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Published May/June 2006 Left to right: The pipe organ at the Churchill Memorial. Elizabeth Hey photo The Oz Museum in Wamego, Kan. Elizabeth Hey photo The Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. Missouri Division of Tourism photo |
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During the Golden anniversary of the Interstate system,
visit cities along Interstate 70 in Kansas and Missouri to find an array of shining attractions. By Elizabeth Hey |
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 nterstate 70 cuts through the Midwest, connecting our cities, towns and neighboring states. Despite traffic and construction, most motorists probably agree that this well-known stretch of interstate–now 50 years old–beats the old U.S. Highway 40’s two lanes hands down. Prior to President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s signing of the Federal Highway Act, America lacked an interstate highway system. Roadways weren’t connected and improvements or safety features were sporadic at best. Eisenhower’s World War II experience changed that. German autobahns convinced the five-star general that Americans needed safer, speedier highways for personal transportation and national defense. On June 29, 1956, Eisenhower signed the act, which authorized the government to pay 90 percent of interstate funding and called for uniform design and safety standards. Missouri was awarded the country’s first contract to build I-70. West of Topeka, Kan., another eight-mile stretch of I-70 became the first completed project. Today, I-70 spans almost 2,200 miles, connecting 10 states from Utah to Maryland. Traveling east from Kansas, motorists can discover an abundance of charming towns and cities scattered along the interstate. Abilene, Kan. Any stop in Abilene usually starts at The Eisenhower Center, featuring his boyhood home, museum, library, visitor’s center and Place of Meditation where the president, his wife, Mamie, and an infant son are buried. The Eisenhower Museum has five galleries and interactive displays that highlight Eisenhower’s administration (1952–61) and issues like civil rights and the Cold War. Cultural highlights, such as television, and America before and after the interstate highway system, also are explored. There’s even a full-scale roadside diner. For a change of pace, the opulent 25-room Georgian-style Seelye Mansion contains St. Louis World’s Fair products, including a rare basement bowling alley. The Lebold Mansion, an 1880 Italian Villa built by Abilene’s early founders, has Victorian furnishings throughout. The restored Abilene and Smokey Valley Railroad offers excursions and dinner trips. Wamego, Kan. Tucked into the rolling hills beside the Kansas River, Wamego’s Oz Museum and renovated Columbian Theater Museum, which sat empty for 40 years, are proud centerpieces of this quiet community. Local boy turned Hallmark artist, Todd Machin started collecting Oz memorabilia during college. His 20-year, 2,000-piece collection at the Oz Museum spans all things Oz. A painted yellow brick road meanders through the movie’s scenes, complete with lifelike costumed characters. Next door, the restored 1896 Columbian Theater, made of salvaged buildings from the 1893 Columbian Exposition and World’s Fair, runs year-round live theater. It was this same World’s Fair that created the “White City” and was the inspiration for Frank Baum’s “Emerald City.” Topeka, Kan. Thirty-five minutes east of Wamego, history buffs will appreciate the Neoclassical Renaissance state Capitol with John Steuart Curry’s murals and Robert Merrill Gage’s sculpture dedicated to Kansas’ pioneer women. The adventurous can climb 296 steps up the dome and into the cupola. Cedar Crest, the governor’s mansion, gives tours on Monday afternoons. The Combat Air Museum features more than 30 military aircraft, a re-created field kitchen, German prisoner barracks and aviation art gallery. Brown vs. Board of Education National Historic Site and Museum commemorates the famous 1954 Supreme Court decision, and the extensive Kansas Museum of History is noteworthy. Kansas City, Mo. Modeled after its sister city, Seville, Spain, the 14-block Country Club Plaza boasts beautiful fountains, world-class shopping and dining. Several blocks away, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art showcases more than 5,000 years of art, and the Kemper Contemporary Museum of Art’s giant bronze spider in the front lawn hints at the creativity to be found inside. Adjacent to Crown Center, Kaleidoscope offers 90-minute art exploration sessions for children ages 5-12. Next door, the Hallmark Visitors Center demonstrates greeting card production, Hallmark artists’ work and a bow-making machine. The Link, an above-street glass walkway, connects Crown Center’s three-story entertainment complex, restaurants, shops and theaters to Union Station. As the restored grand dame of the railroad era, Union Station houses Science City, Gottlieb Planetarium, Extreme Screen movies, City Stage and the K.C. Rail Experience. Rocheport, Mo. Two hours from Kansas City, I-70 cuts through rolling hills and limestone bluffs. Charming Rocheport, on the Missouri’s east bank, claims several worthy bed-and-breakfast inns, quaint shops and the Les Bourgeois Vineyards with a bluff-top bistro, tasting room, tours and outdoor wine garden. Stretching along the river, the 225-mile Katy Trail, built on the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, butts up to white limestone cliffs dotted with redbuds in spring and brilliant foliage in fall. Rocheport’s trailhead offers bike rentals and light meals. In town, the Pebble Publishing Bookstore sells Missouri guidebooks and organizes river canoe and kayak trips through Mighty Mo Canoe Rental. Columbia, Mo. Home of the University of Missouri, Columbia is known as Tiger territory by avid football and basketball fans, but the city also has a thriving arts community. Galleries and vintage clothing stores dot downtown. Functional and decorative art in jewelry, pottery, glass, metal, fiber and wood of more than 250 Missourians and eight neighboring states is sold at Bluestem Missouri Crafts. Fine and fun art coexist at Poppy’s two galleries that feature national artists. Each gift-wrapped box parades a neon, origami poppy. The Columbia Art League Gallery hosts year-round exhibits, and June’s Art in the Park showcases more than 100 juried national artists. On Thursday evenings in June and September, the Twilight Festival held downtown will feature music, artists, carriage rides and more. Fulton, Mo. Forty minutes east of Columbia, laid-back Fulton is home to Westminster College and the Winston Churchill Memorial. In 1946 on Westminster’s campus, Churchill delivered his famous speech and coined the phrase, “Iron Curtain,” warning of potential Soviet domination after World War II. The nation’s only Churchill Memorial and Library reopened this spring after a $4 million renovation. The interactive museum encapsulates the life and times of Churchill as world leader and family man. Above the museum, the 12th-century church, rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren after London’s Great Fire and then bombed-out during World War II, was moved and reconstructed here in 1969. Outside, eight sections of the Berlin Wall stand in the courtyard. St. Charles, Mo. Founded in 1769 by a French fur trader, this trading post was first named “Les Petites Cotes,” translated “the little hills.” The 10-block Main Street area boasts 1800s architecture, a trolley and specialty stores. Frenchtown’s antique shops make for a great day of browsing or buying. Missouri’s first government was held here at the First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site and Lewis and Clark’s expedition is detailed at The Lewis and Clark Boat House and Nature Center. St. Louis, Mo. The city’s Gateway Arch distinguishes itself as the nation’s tallest manmade monument. Watch a movie detailing its amazing construction and check out the Museum of Westward Expansion before boarding an enclosed tram that travels 630 feet for spectacular views. Located in the city’s heart, Forest Park counts festivals and events, outdoor theater at The Muny, the St. Louis Zoo with more than 800 species, and world-class art and history museums among its varied attractions. The Missouri Botanical Gardens rivals botanical gardens worldwide with its lush blooms, tropical rain forest conservatory, Japanese garden and research reputation. Last fall, founder Henry Shaw’s 1849 Italianate mansion reopened for tours. Through Oct. 30, “Glass in the Garden,” by nationally renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly, features his sculptures both inside and out. Deciding which spots to visit along I-70 may be challenging, since each offers a unique blend of history, the arts, shopping and outdoor activities. But discovering the gems, some hidden and others more obvious, changes the highway from just another interstate into an invitation to explore. Elizabeth Hey is a contributor from Kansas City, Mo |
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