It turns out that I’m really bad at actually relaxing on vacation, especially when I’m traveling somewhere new. Sitting around the hotel or resort just feels like a wasted opportunity when I could be out hunting down a historic building or exploring off the beaten path. Just this past weekend, I traveled to Cleveland for a Friday work meeting, staying overnight to visit Microcenter and the USS Cod Submarine Memorial on Sunday. If I can leverage a work trip into a vacation, I’m all for it!
Since retiring, my parents have set a goal of visiting every Major League Baseball stadium in the country. I’ve joined them for some of the different stadiums, including trips to Boston, Baltimore, and Seattle/Oakland. When the chance to see the Yankees play the Kansas City Royals came up, I started planning the ultimate 3-day tour of Kansas City, which led to this blog post.
The first point of interest I saw was the iconic “Western Auto” sign that towers 12 floors above Kansas City. The sign is a remnant of the Western Auto Corporation, founded in 1908 by George Pepperdine. What started as a mail-order auto parts business driven by the widespread adoption of the Ford Model T grew into a nationwide chain of auto parts stores. But the building atop which the sign is perched wasn’t built by Western Auto—it was Coca-Cola who chose the site and constructed the office tower. The site was well-suited for Coca-Cola’s West-Central operations and had easy access to nearby Union Station and its railroad tracks. Western Auto eventually purchased the building as their headquarters and erected the sign, which remained behind after the company was acquired by Advance Auto Parts in 1998. It was eventually restored and relit by the condo association that now occupies the building.
The National WWI Museum
Only a short distance away from the Western Auto sign is possibly one of the most architecturally significant structures in Kansas City, the National WWI Memorial. Thanks to a group of prominent Kansas City citizens, millions of dollars were raised by the time ground was broken on the monument in 1921. The site is a mix of Beaux Arts with Egyptian elements like the two guardian sphinxes which flank Liberty Tower, the spire that juts skyward from above the museum. On sphinx shields its face from the horrors of the past, while the other looks towards the future.
The museum has a nice balance of artifacts and historical interpretations, mixing relics of WWI with live effects and video presentations. With so much to look at, you could easily spend all day reading the details behind the artillery, weapons, and personal effects on display throughout the museum. The lower level of the museum showcases random and duplicative artifacts within the collection and gives patrons the opportunity to see curators at work behind-the-scenes. Don’t tap on the glass though, you’ll spook them!
Above ground is the original memorial buildings, which have towering ceilings adorned with murals. Only one of the buildings was open during my visit. The new addition, which holds the museum’s permanent collections, lives within the pedestal below the Liberty Tower. Ascending the elevator to the top of Liberty Tower affords a a great view of Kansas City, Union Station, and the Western Auto sign. If you ever visit Kansas City, I’d argue the WWI Memorial should be top of your list for places to visit.
Brown v. Board of Education NHP
My next stop involved a drive to Topeka, KS to see the Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park. This historic building, formerly the Monroe Elementary School, houses exhibits related to the landmark Supreme Court case, and is one of six segregated schools that are part of the National Historic Park listing. Despite changing hands many times after closing in 1975 due to declining enrollment, the building retains interesting features like the child-sized enamel water fountain in the hallway and the hand-stenciled names above the doors of the auditorium, principal’s office, and classrooms. I found the video presentation that loops in the gymnasium to be quite informative and presented in an interesting format, even if it was a bit dated.
Unfortunately I didn’t have any time to drive through Topeka proper, though the skyline is clearly visible from the school. My hope is that I’ll make it back around someday to properly explore the city. I had one more stop to go before making the drive back to Kansas City for the Yankees/Royals game, which was Harry S. Truman National Historic Site.
Truman National Historic Site
I made it to Independence just as the day wound down and the sun dipped closer to the horizon. I’d just missed the last tour of the Truman house, the interior of which is only accessible with a National Park Ranger guided tour. The visitor’s center occupies an old firehouse in central Independence and stays open later than the outlying sites, so I was able to get my NPS passport stamp and zip through the gift shop. I couldn’t get a good angle on the Truman house in Independence with the setting sun, so I instead opted to drive over to Grandview and see another site within the NHS, Truman’s 1894 farmhouse.
Like the house in Independence, the interior of the Grandview farmhouse is not open to visitors. Only a small chunk of the 600 acre farm remains behind the house - the majority was sold off for development before the NPS acquired the site. You can walk around the property and peer through the windows, but watch out for the aggressive animals that supposedly live under the smoke house out back…
There was one last place I was dying to see before I had to return the rental car and catch my flight back to Newark. I threw my Mavic Classic 3 in the trunk and drove back across Kansas City to The Roasterie, a coffee shop and roaster that has a Douglas DC-3 strapped to the roof. I tried taking a shot with my 19mm PC-E lens but found the drone produced a better picture - being able to fly up high and position the DC-3 against the Kansas City skyline made for a more interesting composition. I picked up a cup of coffee (that I had to pound back before going through TSA) and a bag of coffee beans for making cold brew at home, though I wish I’d had more time to soak it all in before leaving. The good news is there’s always more history and interesting architecture out there to explore!