It may seem as if these are tough times in Kansas City with the way our major sports teams—the Royals and Chiefs—are performing these days.
But if you ever really get down on good old KCMO maybe you should turn to the Boston Globe for some positive reinforcement.
The venerable newspaper’s Robin Soslow lavished praise in Sunday’s Travel Section (and never once mentioned our sports teams).
Some highlights:
“…Kansas City culture goes beyond its barbecue, beer, and baseball.”
“Compact enough to tour on foot and bicycle, this Midwest city burbles with nearly 200 artful fountains, the first ones built in the early 1900s by the local humane society to refresh horses. Abundant parks brim with romantic flora. Shop windows flare with wild graphics and quirky objects. And block upon block there are architectural gems: Italian Renaissance Revival, Moorish, Art Deco.”
“Building on, not over, its rich past, Kansas City proves that progress and preservation can happily coexist. Here, heritage is hip.”
We all forget what a great community we live in. It seems like sometimes it takes an outsider to slap us upside the head.
CITY IS COMPACT?
I agree that we tend to overlook our good points. I also am happy the city received some good press. But our fair city is hardly “compact.” One of our biggest problems is sprawl.
GREAT PLACE TO LIVE
For the past two years, I’ve been enjoying a desk calendar provided by a local printer featuring photos and write-ups by Roy Inman. Last year, the topic was the Art Deco designs around the city. This year it has focused on the City Beautiful movement that created our parks and boulevard systems. Great pics and history lessons all in one, and I’m looking forward to another series in 2013!
For me, every month for the past two years, I’ve been reminded of this very thing: that Kansas City, despite faults that all cities have, is a great place to live.