KANSAS CITY: HEARTLAND SOUL OF 

AMERICA, JAZZ TO BARBECUE

by Lee Foster

What if you were a foreigner searching for the soul of America? Where would you be well advised to look?

Surely not Hawaii, the tropical beach playground of a temperate country. Nor New York City, a concrete concentration of highrise energy unlike the wide expanses of the country. And not California, the west coast trendsetter that is almost a nation in itself.

Kansas City, by contrast, would be a good place to start the search. Near the geographical heart of the country, Kansas City lies within 600 miles of some 65 million Americans. I made a pilgrimage to Kansas City to see what of America I could find. I was pleasantly surprised with these elements in the city's rich diversity:

*Some important American roots. You can start with the 1820s and end with Harry Truman. The three trails to the West left from Kansas City. The Santa Fe Trail, Oregon Trail, and California Trail originated here. You can learn about the historic story at the Kansas City Museum and then visit the home of the greatest trader on the Santa Fe trail, Alexander Majors, who employed 7,000 men, driving 4,000 wagons, pulled by 40,0000 oxen, over the Santa Fe Trail. The National Frontier Trail Center, situated in Independence, is one of the nation's foremost museums and research centers on the settlement and exploration of the West. During the Civil War, the battle of Westport, now a section of Kansas City, was the major engagement this far West. The Truman Library and Home near Kansas City, in Independence, illuminates the life of our World War II president, reminding you that famous men come from someplace. The Truman Home offers an exceptional experience because the president's widow bequeathed to the National Park Service both the house and its contents when she died in 1982. You can still see the felt Stetson hat that the President wore on his 120-pace-per-minute morning constitutionals. You may also notice the tacks around holes in the linoleum of the kitchen floor. Tacking the broken linoleum saved the Trumans the cost of a new floor.

*Our idealized American city look. Parts of Kansas City present lovely urban settings. Kansas City boomed in the 1880-1900 real estate development era. This period gave the city fathers their wide boulevards, which rival Paris, and set the pattern for fountains whose numbers exceed those in Rome. Driving through the Mission Hills residential area gives a glimpse of the good life, Kansas City style. The city boasts fun shopping, dining, and browsing areas, such as Westport, where you can gaze at the statue of city-fathers Jim Bridger, John McCoy, and Alexander Majors. In Westport, enjoy lunch at the outdoor restaurants, such as California. Country Club Plaza presents another appealing urban milieu, with shops, fountains, and restaurants built around Mediterranean plaza motifs.

*Our American food. Steak and barbecue are famous here. The barbecued chicken, ribs, and pork are mouthwatering enticement. Whole books in Kansas City described the nuanced ingredients of various barbecue sauces. Restaurants such as Arthur Bryant's and K. C. Masterpiece lead a pack of some 70 establishments devoted to barbecue or steaks.

*Our American music--jazz. From the classic Scott Joplin tunes to a recent teenage jazz-dance group of young blacks, called The Marching Cobras, Kansas City promises vitality. If you've been longing to make a jazz pub crawl, this is the place. Start downtown at the Phoenix and proceed on to City Lights Jazz at the Plaza. Then conclude an evening at The Mutual Musicians Foundation, where entertainers play into the wee hours.

*Our American interest in the foreign, especially in art. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art houses a famous Asian Art collection, one of the finest in the country. Many purchases occurred in the depressed 1930s when the Nelson-Atkins was one of the few entities with available funds. The museum also honors a native son, Thomas Hart Benton, whose 1930s realistic paintings put him on the cover of Time magazine. Benton achieved an attention rare among artists, but fell out of favor in the 1940s. The Nelson Atkins Museum organized in 1989 a major Benton retrospective that hung first in Kansas City, then traveled to New York, Washington, and Los Angeles. Appreciators of Benton's art can visit the Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Park, 3616 Belleview.

*Our quirky American character. Are you in Kansas City, Missouri, or Kansas City, Kansas? It's a little confusing, as it was intended to be. Con men in Kansas figured that monies mailed out to Kansas City, Missouri, might be sent to them by mistake if they set up the same city name. The scam worked for only a short while, but the name stuck. Kansas and Missouri are different states, however. Kansas was once so "dry" that a former governor required jetliners to suspend serving any beverage with authority while flying over the state.

*Our brawny American productivity in agriculture and

manufacturing. Kansas City ranks second in wheat and auto production. The city serves as an ideal point for distributing products nationally. One major employer, Hallmark Cards, manufactures millions of greeting cards a day and employs 700 creative types thinking up the cards. Browsing the Crown Center acquaints you with Hallmark. The agricultural productivity of the region can be seen each November at an event called The American Royal, the largest combined cattle show, horse show, and rodeo in the country. The American Royal takes place at the new $34 million American Royal Complex. The complex includes The American Royal Museum, which celebrates the grand agricultural show year round.

*Our indigenous American architecture. Kansas City has a brick appearance best expressed in its silk-stocking Quality Hill development area. Quality Hill consists of many brick townhouses, the choice location of yesteryear and now the cacooning preference of the 1990s. KC, as the city is called, also boasts a strong art deco heritage, which can be seen in its City Hall. For the best view of the city, drive or walk to Liberty Memorial, a monument to World War I soldiers. The more you see of spread-out Kansas City, the greater is your appreciation that fabulous wealth focused here around the turn of the century, from the 1880s on. Kansas City even boasted a seven-story skyscraper, the talk of the town. Both homes and commercial buildings of stature rose in the city. Kansas City boomed partly because of the progressive, can-do spirit of the people, who put up the first railroad bridge across the Missouri, insuring the city's prosperity in the rail era.

If you want to search for the soul of America, imagine yourself as a foreigner, looking for an American place. When looking for an authentic American venue, Kansas City ranks high on the list.

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KANSAS CITY: IF YOU GO

For information, contact the Greater Kansas City Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1100 Main, Suite 2550, Kansas City, MO 64105, 816/339-0000, 800/767-7700.

This article was written by Lee Foster of Foster Travel Publishing. Contact him at his website www.fostertravel.com or via email at lee@fostertravel.com. Copyright Lee Foster.

Lee Foster's most recent travel guidebooks are Northern California History Weekends (Globe Pequot), which won a Lowell Thomas Award, and Adventure Guide to Northern California (Hunter Publishing).

Lee Foster's new literary book is Travels in an American Imagination: The Spiritual Geography of Our Time.

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