Lewis & Clark Trip Day 12: Kansas City (5/19/2021)

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

(Yes, we have been to Independence and Kansas City, MO, in 1985!)

Our first stop today in Independence, MO, the National Frontier Trails Museum, looked permanently closed.

Statue (2004, by Tom Beard) of Jim
Bridger and a horse head; Bridger was
a famous Old West frontiersman who
discovered the Bridger's Pass that was
used by the Overland Trail (stagecoach)
and now is on the Continental Divide Trail

Pioneer Woman (2016, by Charles Goslin)

Historic Chicago and Alton Railroad Depot (1879) is located
at the National Frontier Trails Museum to illustrate how the
Transcontinental Railroad closed the overland trails

Independence Temple (1990-1994, by Gyo
Abato) is dedicated to the pursuit of peace

The Temple was built by the Community of Christ, which is the former Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

United Nations Peace Plaza (1997) with
Girl with Dove (by Tom Corbin) is described
 as the only memorial in the world
to those persons serving in the
Peacekeeping Forces of the United Nations

Community of Christ Auditorium (1926-1958)

Independence, MO is the headquarters of the Community of Christ.

Truman Depot (1913, for the Missouri Pacific Railroad) was
the final stop of Harry Truman's 1948 Whistlestop Campaign

(We have already visited other Harry Truman-related landmarks in Independence, MO in October 1985.)

Bingham-Waggoner Mansion (1852) was at one time
the residence of painter and Missouri politician
George Caleb Bingham

Truman Courthouse (1836, with many changes) is the
courthouse of Jackson County and contains the office
and courtroom of Harry S Truman when he was a judge

Statue (1976, by Gilbert Franklin) of Harry S Truman

Wild About Harry seems to be a gift store for men (KSS)

Vaile Mansion (1881, by Asa Beebe Cross in Second Empire style)

Continuing to Kansas City.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (est 1990, shares 1997
purpose-built facility with the American Jazz Museum)

No photography allowed in the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of African-American baseball and its profound impact on the social advancement of America.

Gem Theatre (1912, by the Shriner and Powellson
Amusement Company as a silent movie palace serving
Kansas City’s African American population) is the
arts center of the American Jazz Museum (KSS)

Former Paseo YMCA (1914, by Charles A Smith) is where,
in 1920, eight independent African-American baseball
team owners met to form the Negro National League,
under the leadership of Andrew "Rube" Foster

Negro National League murals and a
baseball diamond on the S side of the Paseo YMCA

Mural (2017) on the Kansas City MLB Urban Youth Academy

Jazz Pantheon (2002, by John T Scott) (KSS)

Bird Lives aka Charlie Parker Memorial
(1999, by Robert Graham)

Beer and snack at Boulevard Brewery's Beer Hall

Boulevard Brewery is a Waste Not facility

*On 9/15/1806, on the return trip, Lewis & Clark stopped at a high bluff with a sweeping view of the Missouri River, a commanding situation for a fort.*

Corps of Discovery Sculpture (1999, by
Eugene Daub) at Clark's Point in KC;
facing us are Sakagawea, Meriwether Lewis,
and William Clark

Now we see York (William Clark's slave)
and Seaman (Meriwether Lewis's dog)

Hmm, can we see them all? (KSS)

Clark's Point, KC, MO: Lewis & Clark Historical Marker

View from Clark's Point (not named for William Clark)
with its 1941 WPA stone wall

Air Play (2018, by Stacey Sharpe) at Clark's Point

Clark & Lewis point the way to Kaw Point Park in Kansas City

*On 6/26-29/1804, the Corps of Discovery camped at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers.*

Kaw Point, KC, MO: Lewis & Clark Historical Marker

Memorial to Native Tribes, with 19 nations individually
named on each stand; were they the indigenous people
impacted by the Corps of Discovery Expedition?

The Kansas River on the right flows into the Missouri
coming in from the left (Lewis points to the Missouri for us)

Lewis & Clark, Tamiko & Kent at Kaw Point

Dinner was at Stroud's Restaurant, known for
pan-fried chicken and cinnamon buns

Did we get enough cinnamon buns?

Next: Lewis & Clark Trip Day 13.