Penn Valley Park (Tour) - Clio

Entries on This Tour

1. Liberty Memorial North Fountains

Completed in 1935, these twin fountains flank the steps beneath the Great Frieze on the north side of the National World War I Museum and Memorial. The monumental site opened in 1926 as Liberty Memorial to honor the lives of the 441 Kansas City residents who died in World War I. Made of limestone and granite, these two-tiered fountains were designed by the co-architects of Liberty Memorial, Wight and Wight, and overlook the North Lawn, historic Union Station, and the iconic Kansas City skyline.

2. National World War I Museum and Memorial

The World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City Missouri, is recognized by the United States government as the nation's official World War I museum. The landmark began as the Liberty Memorial, a monument created from 1921-1926 to honor Kansas City residents who had died during the war. The memorial was the product of tremendous community organization. Prominent locals operated a planning community, and city residents crowdfunded over $2.5 million for the project in less than two weeks. The monument draws from various architectural styles, including Beaux Arts Classicism and Egyptian Revival, and features an illuminated, 217-foot, limestone shaft at the center. Renovations starting in 1998 included the expansion of a World War I museum underneath the monument. It reopened in 2006 as the National World War I Museum and Memorial. The museum portion of the complex includes thousands of artifacts as well as the Edward Jones Research Center. The Liberty Memorial is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated National Historic Landmark.

3. Liberty Memorial South Fountain

Located at the entrance to the National World War I Museum and Memorial on the south side of the tower, this three-tiered fountain was originally installed as part of a major restoration effort to the historic Liberty Memorial between 2000 and 2002. The memorial was rededicated in 2002 and expanded to become the National World War I Museum and Memorial in 2004 and designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2006.

4. Paul “Waxie” Hernández Fields

En Español tambien. Paul “Waxie” Hernández, Sr. loved baseball from the time he was a kid playing for the Guadalupe Grade School team in the early 1930s. He later played for many of the Mexican American baseball and fast pitch softball teams in the metropolitan area on both sides of the Kansas and Missouri state lines. “Waxie” started his baseball career with the Guadalupe Center youth team in 1936, played and coached baseball and fast pitch softball for over 60 years. He was still coaching when he fell ill and died in 1992. Paul Hernández, Sr. passed on his love of baseball to his children and grandchildren. “Paulie” became one of the outstanding fast pitch softball pitchers known throughout the Kansas City region. Paulie’s son “Bubba” Hernández and his daughter, Sidonia have followed in their father’s and grandfather’s footsteps by keeping the games alive. Upon “Waxie” death, the Kansas City Missouri Parks and Recreation Department names ball fields in Penn Valley Park in his honor.

5. Site of the Murder of Steve Harvey

In the wee hours of the morning on November 5, 1980, jazz musician Steve Harvey was murdered in a public restroom where the Paul "Waxie" Hernández baseball fields now stand. The killer’s name was Raymond Bledsoe, a 19-year-old white man. In August of 1981, Bledsoe would be acquitted by an all-white Missouri jury before Alvin Sykes, a civil rights activist, brought the case to the Justice Department. Eventually, Bledsoe would be sentenced to life in prison under the Civil Rights Act of 1968 for interfering with Harvey’s right to use a public facility. It was only the fourth such conviction in American history.

6. Pioneer Mother statue (Kansas City, MO)

1927 statue by famed western artist A. Phimister Proctor. Modeled after artist's own mother to honor women who migrated West on the overland trails in the mid-19th century. The monument was celebrated at its dedication, but soon forgotten. The nearby village of Westport sought to claim the statue in the 1980s. Westport claims to be the birthplace of Kansas City.

7. The Hiker - Valor and Patriotism Commemorative Statue

Dedicated in 1947 and located just south of the Liberty Memorial within Penn Valley Park, The Hiker commemorates those who served in several early twentieth-century wars and conflicts from the Spanish-American War, to the U.S. military's occupation of the Phillippines and Amerian troops who participated in the European-led military interventions in China at the turn of the 20th century. The statue and many others of similar design were created by Theodora Alice Ruggles Kitson. The Kansas City landmark was dedicated in 1947, more than twenty years after the World War I memorial opened. Some former pre-World War I veterans, themselves known as "hikers," were present at the ceremony.

8. Spirits of Commerce and Industry

Located at the entrance to the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, these two 12-foot bronze sculptures symbolize commerce and industry. Created by Indiana artist Tuck Langland, the Spirits of Commerce and Industry are three-dimensional depictions of the reliefs that were sculpted into the limestone of the original Federal Reserve Bank in 1921. That building was located downtown at 925 Grand Boulevard. When the Fed built the new headquarters in 2008, Langland was commissioned to create these sculptures based on the design of the original building. Water flows from the base of each sculpture into a reflecting pool, one of which contains three geysers representing the missions of the Federal Reserve.

9. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and Money Museum

Originally located downtown, the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank has continued to serve several states throughout the Midwest and Southwest since 1907. The Federal Reserve is one of the most important financial institutions in the country that regulates and controls the flow of money. Due to growing responsibilities at the Kansas City branch, a new building was constructed in 2008. Located inside the bank, the Money Museum features President Truman’s extensive coin collection and offers free, self-guided tours where guests have the unique opportunity to get their hands on a solid gold bar, setting the Kansas City Federal Reserve apart from other banks.

Sculptor Cyrus Dallin displayed this sixteen-foot bronze statue of a mounted Sioux Indian at San Francisco's 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exhibition. The sculpture was awarded the gold medal, leading to a cross-country tour of temporary installations that included Kansas City in 1916. In response to the statue's popularity, local newspaper editorials called for action, noting that the touring statue was for sale with a listed price of $15,000. Seventeen area organizations led efforts to raise funds, and local teachers worked with area school children to collect small donations, including nickels and dimes. Collectively, the efforts raised the needed funds to purchase and permanently display the sculpture. The effort was successful, with area residents contributing enough to purchase the statue and place it in Penn Valley Park. The Scout has been one of the symbols of Kansas City since its public dedication in 1922.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Penn Valley Park

Created by Nichole Stahly on June 15th 2022, 2:49:38 pm.

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Description

Created by the city in 1900 as one of three major parks for Kansas City and designed by George E. Kessler, Penn Valley Park provides ample green space within the otherwise concrete-dominated area south of downtown. The park features a live theater, the National WWI Museum, ball fields and an off-leash dog park, and numerous monuments. This park has been an integral part of Kansas City for over a hundred years. Prior to its creation, the 176 acres that constitute the park were home to over three hundred buildings and homes. The city's decision to purchase the land and remove people and businesses from the area was contested at the time, but today, the area is one of the highlights of the city. Penn Valley Park was one of the first three parks built in Kansas City and it was part of the larger 'City Beautiful Movement' in the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century.

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