Saturday's tour of Kansas City was a real treat. Last month I toured Lawrence, Kansas, "narrated" by Dr. James Naismith and Bill Nicks was also the tour guide yesterday, this time impersonating Octave Chanute.
Octave Chanute was an important figure in Kansas City history. He designed and built the Hannibal Bridge, the first across the Missouri River which opened rail traffic and travel to the American West and started the city's growth. He also designed and built the Kansas City Stockyards which are second in size only to those in Chicago...which he also built. Mr. Chanute was also a pioneer in aviation, providing help to the Wright Brothers. At his death, Octave Chanute was hailed as the "father of aviation."
Points of interest on yesterday's tour included the Shawnee Mission Indian, Kemper Arena and the bull wall, Kaw Point where Lewis & Clark camped on their expedition, American Jazz Museum, City Market, Truman Haberdashery, KC Public Library, Lewis & Clark Monument, the future Kauffman Center for the Arts, Union Station, Liberty Memorial, Federal Reserve Bank, Frank Lloyd Wright's Community Christian Church, Loose Park, a Santa Fe Trail campsite, and Swope Park.
