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I'd say for visitors, stay west of Troost. Troost isn't "bad" but it's the invisible socio-economic
— and racial* —
Quote:
dividing line in the city. There's a smoothy/juice place called Ruby Jean's on Troost that's delicious for a healthy breakfast or snack option and a great local Black-owned business to support. Also Walt Disney's first studio is on Troost. It's nothing special, yet, but you could say you saw it. I think there's plans to turn it into a museum.
There's a lot of really cool KC Mafia history in the city if you're into that. Look up the Union Station Massacre and then go inside Union Station. It's beautiful.
There is one destination East of Troost that's worth a visit: Swope Park, the city's largest park and one of the largest city parks in the country (1,805 acres, which IIRC is big enough to hold Central Park twice and then some).
The Kansas City Zoo is located there. While it's not as good as its cross-state counterpart in St. Louis, it has gotten better in the years since I left. And the city's summer outdoor amphitheater, Starlight Theater, is also in Swope Park; since it's outdoors, I'll wager there may actually be some shows put on there this summer with capacity restrictions. Also, if you like mountain biking, Swope Park has the hilly terrain for it. And the city's museum for the Battle of Westport, which some refer to as "the Western Gettysburg," is also located in the park (the Civil War was recapitulated entirely within Missouri's borders, and two of the major battles in the Western Civil War took place in or near Kansas City. If you have time, Redlionjr, take a short drive to nearby Lexington to see where the other was fought. A cannonball from the Battle of Lexington remains lodged in one of the columns holding up the portico of the Lafayette County Courthouse).
When Col. Thomas Swope bequeathed his substantial landholdings to the city in 1896 to form the bulk of the park, it was located outside the city limits at the time. Locals complained that the park was "too far out." Swope spent the rest of his life saying that time would prove the naysayers wrong and that the park was "none too far out." Swope was right. His mausoleum sits atop a hill in the park.
*Many Midwestern and Southern cities have clear lines demarcating their black and white parts of town. Kansas City is one of them, and the line is bright, clear and well known. When I was growing up in Kansas City, I straddled two worlds. Like about 90 to 95 percent of its African-American residents (who make up about 25 percent of the city's population), including its current and previous mayor, I grew up East of Troost; the previous mayor and I might have seen each other had I attended my overcrowded neighborhood grade school as he did. But I didn't: My mother wanted me to get the best education she could get for me and had me transferred out-of-district to a school West of Troost next to the university campus. I never attended a school East of Troost in my entire grade and high school years.
Given my career, I consider it karmic that the grade school, which the university now owns, was named for William Rockhill Nelson (see my previous post for his significance).
Redlionjr: You will definitely enjoy your visit to KC and be glad you went afterwards. Let me know what you did and how you liked the place after your trip!
Last edited by MarketStEl; 06-25-2020 at 04:14 AM..
Hi,
Honestly? It would take too long to type ---but someone did, I think on the first page...When I get talking about it and it's working fountains like it's sister city in Seville, the Museum and different areas of the city...I can't stop in person and now they have finished a Multi-Million $ Do-over since I lived there!!!!
I should just go there again myself!!!! So much to do. Gorgeous city ---and many think of it as
some Midwest BBQ town ...nope.
Oh my ---the music Night Life ---to die for.
The homes ---it used to be the wealthiest city per capita.
See? I started to go on and on !! KCMO excites me!
(And I've lived in NYC, Orlando, Boston, Key West, Austin, Gainesville, Bar Harbor, Jackman ME,
San Antonio, Prince Edward Island - most for yrs. Still my favorite city.)
Hot in the summer, tho, not many breezes! Like NYC in August.
Hi,
Honestly? It would take too long to type ---but someone did, I think on the first page...When I get talking about it and it's working fountains like it's sister city in Seville, the Museum and different areas of the city...I can't stop in person and now they have finished a Multi-Million $ Do-over since I lived there!!!!
I should just go there again myself!!!! So much to do. Gorgeous city ---and many think of it as
some Midwest BBQ town ...nope.
Oh my ---the music Night Life ---to die for.
The homes ---it used to be the wealthiest city per capita.
See? I started to go on and on !! KCMO excites me!
(And I've lived in NYC, Orlando, Boston, Key West, Austin, Gainesville, Bar Harbor, Jackman ME,
San Antonio, Prince Edward Island - most for yrs. Still my favorite city.)
Hot in the summer, tho, not many breezes! Like NYC in August.
Not everyone will understand it or see what the big deal is, but there's a certain vibe about KC that some of us just love.
Funny - go around ---see if you get this love of other cities like
we have for KCMO...ha - I even love their Radio Stations!
Drive by the Russel Stover Mansion and it's huge trees...a southern feel. Go at Christmas time!
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---but someone did, I think on the first page...When I get talking about it and it's working fountains like it's sister city in Seville, the Museum and different areas of the city...I can't stop in person and now they have finished a Multi-Million $ Do-over since I lived there!!!!
