History
The Rise and Fall of an Overland Park Icon
Metcalf Avenue is certainly not the Champs-Élysées, but at one time, a French-themed market loomed large — like a medieval castle — above Overland Park’s main drag. This superstore, in fact, was named the French Market, and curiousKC delved into the history of the place at the behest of Quentin Brewer, a Mission, Kansas, resident…
Turn O’ the Century Kansas City Amusement
Nowadays, if you want entertainment, you don’t even have to leave your couch — seasons of “Friends” are just a Netflix log-in away. The more adventurous types can head to First Fridays or take a ride on the Mamba roller coaster at Worlds of Fun. But what about a hundred years ago? What the shuttlecock…
Exploring Frank Lloyd Wright’s Naturalistic Legacy
By Christopher G. Olszewski Our area certainly has some distinctive architecture, including the art deco Power & Light Building in downtown Kansas City and the massive new Church of the Resurrection sanctuary in Leawood, Kansas. Before those bricks were laid, one of the world’s most famous architects left his mark on Kansas City. During a…
The Return of the American Bison
North America’s largest mammal, the American bison, is an enduring symbol of the Great Plains. Bison once ranged from Canada to New Mexico and from Nevada to the Appalachian Mountains. By 1889, their populations were reduced from 30 to 60 million animals to fewer than 1000. Bison were pushed to the brink of extinction by…
Kansas’ Important Place in Black History
Today, Kansas is known as a deeply conservative state, but a historian reminded a Kansas City audience that the state actually has a long history of racial progressivism dating back even before its statehood. “There is no other state beyond Kansas whose history is so intertwined with the idea of African-American freedom, African-American liberation,” said…
A Healthy Bond
Throughout history, marches and protests have allowed women to change the world with their feet. Perhaps no one contributed to that legacy more than Harriet Tubman. She trekked out of Maryland as a fugitive slave in 1849, and then she walked to and from the South 19 times to help hundreds more escapees reach freedom…
KC Pastors Recall Tense Days After MLK Assassination
When Kansas City exploded in fury and literal fire after the April 4, 1968, assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., area clergy worked to restore calm and then insist that the community work to remove the underlying causes of the rage. It was important — at times dangerous — work that helped shape…
A Look Back at the Deadly ‘68 Riots
Fifty years ago this April, Kansas City experienced deadly riots that put the national spotlight on our city. They left six people dead, hundreds arrested and multiple blocks of the city in flames. Frustrated with the slow pace of civil rights reforms and outraged at the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., protesters in Kansas…
An Exchange of a Lifetime
By Debbie Coleman-Topi Amid the riots unleashed following the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., a spark of hope quietly ignited in the center of the country. That flicker was right here, in Kansas City, where Catholic leaders launched an experiment that confronted race head-on by bringing black and white students literally face to…
Bet You Didn’t Know ‘Amazing’ Religious Archive is So Close To KC
You may be surprised to learn that the first King James Version of the Bible, published in 1611, came in “he” and “she” editions. No, one wasn’t for males and one for females. Rather, in the book of Ruth, one translation said “he went into the city” in verse 15 of chapter three, and one…