Local History

Wanting Some Halloween Spirit? We Got You, Boo.

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Recommendation

Events & Activities

Youth and Family

Digital Resource

What's Your KCQ?

Local History

Holiday or Celebration

It’s fall, y’all, and the Library is kicking off the Halloween season with a monstrously good mashup of haunted local history tales, scary story recommendations, spooky special events, and frightfully fun family festivities.  

KCQ: Last Chance and State Line

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

What's Your KCQ?

Local History

Digital History

This installment of “What’s Your KCQ” is a story of gambling, gangsters, and geography. Reader William Renegar wanted to know, “Was there once a gambling establishment on Southwest Boulevard on the state line that was part in Kansas and part in Missouri?” There’s a story in his family about a relative,...

From Art to Artifacts: Remembering the 1976 Republican National Convention

Friday, August 9, 2019

Exhibitions

Local History

This week marks 43 years since Ralph Steadman visited a muggy Kansas City to cover the 1976 Republican National Convention for Rolling Stone magazine. Twelve of Steadman’s inimitable drawings ultimately were published alongside John Dean’s first-person story, “Rituals of the Herd.” Six of t...

Children's Book Week: An Illustrated Celebration of Reading

Friday, May 3, 2019

Youth and Family

Local History

Children's Book Week, an annual celebration of books for youth and the joy of reading, was launched in 1919 and is currently the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Marking the event's 100th anniversary, the Library shares its history and spotlights a remarkable collection of c...

Unidentified Kansas City baseball team with dozens of fans seated in the grandstand, ca. 1880s. Photo: Missouri Valley Special Collections

Did Baseball Fandom Originate in Kansas City?

Thursday, March 28, 2019

Kansas City

What's Your KCQ?

Local History

Is Kansas City the home of baseball's original fans? The almanac On This Day in America credits a local newspaper, presumably The Star or The Times, with making the first-ever reference to the sport's followers as "fans" in March 1889. We investigated the claim. &nb...

As Kansas City International Airport breaks ground on a new terminal on March 25, 2019, the Library's Missouri Valley Special Collections provides a window seat to the city's aviation past.

Terminal Velocity: Kansas City's Airport History

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Local History

As Kansas City International Airport breaks ground on a new terminal on March 25, 2019,  the Library's Missouri Valley Special Collections provides a window seat to the city's aviation past.  

March is Women's History Month, and there are many ways to commemorate the lives and achievements of women throughout history and share experiences of today's women. Check out the collection of books, movies, and other resources available at the Library.

Celebrating Remarkable Women, Then and Now

Friday, March 8, 2019

Recommendation

Digital Resource

Local History

Holiday or Celebration

March is Women's History Month, and there are many ways to commemorate the lives and achievements of women throughout history and share experiences of today's women. Check out the collection of books, movies, and other resources available at the Library.   

This past week, street signs along Paseo Boulevard began coming down, replaced with new ones proclaiming the street’s new name: Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Following a long period of local debate, a mayoral task force, and a measure passed by the city council in October, the historic street is now officially renamed after the civil rights leader. On the occasion of the historic boulevard’s name change, the Library has pulled together a selection of images from the Missouri Valley Special Collections t

The Paseo's Past

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Local History

Street signs along Kansas City's Paseo Boulevard began coming down in late February, replaced with new ones proclaiming the street’s new name: Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Following a long period of local debate, a mayoral task force, and a measure passed by the city council in Oc...

Each year, the Library partners with the Local Investment Commission (LINC) and the Black Archives of Mid-America to produce a series of Black History Month materials celebrating the legacies and accomplishments of notable African-Americans from the Kansas City area. The individuals featured in the 2019 series all helped break down barriers in our community, elevating and inspiring others then and now.

"Praise the bridges that carried us over" - A Local Celebration of Black History Month

Monday, January 28, 2019

Black History

Local History

Each year, the Library partners with the Local Investment Commission (LINC) and the Black Archives of Mid-America to produce a series of Black History Month materials celebrating the legacies and accomplishments of notable African-Americans from the Kansas City area. T...

How did Arrowhead Stadium get its name? We answer a reader’s KC Q

Thursday, January 17, 2019

What's Your KCQ?

Local History

The excitement at Arrowhead Stadium during the divisional playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts got Tom Solon to wondering how the stadium got its name. “I’ve always thought it was an awesome name for a stadium,” Solon writes to KCQ, a recurring feature in which The Kansas City Sta...