Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

I’m goin’ to Kansas City, Kansas City, here I come.
…
I’ll be standing on the corner of 12th Street and Vine.

So the lyrics go, except that we found ourselves on the corner of 18th and Vine. Anne stuck to the correct lyrics, even in the face of what presented us on 18th. That is where both the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum are co-located. Further research vindicated her, but begs the question, what did we miss on 12th? Probably, some crazy loving women. I got me one! 

Ronny, our greeter, graciously welcomed us into both museums, while wearing period dress. We arrived early and did the baseball museum first. It was nearly empty. By the time that we were finishing up with the Jazz Museum, the tour buses were beginning to stack up. In-between both museums, we stepped out for lunch. Ronny steered us to a local burger stand, Smaxx that performed yeoman service for lunch and with enough leftovers for dinner.

Both museums were great and deserve their own post that this one will not do them justice. I’ve reached the frenetic phase in this little trip. Afterwards, we cruised west on 18th to the Crossroads Art District. We wander around this area, most of the time kind of lost, but it was fun exploring. Eventually though, we ran out of gas and headed back to the hotel, which is really nice.

It’s a Hampton, but was once the 1904 Gumbel Building. Our huge 5th floor picture windows overlooks the Missouri River. The hotel sits on the edge of the river bluffs and we can see historic cuts through those bluffs that helped the town of Kansas to grow southward into itself, Kansas City. The hotel is totally modern, even if its modernity is only skin deep. Situated in the federal / banking district, our visit over a holiday weekend curried us free parking and great rates.