The location of Welcome House KC since the 1980s, this building served as the home of Fairmount Maternity Hospital from 1934 to 1951. Fairmont was established in 1917 and operated until 1963, and was one of several maternity hospitals in Kansas City that were staffed by professionals who provided medical and social services for unwed mothers who needed assistance during and after their pregnancies. Kansas City was sometimes referred to as the "adoption hub" of the United States in the early-to-mid-twentieth century due to its central location and Missouri's simplified adoption laws that also provided sealed records which appealed to both birth mothers and adopting parents. In addition to Fairmont Maternity Hospital, Kansas City saw an estimated one thousand adoptions each year as women from throughout the region sought the services of this institution and several others in the city including the Willows Maternity Sanitarium and St. Vincent’s Maternity Home. As part of a planned expansion of Welcome House KC, this historic building is scheduled for demolition as of 2023.
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.
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.
Located on the North Wall of the World War I Museum and Memorial and opposite from the building's entrance, the Great Frieze was completed in 1935 by famed sculptor Edmond Amateis. The work depicts the progression from the death and destruction of wartime to an idealistic image of prosperity in a time of peace. In the center, Americans are depicted coming together to support their country and do their part in the war effort. The Great Frieze represents the duality between the remembrance of the Great War and the desire to work toward a better future, a duality that shaped the early public memory of World War I.
The third-largest railroad station in the country when it was completed in 1914, Kansas City's Union Station has been restored to its former grandeur and offers a variety of educational and cultural attractions, including Science City, theaters, restaurants, retail shops, office space, and museum exhibits. The Beaux-Arts style building, noted for its colossal size and fine ornamentation, was part of the "City Beautiful Movement" to develop more green spaces and aesthetically pleasing public facilities in Kansas City. The station served as the heart of city's booming transportation industry in the early twentieth century, when the Kansas City was at the intersection of multiple railroads. During its peak, over 200 trains passed through the Union Station daily. The facility experienced a period of decline and deterioration from the 1950s to the 1980s as passenger rail traffic collapsed. Community efforts starting in the 1990s led to a $250 million project to restore the station and revitalize it as a major commercial and educational center. It serves as a model for the potential of adaptive reuse in historical structures. Union Station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
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.
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.
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The visit of a lifetime to Kansas City, Missouri that would ever change Noelle's life. Included are sites that Noelle's parents and aunt and uncle visited when they travelled to KC in 1949 to pick up their daughter at the Fairmount Maternity Hospital before heading back to Chicago.
