Kansas City: Big city attractions, small town charm

by Marilyn Jones

Kansas City has distinct qualities — just ask its citizens. A local construction worker said “it’s the neighborhoods, the feeling of a small community right in the heart of the city.” For a college professor it’s the night life, “jazz, rhythm and blues, that feeling of youth when you’re in a club listening to the rich music that is uniquely Kansas City.”

“And we have world-class museums, out-of-this-world BBQ, an amusement park and the Kansas City Zoo,” adds a Hilton President Kansas City hotel desk clerk.

The city of nearly 500,000 was officially incorporated on March 28, 1853. The territory straddling the border between Missouri and Kansas at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers was considered a good place to build a settlement. Today most of the attractions are on the Missouri side.

One of the best places to understand what life was like on the frontier in the 1850s is the Arabia Steamboat Museum where the world’s largest collection of pre-Civil War artifacts is housed. Its discovery came about when a group of local individuals decided to search for the sunken steamboat.

When the Arabia struck a submerged tree on its voyage up the Missouri River on September 5, 1856, the boat was packed with close to 200 tons of cargo and about 130 people. The boat sank in a matter of minutes. Luckily, its passengers and crew made it to shore, but almost all the Arabia's cargo was lost.

Over the years, the banks of the Missouri River have shifted. This left the Arabia buried under a Kansas farmer's crops. On November 12, 1988, River Salvage Inc. broke ground above where they believed the Arabia was buried. Using bulldozers, backhoes, wells, well-drilling equipment and a 100-ton crane they carved out a 45-foot hole, the size of a football field.

After about four months the Arabia was unearthed.

At the museum, a film introduces guests to the individuals who took on the project and how they uncovered this American treasure. One of the River Salvage Inc. members, David Hawley, often answers questions after the video.

“A professional well-drilling company was brought in to install a 65-foot irrigation system to pump close to 20,000 gallons of water a minute back into the Missouri River,” he explained. “When we got to the steamboat, the first barrel we opened was Wedgewood — all intact and as beautiful as the day it was made.

“Everything was so perfectly preserved that when we discovered butter, it still smelled like butter,” he said.

In the end, River Salvage Inc. recovered more than 200,000 frontier artifacts which included 4,000 boots and shoes, more than 10,000 printed calico buttons, 5 million glass trade beads and tens of thousands of other priceless pieces.

The investors decided to keep the collection together and after the film, guests are invited to see for themselves the type of items that were being shipped west 150 years ago.

A full-scale replica of the Arabia's 171-foot boat deck features a 28-foot working paddle wheel. Visitors also can stop by the preservation lab to learn how materials are cleaned and preserved. This painstaking process will take another eight years to complete according to Hawley. Everything is kept frozen until it is ready to be cleaned.

The collection is so complete that jars of pie mix and pickles are displayed in a general store setting. Guests are even allowed to sample French perfume found on board the Arabia.

Jazz and Baseball

For Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Vice President and Curator Raymond Doswell, Kansas City is unique because of the African American influence on “music, culture and baseball.”

Kansas City’s historic center of African American culture is 18th & Vine, internationally recognized as one of the cradles of jazz.

Today visitors will find the first museum in the country devoted exclusively to jazz. The American Jazz Museum includes interactive exhibits and educational programs as well as the Blue Room, a working jazz club, and The Gem Theater, a modern 500-seat performing arts center.

During the 1920s and 30s, jazz flourished at 18th & Vine and on nearby 12th Street. The museum features jazz greats including legends like Count Basie, Andy Kirk and Joe Turner.

Rare photos, listening stations, memorabilia and personal items also tell the stories of jazz legends Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Charlie Parker. Other exhibits highlight Kansas City's unique contributions to the American medium.

Also located at the 18th & Vine complex is the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) where the look, sounds and feel of the game's storied past are captured for all generations.

The tour begins with a documentary film narrated by actor James Earl Jones. Here visitors learn about the leagues with vintage film footage.

Exhibits including hundreds of photographs and historical artifacts chronicle the history and heroes of the leagues from their origin after the Civil War to their demise in the 1960s.

“The Negro Leagues were established in 1920 by Andrew "Rube" Foster in a meeting held at the Paseo YMCA,” said Doswell. “The YMCA is only two blocks from here.

“Everything in Negro Baseball is before Jackie (Robinson) and after Jackie,” Doswell said. “In 1959 all Major League Baseball was integrated.”

The centerpiece of the NLBM is the Coors Field of Legends features 10 life-sized bronze sculptures of Negro Leagues greats positioned on a mock baseball diamond as if they were playing the game.

Shopping

Designed as the nation's first suburban shopping district for the automobile, the Country Club Plaza was the vision of developer J.C. Nichols.

His idea was to create a real estate development that captured the allure of Spanish marketplaces. Nichols purchased several small lots of land in a swampy and undeveloped area in 1907 and opened the Plaza's first buildings in 1922.

This 15 block outdoor shopping and entertainment district is filled with architecture featuring Spanish-style towers, red-tiled roofs and ornate ironwork, 50 sculpted works of art and dazzling fountains. Boutiques and national stores reside alongside restaurants, outdoor cafes and nightlife hotspots.

Crown Center is the international headquarters of Hallmark Cards, Inc., as well as residential and office spaces with shops, restaurants and entertainment venues. Crown Center Square houses live music performances, the city's only public outdoor ice skating rink and several large fountains.

Two hotels are located here — the 731-room Hyatt Regency Crown Center and the 729-room Westin Crown Center — and three live entertainment venues.

You can’t visit Crown Center without a stop by the Hallmark Visitor’s Center.

Opened to the public during Hallmark's 75th anniversary in 1985, the visitors center chronicles the company's transformation from founder J.C. Hall's two shoeboxes of inventory to its reputation as an international icon with annual net revenues of more than $4 billion.

Displays, exhibits and videos bring the greeting card world to life.

Dining and Nightlife

The new eight-block Kansas City Power & Light District in downtown Kansas City links the Kansas City Convention Center to the Sprint Center. The $850 million development is home to more than 45 restaurants, bars, entertainment venues and retail outlets.

Unusual architecture, lights, neon and creative use of space make this a great destination. For example KC Live!, an entire city block of hot spots featuring two levels with more than 14 high-energy entertainment, nightlife and dining establishments. A full-concert stage, where national musicians and bands perform weekly during the summer and for special events throughout the year, also is located here.

An excellent and moderately-priced restaurant in the Power and Light District is Zaina, an authentic Mediterranean Restaurant located at 25 East 12th Street.

No matter what your interests, style or taste, you’re sure to find Kansas City to your liking — just ask its citizens.

For more information:

All attractions are in Kansas City, Missouri.

Arabia Steamboat Museum: 400 Grand Boulevard, Call 816-471-1856 or check the website at www.1856.com.

American Jazz Museum: 1616 E. 18th Street. Call 816-474-VINE or check the website at www.americanjazzmuseum.com.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum: 1616 E. 18th Street. Call 816-221-1920 or check the website at www.nlbm.com.

Country Club Plaza: For directions and list of stores and restaurants, check the website at www.countryclubplaza.com.

Crown Center: 2450 Grand Boulevard. Call 816-274-8444 or check the website at www.crowncenter.com.

Kansas City Power & Light District:  Located in the heart of Downtown, between Grand Boulevard and Baltimore Avenue, and 12th Street and Truman Road. Call 877-697-5347 or check the website at www.powerandlightdistrict.com.

Listening to Jazz:  More than 20 jazz clubs are open nightly. Three popular clubs -

The Phoenix 302 W 8th Street. Call 816-221-5299 or check the website at  www.phoenixjazzkc.com.

Jardine’s Restaurant and Jazz Club 4536 Main Street. Call 816-561-6480 or check the website at www.jardines4jazz.com.

The Blue Room 1616 E 18th Street. Call 816-474-VINE or check the website at  www.americanjazzmuseum.com.

Accommodations: The Hilton President Kansas City is located at 1329 Baltimore Avenue in the Kansas City Power & Light District.

A year after opening, the hotel served as the headquarters for the Republican National Convention — the year was 1928 and Herbert Hoover was the nominee. The hotel also is home to the Drum Room restaurant where greats like Frank Sinatra, Patsy Cline and the Marx Brothers once performed.

Located at 1329 Baltimore Ave. Call 816-221-9490 or check the website at www.presidentkansascity.hilton.com.

Other attractions, accommodations, shopping and dining, call the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association at 800-767-7700 or visit the website at www.VisitKC.com.