TRAVEL

Kansas City: Not Your Average Cow-Town

Kansas City is known for its barbecue. Sweet and smoky brisket, and tangy sauces have drawn visitors to stop in this fly-over state for a bit of America’s famous cuisines. But this town is more than your average middle-American cow-town. Kansas City runs deep in history and is rich in culture.

A visit to Kansas City’s historic/jazz district on 18^th and Vine will offer an experience like no other. The districts webpage, 18vinekc.com, advertises it as, “a place where exceptional music, 
art, sports and cuisine collide.”

There are jazz clubs lining both sides of 18^th street in downtown Kansas City, where live jam sessions and poetry readings keep the night life hopping. Locals would recommend the Blue Room for those looking for a little more of Kansas City’s jazz history. As part of the American Jazz History museum, it includes exhibits that offer tribute to some of the biggest names in American music.

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum sits just down the street. Here, sports fans and history buffs can experience a different side of America’s greatest past-time. Located just two blocks from where Andrew “Rube” Foster founded the Negro National League in 1920, the museum plays homage to players such as Kansas City’s own Jackie Robinson: the first African-American to play on a major league roster.

Just outside of the city, the Kansas City metro area offers several smaller attractions, including many civil war landmarks and museums. 

The Lone Jack Civil War museum rests just 30 miles outside of the heart of Kansas City. Here visitors can view artifacts pertaining to the war and General Order #11, which instigated a mandatory evacuation of hundreds of families across four counties in Missouri. Lone Jack is also the home of a battlefield that raged in the summer of 1862. According to the museum’s historians, soldiers of both sides remain buried on the grounds in one of the few cemeteries that has not be designated as a national cemetery. Making it a unique experience for any history buff.