Kansas City is a city positively busrting with amazing history and preserved landmarks. There are the classics, of course, but a few stand above the rest. Here’s some of the most amazing historical landmarks in Kansas City that are just waiting for a visit. How many have you seen so far?
- 1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home & Museum (Independence)
1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home & Museum / Facebook This brick and limestone building was saved from destruction more than once, and is also rumored to be haunted. It’s stood here since the Missouri-Kansas border war and through the Great Depression. Amazing!
- Union Station (Kansas City)
Jazz Guy/Flickr Though most of us aren’t strangers to this building, you might not know it’s over 100 years old. There’s always something changing here, except for the stunning architecture and fountain outside - just how we like it!
- Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio (Kansas City)
A.D. Modlin/Flickr Thomas Hart was a wonderful artist, and both his home and work are preserved in the same place. Visitors can still see it exactly as it was when he died there in 1975.
- Dillingham-Lewis Museum (Blue Springs)
Blue Springs Historical Society / Facebook This museum was built in 1906 and is the only structure in the whole town constructed of native limestone. It has seven rooms and was the home of Narra Lewis, who is famous for seeing every president from Lincoln to Roosevelt. She also found fame after a hatchet-swinging raid on a local saloon!
- 18th and Vine st. (Kansas City)
ROBERT HUFFSTUTTER/Flickr This district was where Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, and Ella Fitzgerald made their music and formed our local jazz scene in clubs like the Blue Room.
- City Hall and Observation Deck (Kansas City)
Lane Pearman/Flickr City Hall is a great place to view the city’s Art Deco architecture, and the building is filled with history, inside and out. The observation deck makes seeing the city a breeze, where you get a bird’s eye view of it all.
- Ensor Park (Olathe)
Loren Mead 111/Google This dairy farm museum dates back to the 1890s, where you can see elements of the lives of the Ensor family and their archives.
- Cave Spring Historic Site & Nature Center (Kansas City)
Erin/Flickr Not only is this a wonderful hike, it brings you right to the ruins of old houses left for years, as well as a beautiful cave.
- Truman Farm Home (Grandview)
Grandview Historical Society- Missouri / Facebook The Farm Home was built by Harry S. Truman’s grandmother and dates all the way back to the 1890s. It used to be a 600-acre farm, but is now an important piece of Truman’s life records. He worked hard on this farm, and today his home still stands strong.
- Westport
Paul Sableman/Flickr The Westport Landing dates back to the 1830s, when wagons headed west on the California, Santa Fe, and Oregon Trails. Today, however, the buildings here house shops, bars, and trendy restaurants of all sorts.
- Grinter Place Museum (Kansas City)
Grinter Place State Historic Site / Facebook This Frontier-era farmstead overlooks the historic Delaware Crossing at the Kansas River. It was also the home to Annie and Moses Grinter, who operated a ferry and trading post.
How many of these historic spots have you explored lately? Do you have any others you would add to this list? Let us know in the comments!
1859 Jail, Marshal’s Home & Museum / Facebook
This brick and limestone building was saved from destruction more than once, and is also rumored to be haunted. It’s stood here since the Missouri-Kansas border war and through the Great Depression. Amazing!
Jazz Guy/Flickr
Though most of us aren’t strangers to this building, you might not know it’s over 100 years old. There’s always something changing here, except for the stunning architecture and fountain outside - just how we like it!
A.D. Modlin/Flickr
Thomas Hart was a wonderful artist, and both his home and work are preserved in the same place. Visitors can still see it exactly as it was when he died there in 1975.
Blue Springs Historical Society / Facebook
This museum was built in 1906 and is the only structure in the whole town constructed of native limestone. It has seven rooms and was the home of Narra Lewis, who is famous for seeing every president from Lincoln to Roosevelt. She also found fame after a hatchet-swinging raid on a local saloon!
ROBERT HUFFSTUTTER/Flickr
This district was where Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, and Ella Fitzgerald made their music and formed our local jazz scene in clubs like the Blue Room.
Lane Pearman/Flickr
City Hall is a great place to view the city’s Art Deco architecture, and the building is filled with history, inside and out. The observation deck makes seeing the city a breeze, where you get a bird’s eye view of it all.
Loren Mead 111/Google
This dairy farm museum dates back to the 1890s, where you can see elements of the lives of the Ensor family and their archives.
Erin/Flickr
Not only is this a wonderful hike, it brings you right to the ruins of old houses left for years, as well as a beautiful cave.
Grandview Historical Society- Missouri / Facebook
The Farm Home was built by Harry S. Truman’s grandmother and dates all the way back to the 1890s. It used to be a 600-acre farm, but is now an important piece of Truman’s life records. He worked hard on this farm, and today his home still stands strong.
Paul Sableman/Flickr
The Westport Landing dates back to the 1830s, when wagons headed west on the California, Santa Fe, and Oregon Trails. Today, however, the buildings here house shops, bars, and trendy restaurants of all sorts.
Grinter Place State Historic Site / Facebook
This Frontier-era farmstead overlooks the historic Delaware Crossing at the Kansas River. It was also the home to Annie and Moses Grinter, who operated a ferry and trading post.
Feel free to check out some of the ways Kansas City became the coolest city in the Midwest.
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