by Polly’s Pop in Independence was made using water from a local spring from 1923 to 1967. The brand was revived in 2016, and you can watch production on a vintage bottling machine through a glass window in its current storefront location
Sadly, neither of us liked this soda – so much so that we actually threw some of it away.
We didn’t get to go inside the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, but we walked around the outside to take in this remarkable building. It’s nearly 285,000 square feet and includes two main performance halls, plus office space, warm-up rooms, rehearsal space, and dressing rooms. The 1,800-seat Muriel Kauffman Theatre is home of the Kansas City Ballet and Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and the 1,600-seat Helzberg Hall is home to the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra.
Per wikipedia, “The Kauffman Center was designed by lead architect Moshe Safdie, acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, theater consultant Theatre Projects Consultants and Richard Pilbrow, and engineering firm Arup. Local firm BNIM was the associate architect. Lead contractor was J.E. Dunn Construction Group of Kansas City.”
The historic Union Station was built in 1914 and featured 850,000 square feet of space. At its peak in 1945 it serviced 670,000 passengers. It closed in 1985, but in 1996 a $250 million project gave it new life, with museums and attractions. In 2002, Amtrack started up train service again.
The main reason we went to Union Station was to see this painting: The Creation of Union Station (2006) by Anthony Benton Gude (who is none other than the grandson of Thomas Hart Benton!). The painting features locomotives from the twelve railroads that served Kansas City back in the day.
The Kansas City Public Library Central Library branch features a “community bookshelf” along its parking garage. The 22 spines, each of which measures 25 feet tall by 9 feet wide, list 42 titles, which were suggested by Kansas City readers and selected by the library’s board of trustees. It was completed in 2004. Doug and I are both huge readers, so found this super fun. I was particularly pleased to find To Kill a Mockingbird, while Doug, of course, found several books that delighted him. A full list of the titles can be found at this link.
Doug identified the chirping of a Blue-gray gnatcatcher while we were birding at Kaw Point Park, but we just couldn’t find it. Suddenly Doug not only identified the source, but realized it was a pair going in and out of their nest! What a find!
Country Club Plaza opened in 1923, and was not only the first planned suburban shopping center, but it was also the first regional shopping center specifically designed to accommodate shoppers arriving by car. The 18 buildings are in the “Baroque Revival and Moorish Revival style echoing the architecture of Seville, Spain” (Wikipedia). The center also includes more than 30 statues, murals and tile mosaics, and it features a half-sized Giralda Tower of Seville.
We got a “chili bomb” at Grinders Pizza. “Tots, chili, Cheez Whiz & scallions in the middle of your pie.” We had to get the chili on just one side to accommodate me, but overall this concoction was surprisingly tasty!
Boy and Frog, acquired 1928, by sculptor Raffaello Romanelli. This boy is living his best life!
This was also located in Country Club Plaza.
Doug had some brisket from Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque, but it wasn’t as exciting as he was led to expect.
