The Story of the Midland Theatre Bombing If you were forwarded this email, click here to subscribe (it's free!) Read this story online | Sponsor this newsletter | Shop 📸 On January 11, 1932, an explosion tore through the lobby of the Midland Theatre, then known as the Loew’s Midland, marking one of the most tragic events in the building’s history. The blast killed Frank Alexander, a young janitor who had discovered what he believed was a discarded package beneath a balcony seat shortly after...
12 days ago • 1 min read
The Story of Len Dawson Smoking a Cigarette at Super Bowl I If you were forwarded this email, click here to subscribe (it's free!) Read this story online | Sponsor this newsletter | Shop 📸 Photo by Bill Ray/The LIFE Picture Collection The photograph of Len Dawson smoking a cigarette during halftime of Super Bowl I is one of the most recognizable images in Kansas City sports history. Taken on January 15, 1967, the image captures the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback seated on a folding chair,...
19 days ago • 2 min read
The Story of Town Topic If you were forwarded this email, click here to subscribe (it's free!) Read this story online | Sponsor this newsletter | Shop 📸 Town Topic Hamburgers began in 1937 when Claude Sparks opened a small white diner at 2442½ Broadway in Kansas City, selling 5-cent hamburgers cooked with onions and served on steamed buns. Modeled after White Castle, where Sparks had once worked, the tiny 24-hour stand became an instant success during the Depression by offering affordable...
26 days ago • 1 min read
The Story of Petticoat Lane If you were forwarded this email, click here to subscribe (it's free!) Read this story online | Sponsor this newsletter | Shop 📸 Courtesy: Missouri Valley Special Collections, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, MO Petticoat Lane (11th Street between Main and Grand) played an important role in Kansas City’s development, reflecting its growth from a frontier town to a modern urban center. Known for its holiday displays of lights, garlands, and decorated trees,...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
The Story of the World War I Museum & Liberty Memorial If you were forwarded this email, click here to subscribe (it's free!) Read this story online | Sponsor this newsletter | Shop 📸 You can purchase this poster HERE. The National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri stands as the nation’s official museum and memorial dedicated to the Great War. Shortly after World War I ended in 1918, prominent Kansas City residents formed the Liberty Memorial Association to create a...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
The Story of Metcalf South Shopping Center If you were forwarded this email, click here to subscribe (it's free!) Read this story online | Sponsor this newsletter | Shop 📸 Courtesy OP Historical Society / jocohistory.org. Metcalf South Shopping Center opened on August 3, 1967 at 95th Street and Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park, Kansas. Developed by Sherman Dreiseszun and MD Management, the fully enclosed mall began with about 601,800 leasable square feet and two anchors, Sears on the south and...
2 months ago • 2 min read
The Story of the Happy Meal's Invention in KC If you were forwarded this email, click here to subscribe (it's free!) Read this story online | Sponsor this newsletter | Shop 📸 In October 1977, Kansas City became the birthplace of one of the most successful marketing innovations in fast food history: the McDonald's Happy Meal. The concept emerged from a simple observation by local advertising executive Bob Bernstein, whose agency had been working with McDonald's franchises since 1967....
3 months ago • 2 min read
The Story of Arrowhead's Rolling Roof If you were forwarded this email, click here to subscribe (it's free!) Read this story online | Sponsor this newsletter | Shop 📸 Jackson County Historical Society Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe recently proposed that Arrowhead Stadium could receive architectural improvements to create an all-weather protective environment without becoming a traditional dome. In an interview with The Associated Press, Kehoe suggested looking to European stadiums for...
3 months ago • 2 min read
The Story of Sarah Rector - "The Richest Black Girl in America" If you were forwarded this email, click here to subscribe (it's free!) Read this story online | Sponsor this newsletter | Shop 📸 This photo is often identified as Sarah Rector, though her descendants have disputed that attribution. Sarah Rector was born on March 3, 1902, near the all-black town of Taft in Indian Territory, which would later become part of Oklahoma. Her parents, Rose and Joseph Rector, were Black descendants of...
3 months ago • 2 min read
