary.
Every year, the museum—which has hosted traveling exhibits like King Tut and “Through the Eyes of Picasso”—welcomes over half a million visitors to its exhibitions, tours, classes, talks, and sponsored festivals. Outside the museum, the Donald Hall Sculpture Garden is filled with diverse and intriguing art installations, some of which are interactive for the viewer.
The Nelson-Atkins has one of the world’s premier photography collections, with images by the likes of Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange, Terry Evans and over 900 other talented photographers. But ironically, the museum is most closely associated with one art installation on the campus lawn: the shuttlecocks. Measuring 19 feet tall, these aluminum, fiberglass and plastic sculptures are scattered throughout the grounds, creating a bit of whimsy and fun.
Kansas City Public Library
Don’t judge a book by its cover, because the Kansas City Library uses its downtown parking garage as an advertisement for what might (or might not) be inside. Giant tomes decorate the exterior wall of an entire block, creating oversized bookshelves along the street, enticing many a bookworm to come inside for a closer look.
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
A more recent addition to the Kansas City skyline is the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Opened in 2011, this stunning venue is home to the Kansas City Symphony, the Lyric Opera and the Kansas City Ballet company. Its innovative design was created by Moshe Safdie, and the building quickly became one of the world’s 15 most beautiful concert halls.
Musicians have marveled at the acoustics in the Kauffman Center, but most laymen will immediately enjoy the unique exterior design of metal and glass. Suffice to say, taking in a concert here is a must.
American Jazz and Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
And while we’re talking about music, you can’t visit Kansas City without indulging in some jazz. The 18th and Vine district on the east side of town is where Charlie Parker, Count Basie and Joe Turner practiced their crafts, as did so many other nationally known musicians. So it makes sense that the first museum in the country dedicated exclusively to jazz would be here.
Enjoy the interactive displays and history in the museum, then attend live evening performances at The Blue Note lounge down the street.
While in the neighborhood, don’t miss the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum next door. The first Negro National League of Baseball was created right around the corner at the Paseo YMCA (Note: There’s a great wall mural of the Kansas City Monarchs baseball team, including Jackie Robinson, there.)
The museum has several multimedia presentations, films, artifacts and even a stadium entrance. It’s a great place to learn more about the struggle for these men to create a league of their own, while they were denied a place on Major League baseball teams for many years.
All things Harry Truman
Harry Truman cut a wide swath across Kansas City and the surrounding landscape. Signs of Truman are everywhere: from Truman Road to Truman Corners to Truman Medical Center and even Truman Sports Complex. You can visit his grandfather’s farm, where young Harry spent much of his boyhood, in Grandview. Or venture out to Independence and take in both the Truman Library and Truman’s home, both before and after his White House stay.
This one-time haberdasher is held in high regard in his home state, having served in the National Guard and as a captain in World War I. Truman became a district judge after returning home from war, then became a Missouri senator and the vice president of the U.S. under Franklin Roosevelt. With Roosevelt’s passing in 1945, Truman was quickly forced to make dire decisions to end World War II, dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
His reelection campaign in 1948 is well documented as one of the biggest upsets in history, as the Chicago Tribune presumptively went to press with the headline “Dewey Defeats Truman,” only to be proven wrong. After serving another four years in office, Truman moved back to Independence to live a quieter life in the state he loved.
It’s easy to resonate with his affection for his old neighborhood when you see all the beautiful, turn-of-the-century homes that surround his. In fact, just a few blocks from the Truman home lies the Harvey Vaile Mansion, a wonderful example of Victorian Italianate architecture that you can tour. The Harvey Vaile Mansion sits on a large parcel of land right in the middle of Independence—a prime example of stately luxury for the time in which it was built.
Championship baseball
These days you can’t visit Kansas City without acknowledging their ownership of not one, but two championship baseball crowns—an especially sweet claim for local fans who waited 30 years between titles to see their beloved Kansas City Royals bring home the pennant again.
Playing home games at Kauffman Field in the Truman Sports Complex, the American League team has loyal and devoted followers all over the Midwest. They share the complex with another stadium, Arrowhead, where the Kansas City Chiefs take on opponents on the gridiron most Sundays. Both fields are easily accessible on the east side of the city.
The best BBQ in the world
It would be remiss to not mention the one food staple that this BBQ Capitol of the World can’t live without. There is a constant battle between locals as to which restaurant has the best barbecue, but whether you chose Jack Stack, Joe’s, Arthur Bryant’s or Gates, any one of them will beat barbecue from elsewhere hands down. (Note: As a born-and-bred Kansas City girl, Jack Stack’s been my pick since the age of 5, when it was still called Smokestack.)
Country Club Plaza
It seems that every town has their own “plaza.” In Texas, it’s any courthouse square. In Italy, it’s the piazza. But in Kansas City, the plaza is downright amazing during the Christmas season.
A six-block area of midtown—deemed the first outdoor shopping mall in the nation—was specifically designed by JC Nichols to replicate the buildings of Seville, Spain. Every year for the past 80 years, the Country Club Plaza throws a switch on Thanksgiving night to light up the entire area for the holidays. Approximately 350,000 people show up to see the lighting ceremony, and holiday shoppers come from throughout the world to enjoy the festive atmosphere in December. (Pro tip: Bring your camera and a tripod.)
Summers bring one of the country’s most esteemed arts fairs to the plaza. Concerts along Brush Creek are a weekly affair, and a favorite pastime of tourists and locals alike is visiting several of the fountains in this area to pitch pennies and make a wish—most likely a wish to return for another visit.
The heart of the heartland
Although more often that not categorized as “flyover country,” Kansas City is certainly worth a stopover on your trip itinerary. Take a look at all of the RVs you can rent from Outdoorsy and plan a trip to this culturally diverse town in America’s heartland. You’re sure to be enamored with its grace and Midwestern charm.
