Local History Blog
This artist was behind famous Kansas City mosaic, other works. But where is it now?
This infamous kidnapping and murder in Kansas City led to a hunt for the missing ransom
The 1953 abduction and murder of six-year-old Bobby Greenlease stands as one of Kansas City’s most notorious crimes. Bobby, the son of wealthy Cadillac dealer Robert Greenlease, was taken from Notre Dame De Sion School by two grifters, Carl…
She was KC’s ground-breaking librarian. Then she was told her job was ‘for a man’
How a Kansas City work camp provided much-needed relief during the Great Depression
Once a star of the Kansas City skyline, this 90-foot cow statue now sits alone in park
Readers who have walked the Riverfront Heritage Trail sometimes write in to ask about some of Kansas City’s more obscure public art pieces, such as West Pennway’s miniature Mayan pyramid or the I-670 pedestrian bridge’s iron birds. One piece,…
Factory workers in this part of Kansas City once dressed the nation. What happened?
At its height, Kansas City’s garment industry dominated much of the U.S. clothing market and was the second largest employer in town behind the Stockyards in the West Bottoms. Over the span of 50 years, it grew from a small wholesale district…
Before he hit it big, Walt Disney was just a Kansas City paper boy. Take a look back
From labor strikes to demolition, here’s the history of Kansas City’s Buck O’Neil Bridge
The Missouri Valley Room holds a unique piece of library history
Continuing with the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Kansas City Public Library, this week's blog post highlights the card catalog system, which was adopted in 1887. Before the convenience of computers and online catalogs, there was…
How a 'border ruffian' who supported slavery got a monument honoring him in a KC park
On a recent visit to Penn Valley Park, a reader noticed an oddly placed stone along Penn Drive south of the lake. A plaque embedded into its surface reads: “To the author of Annals of the Great Western Plains,…