As we move into the colorful coolness of fall, it’s hard not to want to take weekend drives — especially since we’ve mostly been cooped up for six months. 🍂
If your go-to spots are getting old by now, the new book "Secret Kansas City," written by KCUR's Anne Kniggendorf, has 83 new places you can check out. 🆕
Many of them will be familiar in some way, but the stories behind the places are likely not. Best of all, a lot of the spots are outside, so you can enjoy the cool weather and easily distance from other visitors.
Here are a few places to get you started on your journey to discover the secrets of Kansas City. 🧐 Some are a decent drive out of town, while others are only a quick drive into the city. 🌇
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| 1. Goin' to Kansas City Plaza at 12th Street and Vine
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Just because something’s in a song doesn’t make it true. Kansas Citians are all familiar with the 1952 song “Going to Kansas City” 🎵 in which the singer is at the corner of 12th Street and Vine with his baby by his side.
But the intersection of those streets is currently a fiction — the real intersection was razed in the 1960s as part of an urban renewal project.
In 2005, the city dedicated a grand piano-shaped park 🎹🌳 and erected a decorative street sign proclaiming that the park is at the intersection of those streets, when in fact the park is delineated by 12th Street, the Paseo and Ella Fitzgerald Lane.
🔎 Goin' to Kansas City Plaza at 12th Street and Vine — 1562–1500 E. 12th St., Kansas City, MO 64106
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| 2. President David Rice Atchison?
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Even if you aced every president-related test all through school, this guy’s name might not sound familiar. 📜 But some history-enthusiasts argue that for a portion of March 4, 1849, Atchison was the president of the United States of America.
Mr. Atchison was already a senator, and the U.S. Senate website says that leading up to that fateful day, he’d been tapped to act as president pro tempore 13 times — meaning he presided over the senate while the vice president was busy.
It was no surprise to anyone, then, when the senate elected him to do that again on March 2, the Friday before President Zachary Taylor’s inauguration. 🗳️
Presidential, senatorial and congressional terms used to begin at noon on March 4 every year, but that date in 1849 was a Sunday, so the nation’s capital was closed for business. President Taylor’s inauguration was at noon on March 5. 🕛 So, who was president from noon on Sunday until noon on Monday? 🧐
🔎 Clinton County Circuit Court — 207 N. Main St., Plattsburg, MO 64477
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Have you ever thought about a bull bred just for its ability to become a good steak? 🥩 A bull named Anxiety IV 9904 is the forefather of about 99% of all American Herefords.
Two men, Charles Gudgell and Thomas Alexander Simpson, ran the Gudgell Simpson Farm in Independence, Missouri, and they found Anxiety in England during a quest for the perfect steak cow. 🐮
But why the odd name? The original Anxiety was so-named because his mother was an expensive show heifer and so fat that her owner wondered if either animal would survive the birthing experience. 🐄
🔎 1717 S. Lake Dr., Independence, MO 64055
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In the late 1800s, the first fountains around Kansas City were for horses. For a while, the budding metro area was home to 70,000 horses. 🐴
According to Sherry Piland’s "Fountains of Kansas City," horse basins went in as early as 1887, replacing old wooden troughs.
Veterinarians had linked the stagnant water in troughs to the spread of a nasty equine disease, so Edwin Weeks, the president of the Humane Society, designed a special trough that burbled out moving water not just for horses, but for cats, dogs and birds as well. 🐈🐕🐦
No one knows how many of these special animal fountains ⛲ dotted the landscape before cars replaced the horses, but only one remains now, and it’s fully functional at the Wyandotte County Museum.
🔎 Wyandotte County Museum — 631 N. 126th St., Bonner Springs, KS 66012
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| More Adventures in Kansas City
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|  | Hummingbird Festival 2020
It's time for the hummingbirds to embark on their southward migration. On Wednesday, Sept. 9 through the weekend, George Owens Nature Park in Independence, Missouri, invites you to walk among the park's hummingbird feeders, or attend a webinar from home with an aviary expert. Learn more and plan your trip here.
| |  | Quixotic's Twilight Soirée - A Rooftop Varieté Show
Join Quixotic for an evening of fun performances against the backdrop of Kansas City's skyline. Seated on the 4th floor open-air rooftop of the Westin Crown Center Hotel, you'll have a 14-foot perimeter around your private table set for 2 or 4 guests. Tickets start at $50. Get your ticket and learn more here.
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