Kansas City"s Best Buildings: the Liberty Memorial
Kansas City's Liberty Memorial
The series "Best Buildings" will explore all of the unique, beautiful architecture and history Kansas City has to offer through all the historic places around town! Today's stop is the Liberty Memorial, or the National World War I Museum and Memorial; located adjacent to another famous building, Union Station, the Memorial has helped define Kansas City's skyline for nearly 100 years.
Construction
Shortly after World War I (then called The Great War) ended in 1918, a number of prominent Kansas Citians formed the Liberty Memorial Association and began a funding drive for a monument to honor all the lives of city residents lost. After raising 2.5 million dollars, ground was broken for the memorial on November 1, 1921. When it was completed on November 11, 1926, it became the first permanent war memorial of its kind in all of the United States.
Architecture
The main feature of the Memorial is the 265-foot tall tower that rises above two exhibit halls on either side. The tower features a granite base, limestone exterior and an artificial "pyre" at the top of the tower that emits steam and red and orange light in an imitation of a flame. There is a small observation deck at the top of the tower and visitors can ride up to it in an elevator. The Memorial was primarily designed in the classical Egyptian Revival style of architecture, hearkening back to ancient pyramids and statues.
National World War I Museum
In 2004, Congress recognized the Memorial as the Nation's premiere World War I memorial and construction began for a brand new museum in the granite base of the existing memorial. In 2006, the National World War I Museum opened and has been in continuous operation since. The museum has over 80,000 square feet of permanent exhibit space and also hosts visiting exhibitions.
In addition to the tower, the surface level of the Memorial features both the Memory and Exhibit Halls, the other two original parts of the memorial. The Exhibit Hall often houses the traveling exhibitions the National World War I Museum hosts and the Memory Hall features the names of the Kansas City War Dead - all the area soldiers who lost their lives defending the country. There are also two large statues of sphinxes, facing both east and west.
The sphinx facing east (towards the battlefields in France) is Memory and it uses its massive wings to shield its eyes from the horrors of war. The sphinx facing West is Future, and it too hides its eyes from an uncertain tomorrow.
The National World War I Museum and Memorial is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10-5, with the exception of major holidays. During the summer, the memorial is open seven days a week. Tickets include admission to all the exhibits and tickets to visit the observation deck of the tower are only an additional $5. See you there soon!
The series "Best Buildings" will explore all of the unique, beautiful architecture and history Kansas City has to offer through all the historic places around town! Today's stop is the Liberty Memorial, or the National World War I Museum and Memorial; located adjacent to another famous building, Union Station, the Memorial has helped define Kansas City's skyline for nearly 100 years.
Construction
Shortly after World War I (then called The Great War) ended in 1918, a number of prominent Kansas Citians formed the Liberty Memorial Association and began a funding drive for a monument to honor all the lives of city residents lost. After raising 2.5 million dollars, ground was broken for the memorial on November 1, 1921. When it was completed on November 11, 1926, it became the first permanent war memorial of its kind in all of the United States.
Architecture
The main feature of the Memorial is the 265-foot tall tower that rises above two exhibit halls on either side. The tower features a granite base, limestone exterior and an artificial "pyre" at the top of the tower that emits steam and red and orange light in an imitation of a flame. There is a small observation deck at the top of the tower and visitors can ride up to it in an elevator. The Memorial was primarily designed in the classical Egyptian Revival style of architecture, hearkening back to ancient pyramids and statues.
National World War I Museum
In 2004, Congress recognized the Memorial as the Nation's premiere World War I memorial and construction began for a brand new museum in the granite base of the existing memorial. In 2006, the National World War I Museum opened and has been in continuous operation since. The museum has over 80,000 square feet of permanent exhibit space and also hosts visiting exhibitions.
In addition to the tower, the surface level of the Memorial features both the Memory and Exhibit Halls, the other two original parts of the memorial. The Exhibit Hall often houses the traveling exhibitions the National World War I Museum hosts and the Memory Hall features the names of the Kansas City War Dead - all the area soldiers who lost their lives defending the country. There are also two large statues of sphinxes, facing both east and west.
The sphinx facing east (towards the battlefields in France) is Memory and it uses its massive wings to shield its eyes from the horrors of war. The sphinx facing West is Future, and it too hides its eyes from an uncertain tomorrow.
The National World War I Museum and Memorial is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10-5, with the exception of major holidays. During the summer, the memorial is open seven days a week. Tickets include admission to all the exhibits and tickets to visit the observation deck of the tower are only an additional $5. See you there soon!
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