Around the Town Thursday: Kansas City Livestock Exchange Building

Happy Friday eve everyone and welcome to another edition of Around the Town Thursday!  Today we're back to exploring Kansas City and we're highlighting the Kansas City Livestock Exchange Building.

Front of Kansas City Livestock Exchange Building

Entrance to the Kansas City Livestock Exchange Building

Originally built in 1910, the Livestock Exchange Building was the headquarters of the Kansas City stockyards.  According to the National Register of Historic Places application: "At the turn of the century the stock yards covered 207 acres with accomodations for 70,000 cattle, 40,000 hogs, 45,000 sheep and 5,000 horses and mules daily. By 1871 seven railroads were operating in the stock yards; today there are over ten miles of track inside the yards excluding acres and acres of track to the east and west."

The stockyards themselves were originally established in 1871 in Kansas City, Kansas along the Kansas River and Missouri Pacific railroad tracks.  According to the Kansas City Kansan newspaper article "How KC became 1 of great stock markets of world": "In the heyday year of 1923, 2,631,808 cattle were received at the Kansas City yards."  The stockyards originally contained five acres and by 1883 another 125 acres had been added.  While there were earlier buildings erected on the grounds of the stockyards, the brick building that currently stands is considered the highlight of the period from 1871 to 1909.

Currently (after a thirteen million dollar renovation in 1991) the building serves as an office building, containing everything from restaurant facilities to a post office to a health club.  While not ornate in decor the building has beautiful original oak woodwork and a simple, yet beautiful Grecian key floor border.

This important piece of Kansas City history has withstood time, floods and the closing of the Livestock Exchange.  It's now a part of the National Register of Historic Places, which will provide the opportunity for future generations to actually see this beautiful building.

Around the Town Thursday: The Money Museum at Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  We've got a nice little post for you to read while you're enjoying your good food.  Today we're peeking in at The Money Museum at Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
The Money Museum is located inside the Federal Reserve Bank

The Money Museum gives visitors the opportunity to watch millions of dollars of currency be processed, check out some interesting exhibits and learn about the economy all in one visit.  And the best part of all of this is that it's free to view!

Reservations are not required to tour this museum for groups of 20 or fewer but you will need to go thru a security screening to get in.  You can sign up for a guided tour for groups of 15 or more.

Hours of operation, parking and accessibility information and information regarding security screening can be found here for the museum.  For a little prep for your tour you can check out highlights of the Money Museum here.  The museum recommends approximately one hour to complete the self-guided tour.  It's right next door to the National World War I Museum at the Liberty Memorial, however, so you can make a day of it and tour both museums!

This museum is definitely worth your time, so make plans to go learn all about the economy and the currency process at The Money Museum at Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

And make sure to stop by next week for a very special Around the Town Thursday post!  We definitely won't be in Kansas anymore!

Around the Town Thursday: Kansas City Museum at Corinthian Hall

It's Thursday and time for another edition of Around the Town Thursday.  In the spotlight today is a historic building that's very near and dear to my heart: Corinthian Hall.

South facade (front) of Corinthian Hall

Porte cochere with bronze and wire glass canopy

Many local residents might know this building as the Kansas City Museum of History and Science, which it did house for many years.  

Many Kansas Citians may remember such icons as the igloo on the third floor, the covered wagon on the first floor and the tepee display on the first floor of the museum.  And who could forget the Natural History Hall housed in the carriage house which was full of stuffed animals contained in lifelike dioramas of natural habitats of each animal.  I'm sure many of us remember the bear at the end of the hall!

But what many visitors of this hallowed institution may not know is the fabulous history of this building and its residents.  Kansas City has a wonderful history tied directly to the builder of this home: Robert A. Long.

Robert A. Long was many things but he's most well-known in the Kansas City area for being a lumber baron, philanthropist and driving force behind the Liberty Memorial (now known as the National World War I Museum at the Liberty Memorial).  He was also instrumental in the building of several other buildings in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

According to the Friends of Kansas City Museum at Corinthian Hall website, "Corinthian Hall, one of Kansas City's larges and most well-known residences, began its life not as a plan for a mansion, but as a plan for a stable."  According to Robert Long's daughter, Loula Long Combs, Robert saw the need for a new stable and decided the family should also have a new home to go with it.  That decision lead to the creation of Corinthian Hall.  Referred to as Corinthian Hall because of the six Corinthian columns located in the front of the house, Corinthian Hall boasted approximately 50,000 square feet of space which was broken down into three floors containing approximately 70 rooms and closets, 15 bathrooms, nine fireplaces, an attic and a basement containing a full-length bowling alley.  The home was completed in 1910 and the Long family resided there until Robert Long's death in 1934.

The building is absolutely gorgeous on the outside and inside.  Right now, with the restoration going on, you have to enter the grounds from the North side of the grounds.  But oh!  What an entrance.  If you happen to go during the spring and summer the wisteria may very well be in bloom on the pergolas and its so pleasant to just be able to sit on a stone bench, under the wisteria-covered pergolas and enjoy the shade and beauty of the grounds.

North entrance of the grounds partially showing the pergola and wisteria

Pergola and wisteria at Corinthian Hall

Access to Corinthian Hall is currently restricted to hard hat and guided exhibit tours.  I can't recommend the hard hat tour enough.  It's a great tour and gives visitors a great deal of insight into the history and current renovations going on.  You can see where the renovations stand now, hear about previous phases of the renovations and learn about future plans for the museum.  The stained glass, original walls and floors, grand staircase and other fancy bits are a beauty to behold, even now during renovations.  One can only imagine what the grandeur might be like when the renovations are complete.  Information on the hard hat tours can be found here.

Grand Staircase

Beautiful stained glass window at the top of the Grand Staircase

Stained glass bay window in the the dining room

Close up of stained glass bay window in the dining room

Close up of stained glass bay window in the dining room

Stained glass sunlight in sun room

Decorative corner moulding located in the Grand Salon

There's a fantastic timeline of the history of the museum on the Kansas City Museum's website but the short and sweet is that after Robert Long's death in 1934 the house sat empty until 1939 when the Kansas City Museum opened it's doors within the house.  The buildings and grounds were put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.  In 1999, the association which managed the museum merged with the entity which managed Union Station and in 2001 the two entities merged and incorporated.  In 2005, the museum embarked on it's current path of restoration from the museum of the 1950s-1980s back into the R.A. Long home known as Corinthian Hall.

Personally I'm very excited to see the restoration continue on Corinthian Hall.  I've watched the restoration as its moved through each of its phases thus far in the process and, while it takes a great deal of time, I'm confident that the results will be well worth the wait.

Museum admission is currently free while the renovations are going on.  Current hours can be found here.  There are some very interesting current exhibits to be seen during your visit and don't forget to check out their great adult and family programs that are currently available.

The few pictures I've included in this post are just a few of the gorgeous elements of Corinthian Hall.  Take a day to stop by and see this historic gem, take a hard hat tour, walk around the grounds and check out the beauty.  It'll be worth your time.

Follow Friday: Ancestry Sisters

TGIF and welcome to another edition of Follow Friday.  Today I'm highlighting Ancestry Sisters' blog.  Here's a quick disclaimer: Ancestry Sisters is a professional genealogist's blog.  I have not received any compensation from Ancestry Sisters for this post.  My Follow Friday posts are as unbiased as I can possibly make them and my criteria for Follow Friday is simply that the blog has (fairly) current posts and that I feel the posts are interesting and relevant.

Anyway, I was originally drawn into Ancestry Sisters for their post series on Was Mary Doefour really Anna Myrle Sizer? Help us find new clues and confirm this mystery (it should be noted the series is a re-post of a series of articles written by Rick Baker for the "Peoria Journal Star") but delving into their post history a little further I was excited to discover The Scary Side of Your Family Tree and The Importance of Researching Siblings.  While I don't personally have the need for the information given in The Scary Side of Your Family Tree (at this time), it was an extremely interesting post and, heck, knowledge is power right?  The Importance of Researching Siblings, however, was a different story and provided me yet another avenue I might approach with one of my brick walls.  We're always taught to focus on our direct lines in genealogy but here is an instance where researching non-direct lines assisted Ancestry Sisters in breaking through a brick wall they had.  Looks like I may be going off on a tangent in the next few weeks to see if I can find anything for my brick wall via her siblings.

Take a bit of time today and go check out Ancestry Sisters.  I bet you'll find something there that may be helpful in your research.

Around the Town Thursday: Kansas Cosmosphere & Space Center

It's Thursday and time for another edition of Around the Town Thursday!  We're still hanging out in Hutchinson for Museum Day Live! but we've moved from Strataca - Kansas Underground Salt Museum to the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center!

Mercury-Redstone Rocket located outside
the Cosmosphere's main entrance

Since D1 and I were already in Hutchinson we decided to go to both the Salt Museum and Cosmosphere on Museum Day Live.  The great thing about the Cosmosphere is that there's something there for everyone...literally.  Besides the museum and it's massive amount of exhibits, there are films, planetarium shows, an A/V tour, flight simulator and a special conservation project tour.  You can pick and choose what you see and do while at the museum, but whatever you do make sure you allow plenty of time!  The Cosmosphere website offers sample itineraries for various amounts of time which are good guidelines.  Here's my couple of pennies worth: forget doing anything else the day you visit the Cosmosphere because it's absolutely worth spending all day there!

D1 and I were on limited time because Ginger J had a Boy Scout function that evening so we knew we wouldn't be able to do everything.  We skipped the shows (and didn't know about the conservation project tour) and we headed straight into the museum.  I've been to the Cosmosphere before but it's been a very long time.  There was a new feature I hadn't seen before prior to entering the museum: you could stand in front of one of the museum's beautiful murals and have your picture taken!

D1 and me at the Cosmosphere in front of a mural honoring the
founder, Patty Carey, and the development of the Cosmosphere
Mural painted by Robert McCall

My favorite piece of artwork at the museum is the stained glass window above the entrance to the exhibits which pays tribute to lost astronauts.

It's a beautiful piece and I can't help but stare at it whenever I go to the museum.

The museum is chronologically laid out very well.  As for the actual layout I personally don't care for all the angles, I feel that it causes the museum to be disjointed and, at times, difficult to know which direction to go and what to see next.  That, however, is my only complaint about this museum and it's a minor complaint at that.  The museum is packed FULL of great exhibits and information.  It takes you step by step from the very beginning of the space race to as current as they can get it without compromising current projects.  There's even a small exhibit about the Berlin wall.  It amazes me how many exhibits the museum staff has been able to fit into the space they have in the museum.  I'd love to see the museum be given the opportunity to have a larger building.  I can only imagine what the staff could do with it.

There are so many exhibits it's hard to choose just one or two to highlight here.  Some of the ones I enjoyed the most are the Berlin wall exhibit, the Kennedy exhibit, the Liberty Bell 7 and the moon rock.

A piece of the Berlin wall on exhibit at the Cosmosphere

Moon rock on display at the Cosmosphere

Liberty Bell 7 capsule (post restoration)

Interior picture of the Liberty Bell 7 capsule (post restoration)

But out of all the exhibits there was one that was my absolute favorite: the exhibit case on John Glenn and his space flight.  John Glenn was my favorite astronaut.  He was smart, likable, well-respected, hard-working and just an all around good guy.  While not as noticed as Neil Armstrong and Gus Grissom he was an important part of the space race.  It was nice to see him get some well deserved spotlight with his own exhibit case.

John Glenn: First American in Orbit

Newspaper with headline announcing John Glenn's successful orbit

There's also a really great outdoor exhibit of the Titan rocket that you can walk around the base of.  Unfortunately it was closed the day we went due to bad weather (I was a sad panda, I really enjoy looking around the Titan rocket pit).  Again, there is so much to see and do there it's impossible to list everything.

The staff was friendly and helpful.  They don't hover around you while you're there but if you need something they're always available.  There's a food court if you get hungry and, of course, a gift shop that has some really cool goodies for sale.

The Cosmosphere website is informative and worth checking out to help you plan your visit to the museum.  I didn't think the ticket prices were too bad for what you get.  The museum has longer hours than most museums as well so there's plenty of time to peruse the exhibits if you plan ahead a little bit.  The Cosmosphere also offers opportunities for Scouts, field trips, special events and SPACE CAMP!  Who wouldn't jump at the chance to be an astronaut for a week!

The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center was voted one of the original 8 Wonders of Kansas.  I give it an A++!

Around the Town Thursday: Strataca - Kansas Underground Salt Museum

It's Thursday, who else is excited for Friday eve?!  Another Thursday brings us to another Around the Town Thursday post.  Today we're looking at the Strataca - the Kansas Underground Salt Museum.

Entrance to the Visitors Center of the Kansas Underground
Salt Museum located in Hutchinson, Kansas

Once a year the Smithsonian Magazine hosts an event they call Museum Day Live! and on that day you can get free admission to one of over 1,500 museums that choose to participate for you and a guest.  It's not just Kansas that participates, this is a nationwide event with FaceBook and Twitter presences in addition to their website.  It's a fantastic event and makes me love Smithsonian Magazine that much more for hosting such an event.

This year D1 and I were actually free the day Museum Day was scheduled for so we decided to make a day of it.  D1 had been wanting to go to the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson for awhile so I signed up for a ticket for us.  Tickets are issued by household so at some point he decided to sign up for a ticket to the Salt Museum, also located in Hutchinson.  I was excited about going to the Cosmosphere but to find out that we'd be including the Salt Museum in our trip made my day.  It had been awhile since I'd been to the Cosmosphere but I'd never been to the Salt Museum.  And, oh!  A blog post to boot.  It doesn't get much better than that.

Hutchinson is about four hours away from Kansas City so we got up at really-stinking-early-o'clock in the morning to get to Strataca early enough for the first tour.  The museum is actually below ground...650 feet below ground to be exact.  The building that serves as the entrance actually doesn't hold much more than the ticket counter, waiting area, restrooms, locker area and tour prep areas.  The tour groups are limited to 28 people because of the capacity of the elevator down to the museum.  Even though you're assigned to a tour group, you're not actually tied to that group for the entire time you're in the museum.  The museum is self-paced once you get thru the initial tour guide introduction.

Large piece of salt mined in the Salt Museum

The museum website recommends allowing at least two hours for the museum experience.  You could spend far, far longer than two hours in this museum.  The exhibits are interesting, videos informative and staff friendly and knowledgeable.  The museum offers two excursion rides, each costing an additional fee after the purchase of the regular ticket (there are several different ticket options, including a Salt/Cosmosphere combo ticket).  The Train Ride and Dark Ride are absolutely worth the additional purchase.  As an added bonus to the great tours these rides provide, taking the Dark Ride gets you the opportunity to take home your own piece of salt from the museum.

D1 enjoying the Train Ride at the Salt Museum

Having fun at the Salt Museum!

I absolutely recommend going to see the Salt Museum!  Make sure you allow plenty of time so you don't rush through the museum.  If you have the time and money to do both rides in addition to the museum, go for it!  D1 and I both thought the rides were worth the price paid.  Be open minded when you go, it's not all about the mining process.  You also learn about the history of the mine, the people who worked in the mine, geology, and you even learn a little bit about post-mining storage facilities that work in conjunction with the mining operation.  Don't hesitate to ask questions, the museum staff is knowledgeable and ready and willing to answer them.

And the Strataca doesn't stop with the museum!  They have an events area (and often hold weddings, meetings, theater performances and other events there), different opportunities for Scouts, schools and kids in general and various special events, many of which sound like so much fun!

Take a day and go deep into Kansas...underground.

Around the Town Thursday: Amigoni Urban Winery

Welcome to another edition of Around the Town Thursday!  I'm excited about today's subject, Amigoni Urban Winery in Kansas City, Missouri's West Bottoms.

Amigoni Urban Winery

I love finding new wineries because that means wine tasting which equals finding new wines and that process is so much fun!  Amigoni was started in 1995 by the Amigoni family.  Their About Me page has a very nice history of the beginnings of the winery.

If you like dry wines then Amigoni is definitely the place for you to go.  While I'm not a fan of dry wines, I always like to try as many wines as I can when I go to a wine tasting.  Even if I end up not liking the wine I still want to try it, just in case, because you never know what you're going to end up liking.

So I visited Amigoni during my bachelorette party because a friend of mine, V, (insert shameless plug here) who makes fantastic beads was showcasing her beads at a show being held on Amigoni's grounds.  It was a winery I hadn't been to yet so the girls said what the heck and made it our first stop of the day.  Again, I'm not a fan of dry wines anyway but the crew in the tasting room was fun, perusing the wares at the show was a nice diversion and getting to see V was a bonus.  Little did I realize that the winery was actually housed in a historic location!

By now, no doubt, you've figured out I love history and all things historic.  The highlight of this winery visit for me was the building itself.  Amigoni is housed in the historic Daily Drover Telegram Building.  Constructed in 1909 the building was home to a livestock industry newspaper for 50 years.  Amigoni has obviously put a great deal of effort into returning the Daily Drover back to it's original glory.  The architecture, woodwork and tile are gorgeous.  It's definitely worth your time to go down to the West Bottoms to visit Amigoni.  Several of the girls at my bachelorette party enjoyed the wines there and the view isn't too bad either.

Follow Friday: a3Genealogy

It's Friday again (and who doesn't love that?) so here's another edition of Follow Friday!  Today we're going to look at a3Genealogy.  A brief disclosure: a3Genealogy is a professional genealogy consultant, but in my opinion, Kathleen also writes a great blog post.  Her post on Tips to Researching WWI War Brides focused on a subject I hadn't thought of before, though my darling husband's family did have a war bride in the family (though it was not WWI).  That post may have hooked me, but she has several others that also contain very good information.  As a matter of fact, there are few that I didn't read in their entirety.  Even though her post on Tips for Researching Performers and Showmen doesn't apply to my family (that I know of) I found it worth reading, if for no other reason than it was interesting.

Kathleen's posts are well written and very informative.  I find myself looking forward to her next post to see what wonderful new information she'll impart.  I encourage my blog readers to take a minute and read one of her posts, I'm sure you'll also end up hooked on her blog.

Around the Town Thursday: Chubbys on Broadway

Welcome to Around the Town Thursday!  Thursday is becoming one of my favorite days because of Around the Town Thursday.  I love highlighting interesting and unique places.

Kansas City may be known for it's bar-b-que and jazz but don't ever think those are the only good things KC has to offer.  There are tons of great museums, activities, wineries and distilleries and places to eat.  And I love to eat!  D1 is a big foodie and he's got the digs on lots of good little places with great food.

Chubby's on Broadway is a fantastic family-owned diner in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

The interior design is as close to 1950s as you can get without actually going back in time, which I absolutely love.

Love the decor!

One of Chubby's claims to (local) fame are that they're the "Home of 'The Big One'", the "Big One" being huge cinnamon rolls.  Their cinnamon rolls are to die for.  And, yes, big too.

But their cinnamon rolls aren't the only yummy things at Chubby's.  The burgers are great, eggs benedict rock, biscuits and gravy are like eating on the farm and D1 can't get enough of their pancakes.

Between the atmosphere and food this is, by far, one of my favorite places to eat.  Besides, who doesn't love hearing a jukebox play in the background while looking at pictures of Elvis, Marilyn and Ol' Blue Eyes?

Follow Friday: Ancestoring

Here we are at another edition of Follow Friday.  Today I'm spotlighting Ancestoring, a family history blog written by Michele Simmons Lewis is a professional genealogist who writes a blog geared toward the beginner and intermediate researcher.

As I was cruising thru the plethora of posts on her blog, I ran into one that grabbed my attention.  My grandfather the "Nazi" was a good reminder of why genealogists should not make assumptions.  The story of Michele's grandfather is quite interesting and reminds that, when researching, it's important to look at the history surrounding the time and person you're researching because there may be some facts that would make a difference in your research.

Michele's blog contains information on everything from numbering systems to timelines.  I appreciate that she will occasionally stop and answer questions she receives.  Her post on Questions About Wills and Probate was very helpful (as are many of her other posts).

This is not a blog you will want to rush thru.  There is a LOT of information on Michele's blog and I've had to Pocket it so that I know I need to stop and really read what she has on there.  I appreciate that, while she imparts a lot of information on her blog, she does so in a short and sweet manner.  I tend to get distracted easily so long blog posts tend to lose me part way thru.

Follow Friday: A Grave Interest

I have been bitten by the blog bug.  Ever since discovering genealogy blogs I've been looking for good ones to follow, so Geneabloggers' blog listing is a genealogical Christmas for me.  I'm slowly making my way through the listing of over 3,000 blogs and finding some really good ones!

I am so excited about this week's Follow Friday subject.  A Grave Interest may have started as a cemetery-based blog but it's not just limited to cemeteries any longer.  Joy Neighbors writes interesting posts about items of note as well.  Her latest post, Bockscar - A Look Back at the Plane That Ended WWII, has a number of interesting facts that I wasn't aware of about this plane.  It's interesting posts like this that lead me to continue reading a blog.

Joy's posts are interesting, well researched and very well written.  I have to admit, one of my favorites (besides the one about Bockscar) would have to be Lincoln's Phantom Train.  That's a very interesting read indeed.

So take a minute and get your read on for A Grave Interest.

Around the Town Thursday: Pioneer Crossing Park

It's Around the Town Thursday and today we're looking at a park located in Shawnee, Kansas.  Pioneer Crossing Park sits on a small tract of land in that was formerly a used car lot.
 

 It features two sculptures by a local Shawnee artist named Charles Goslin (the same Charles Goslin that created the statue of Chief Bluejacket located in Herman Laird Park, featured in last week's Around the Town Thursday post).

 

Sculpture of wagon master, Dick Williams.
Sculpture by Charles Goslin.

Wagon train sculpture.  Sculpture by Charles Goslin.

The park includes native grass and flowers and plaques which include descriptions about each of the pioneer trails that crossed thru Shawnee as well as a map of all the trails and a plaque describing the wagon master's house (which previously sat on the southeast corner of Nieman Road and Shawnee Mission Parkway).

The park has a nice walking trail in it and at the back of the park is a set of stairs leading up to a playground area.  I didn't even know it was there until I walked back to the back of the park and saw the stairs.

Front section of Pioneer Crossing Park

Back section of Pioneer Crossing Park

Playground located up the stairs at the back of
Pioneer Crossing Park

The park was created to commemorate the Sesquicentennial of Shawnee in 2006.  Located at Shawnee Mission Parkway and Melrose, the park has a quiet, serene feeling while being just off to the side of a busy thoroughfare.   The official park description can be found here, courtesy of the Shawnee CVB.

Around the Town Thursday - Liberty Memorial

Welcome to Around the Town Thursday!  Around the Town Thursday is a way for me to highlight interesting, fun or useful places around my beautiful hometown of Kansas City.

In the spotlight today is one of my favorite places: The National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial.

Liberty Memorial (during maintenance)

The National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial is the United States' one and only World War I museum.  It was that way from the beginning and in 2004 the Memorial finally got designated by Congress as the nation's one and only official World War I museum.  The official museum website has a great brief history at the Museum and Memorial page but, in brief, Kansas Citians rallied after the war ended to memorialize the sacrifices made by those who served during The Great War.  In a mere 10 days, Kansas City raised over $2 million to create this memorial.

The Memorial suffered after many years and fell into disrepair and was eventually closed due to dangerous conditions in different parts of the Memorial.  But in 1998, Kansas Citians rallied once again, this time to save the Memorial.  Restoration of the Memorial began and the Memorial was re-opened to the public in 2006 at a grand celebration.

I was just 29 years old when the Memorial was scheduled to re-open on May 25, 2002.  My son was twelve that year.  On a whim, we got in the car the day of the re-dedication and went to watch the festivities.  Many famous people were there making speeches, Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts paraded around the circle drive along with military units, retired military and many local bands.  And I believe, if my memory serves me correctly, it was even attended by one of the last surviving World War I veterans at that time.  Little did I realize that was to be the beginning of my fascination with the Memorial.  I have since begun volunteering at this wonderful museum.  It's amazing to be surrounded by so many fantastically preserved artifacts.  The amount of information housed in the museum is overwhelming at times.  I learn something new every time I work a volunteer shift.

The Memorial was built in the style of Egyptian revival.  There are two sphinxes on the deck of the Memorial and four Guardian Spirits which circle the Memorial tower.

One of the two sphinxes on the Memorial deck

 

One of the four Guardian Spirits on the tower

One of two satellite exhibit buildings. These were original to the Memorial.

And if that's not impressive enough, the Liberty Memorial is home to one of the most unbelievable pieces of artwork ever created.  Many people aren't aware of it's existence until they're introduced to it at the museum.  Housed in the two satellite exhibit buildings of the Liberty Memorial are pieces of the great Pantheon de la Guerre.  You can read more about the Pantheon de la Guerre here but essentially the Pantheon was a huge (and I mean HUGE) mural painted during the War.  It was so large, it was housed in its own building after it was finished and it was a mural that required one to walk around it to see it all.  402 feet around and 45 feet high, I'll bet it was a sight to behold when it was whole.

Long story short, the Pantheon traveled to the U.S. for exhibition at a World's Fair, was forgotten after the fair, resided outside a storage facility for years until it was finally auctioned off.  Purchased by a Baltimore, MD man, William Haussner, it wasn't until 1957 that a Kansas City artist, Daniel MacMorris, was able to convince Haussner to donate it to the Memorial.  Because of MacMorris' efforts, the Pantheon is now preserved at the Liberty Memorial and is an amazing testament to the patriotic efforts of many French painters.

The last item at the Memorial to be highlighted is a little known gem: the research center.  There are over 75,000 archival documents and over 8,000 library titles housed in this research center...all for use for free by anyone who may be interested.  There is a research center attendant available to assist you on-site but the research center staff are the only ones with access to the archival collection so they do request that anyone wishing to view items from the archival collection make an appointment with the staff.  More information on the research center can be found here.  The research center is located on the bottom level of the museum building.  Even if you don't plan to visit the research center, make it a point to go to the bottom level, where you can get a unique view of the poppy field which resides under the glass bridge to the main gallery.  You can also get a view of the base of the tower.

  

A view of the poppy field from the glass bridge on the main level

Another rarely viewed jewel of the Memorial is the Great Frieze on the north wall of the Memorial.  Many people simply don't take the time to walk down the stairs at either side of the deck to see this beautiful carving.  Keep walking all the way down past the Great Frieze to Pershing Road in front of the Memorial and you'll get to see the bronze busts of the five Allied leaders present during the original site dedication.
 

There is so much to see and experience at the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial.  I highly recommend taking advantage of the fact that the ticket is good for two days.  The cost of the ticket is well worth what's there.  Before going I recommend looking at their website so you have an idea of what to expect.

Happy exploring!