Would be nice if this was passed down within the family of those that would take care of this…read moreplace. Being part of Sauer, sadly most of my mom's side of the family is still racist. Wasn't able to take part of both my grandparents funerals due to my race. Mostly the men in the family but regardless of the facts. This castle isn't being taken care of and up for sale with an ridiculous price. We also have a Castle located in Germany, along with family crest. Kind of unique to be apart of a family history but not really accepted.

Sauer Castle is in the National Register of Historic Places, it's a Kansas City must-see if you've…read morenever taken the haunting trip to the top of the bluff where this mansion sits undisturbed for decades. In high school, from Miege to St. Teresa's Academy, crossing state lines, the rumors about Sauer were EPIC and very popular to tell around Halloween. Sauer castle is haunted, according to the ghostly experts and as the story goes... During the Civil War a man leaves his wife to go fight. She waits for him for years, longing for his return and reading his infrequent letters home. Towards wars end, she receives his final letter stating that he is coming home on a certain day on a certain ferry and requesting that she wait for him. When he never arrived, she believed he was dead and frenzied, she hung herself in the infamous bell tower. Her husband, alive, missed his ferry home and later arrived to find his wife dead. It is said that in the front yard he shot himself. Sauer Castle was built by the German immigrant Anton Sauer and has remained in the family for 5 generations - in which the castle has seen many more deaths of natural and unnatural causes. Legend has it that treasure is buried here (however sources say this rumor began from the original fact that the house was built over an antique storage of wine.) Other legends include there is a secret tunnel leading to the Kaw River (others distort this rumor to make it a slave tunnel), or that the ghost of Mary Sauer stands in the windows of the fourth floor looking out onto her property at night. There was a man who died of tuberculosis here, a baby died as well within these walls, and a child was drown. Perhaps what solidified its eerie persona is the foreboding sign in the front that reads: PRIVATE PROPERTY, TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED! BEWARE OF DOGS! Here's where I come into the story: I was young and stupid, it was a boring Friday night and my friends and I thought it would be something to talk about on Monday if we somehow got into Sauer Castle and checked out if it were haunted for ourselves. With my two other good friends, we set out on the property while two other friends waited in the car for our return. What we weren't aware of was that three guard dogs that could have well ripped me apart were stationed around the house. I was only cognizant of one, chained to a large radius of land towards the front of the house, but in truth there were two more. We steered clear of this one dog and kept to the side of the house until we came upon the old slave quarters behind the property. It was here we saw a small window opening to the basement of Sauer Castle...STUPID, STUPID me...I went in (after my two friends.) And what we saw was no different than the last scene of the Blair Witch Project, an empty stone basement with nothing in it but AN ACTUAL STONE WELL in the very center...creepy as all hell. That's when we saw the caretaker with a flashlight and rifle coming towards us. My two dear 'friends' climbed out of there first leaving me with no cell phone light, no knee to climb on. I had to scratch my way up with them pulling on my arms as I had been entirely alone in Sauer Castle. Finally, the three of us hauled ass to the car and sped off before we were caught as trespassers and prosecuted!!! Oh, what a night...something I will NEVER do again and a story I will NEVER forget. Is Sauer Castle haunted? From the fright of feeling trapped in the stone basement with nothing beside me but an old well...I would say yes.

This is said to be the most photographed doorway in Kansas City, and it's not surprise. Really,…read moreit's one of the most beautiful doorways I have seen anywhere. This house was designed by Kansas City's great Louis Curtiss. He was sort of the Frank Lloyd Wright of Kansas City, only with more Art Nouveau influences. Kansas City is full of beautiful stone houses with art glass doorways, but this one is the most grand. Today this old house serves as the admissions office for the Kansas City Art Institute. With a building this pretty, they would have me sold. According to KCAI's website: "The building was the home of mining magnate R. E. Bruner, who embedded mineral samples in the interior stone walls of his first-floor library, inspiring the name Mineral Hall. Dating to 1903-04, the structure is an amalgam of Art Nouveau, Prairie Style, Second Empire and Neoclassic architectural elements." Go ahead and take a pic, you know you want to. Come on, everyone's doing it!!

Mineral Hall houses the offices for the department of Continuing Education and Professional Studies…read morefor the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI). The building is formerly a house. The beautiful mosaic doorway at the front of the building is frequently photographed by visitors and passersby. The administrators are very friendly and helpful.

Wow, such a fun experience. These 2 "characters", Benny "The Bull" and I never caught the main…read moreguide's name were just dialed in! They had that presentation memorized down to the second. Even with unknowns like getting stuck in traffic and stop lights they managed to keep everything flowing. If any family members or friends come into town, I'll gladly recommend this tour over and over again

A really good time. Got to see lots of the city and our tour guides were fantastic! So many cool…read morestories. 10/10

Great bridge to run or walk across for some pretty views of the Missouri River!…read more I appreciate that they have an elevator as well as stairs so it's more accessible. This reminds me of running along the Schuylkill River in Philly!

Came here because I was so close from being at the City Market because I wanted to see the view. It…read morewas a pretty short bridge to the river and the views were nice but I'm not going to call it spectacular because all you can really see is the river and a couple of bridges. The area is pretty industrial. You can also go downstairs which I didn't really have time to but there's paths where you can walk and run and also get a different view. Overall a quick stop if you have some time. A good escape from a busy area to sip a coffee or something (which is what I did...)

Hands down my favorite way to spend a Saturday (or sometimes even Sunday) morning! This is pure…read moreK.C. with its eclectic mix of urban funk. Fresh grown fruits and veggies. Handmade gifts and crafts. Small businesses earning their way. Talented artists showcasing raw talents in front of all. The smells, sights and sounds are like a warm hug. Highly recommend this to anyone new or old to the area

There were cute shops and some interesting restaurants. I hope to come back in the summer time to…read moreenjoy the farmers market as I've heard all good things.

We had a fantastic walking food tour. A great mix of food and Kansas City history. We are not from…read morethe area and came for a long weekend and this was a fabulous way to learn about the city and enjoy the food!

Being an Independence resident, but knowing somewhat about the history of Kansas City (my dad…read moreworked for KCPL for 35 years, and used to take me up and down those streets), I was vaguely familiar with some of the history. It's quite fascinating. But the little bits and pieces I didn't realize were so deeply important. I'd only been to 2 of the locations on the food tour, Grinders, and Grunaer's. That is funny cause I thought I'd been to more places around the area. The American Royal Parade was going on, and parking was an issue, if I'd not found a spot in Grinder's across the street parking lot, I don't know what I'd have done. I never intend to learn to parallel park. It scares me to death. We met Rebekkah at Grinders, and she presented us with maps of where we were going, with facts on the pages. Frankly, it'd be easier to park kind of in the middle of the tour. That maybe something worth mentioning. I don't know the significance of the Crossroads itself, other than I am drawn to that area, as opposed to the Power and Light District which I try to avoid. There is alot of history in the Crossroads that is important, and it was touched upon in this tour. It also gave me an idea to keep an eye out for other city's walking food tours, as I travel sometimes for a month. I felt like I wanted to know more history. I wanted to dig deeper. I don't know why I feel this way. Maybe I want to know the very importance of the area, besides Tom Pendegrast, which is extremely interesting. The tour touched on a few restaurants along the way. There were a couple I wondered why they weren't mentioned, and I'd love to know the history of the Manny's Building, though Manny's isn't a favorite of mine, the building is interesting. And why is Town Topics just in this area? And Lulu's? Hammer Press as well, even though it's not a place to eat...oh well, can't cover everything...I thought there was something missed, but also alot of interesting history gained. As far as food, each place provided a very small amount. A variety was present and they were able to accomodate both vegetarians and meat eaters. There isn't that much food. I would tell someone that, as well. The places that stood out in my mind were Snow and Company, Grinders, Elbow's and Cafe Gratitude. Tons of walking to get back to our cars. We stopped back at Christoper Elbow Chocolate. Rebekkah created a customer out of me, and I will be eating at Cafe Gratitude and going to Snow and Company. With these thoughts in mind, I would recommend this to an out of towner if you were in the city for a while. But be prepared to eat afterwards. it's a great way to find out about Kansas city and what it has to offer. Knowing the history of Kansas City makes me appreciate it a bit more.

I'm told that every first Friday weekend in the West Bottoms (Fri.-Sun.), a historic district comes…read morealive and is home to antiques and boutiques which are open late. We weren't so fortunate to be there on those days however but still managed a couple of trips to this industrial district. I'm an amateur shutter-bug and places like this intrigue me. The empty streets, abandoned buildings, railroad tracks and rawness appeals to me and the fact that this was the heart and soul of Kansas City back in the day feeds my desire to learn about the history of this beautiful city. We came late in the afternoon and just walked the streets. A few shops were open but the majority of them were closed. Best way I can describe the place is it's pretty-ugly. Not everyone can appreciate the beauty in worn out, dilapidated buildings. I loved it! Stockyard warehouses with the broken glass windows, fire escapes that precariously dangle on the sides of buildings, thistle laden lots, the painted signs on the sides of brick walls - everything was a photo op. My biggest faux-pas? I didn't pack my "good" camera and it was amusing to walk around fairly unplugged with only an i-phone to shoot with (and to top it off, my storage was full LOL!!). I guess that was a sign from the universe allowing me to experience the West Bottoms. Some blocks of the Bottoms was so quiet it was eerie! I could sense something or someone watching from above or somewhere. Loved it all! Beautiful and would certainly come back again. We saw a few homeless people walking around with their shopping carts but overall, felt safe. I would hate to see this place excessively commercialized and I'm so happy to see that tenants are filling the empty warehouses and embracing KC's historical past and merging it with the new.

I have a strange fascination with the West Bottoms district. I'm surprised no one has reviewed the…read moredistrict as a whole. I realize the most blatant businesses, the seasonal haunted houses occupy this often uncharted area, but there's so much more. During the day (the foggier, the better), take a walk throughout this area. Lavish in the weird mixed up toons that you can't psychically hear, but if you listen for the echo, coming from both the jazz and bars that used to occupy this area in the early Kansas City era, and the stockyards and even railroads, still used. Look at that one doorway, or archway, the cracked stained glass or brick designed into the buildings on purpose, still standing and built in the early 1900's. There is also a small, if not minute homeless population in this area, but it's for them as well. It is amazing for photography, and chances are, you'll see photographers out, walking around with their DSLR's photographing old dilapidated structures. Knowing that, something happened here, you can sense it in the air. It's partially empty, but partially alive. It's vague and quiet and still but a sliver of life is in this area. Maybe that is cause it used to be. As for the shops, there are some. Good JUJU is one of the few. But as for the area, as uncharted, it's there. Once you walk around there with a couple of friends, on a foggy Saturday afternoon, you'll get it, and know, this is what Kansas City used to be about.

It's hard not to love the Brookside Neighborhood as it blends an urban feel into some beautiful…read moreolder homes. While technically it's suburban, the vibe is anything but. I fell in love with this neighborhood at a very young age as we lived here for a handful of years and frequented the annual St. Patrick's Day parade, the Dime Store, and every other family friendly thing that this hood has to offer. Flash forward to adulthood and you'll find me working on a sunny morning at The Roasterie, jogging the epic Trolley Track Trail, and generally admiring the beauty of the neighborhood during all four seasons. If I had to find a knock, I'd have to say it's that I'm not head over heels in love with the restaurants in the heart of Brookside. I do like Bella Napoli, and the convenience of Panera, but otherwise I've struck out on some of the core ones there. The value of this neighborhood is always high, but at the time of this writing it's sky high with houses going generally going for $300K and up, depending on what exact block. For me it can be a tough sell longterm as the surrounding public schools aren't amazing for the kiddos, however there are loads of private and even charter schools around that are appealing. I wish that the original structure of suburban sprawl had followed Brookside with an organic walkability. You won't really find that in Lenexa, OP, and other Missouri suburbs. Instead we're seeing mixed use developments retroactively trying to catch up by creating a destination space, but it doesn't have the same feel that the wonderfully settled in Brookside Neighborhood boasts.

It's hard to believe there has been no entry on Yelp for Brookside. Maybe the reason is in what…read moredefines Brookside. Brookside is two things. First, it is a shopping and commercial area centered around Brookside Boulevard and 63rd Street. Second, it is the collection of neighborhoods located around that area. If you ask those native to Kansas City "What is Brookside," the vast majority will tell you it is "a neighborhood." So... let's treat it like that, even though it is technically a collection of neighborhoods. :-) So, from 51st south to Gregory. And from Holmes west to Wornall. Some would restrict this geography a little, but this is basically it. Notably, to the south of Gregory is the Waldo area. The commercial districts are literally 2 minutes apart, and easily accessible without a car via the Trolley Trail. Many people say Brookside/Waldo when describing the area. So what does Brookside have? Just about everything but an amusement park, and much of it privately owned. Unique restaurants abound. I can only think of four chain restaurants/cafes in the entire area. Some of the restaurants are notable... Julian, Bella Napoli, Osteria Il Centro, Aixois, and Cafe Europa are probably my top five of the area. Watering holes are plentiful. The Peanut, Charlie Hoopers, and the Bier Station are my top three for beer. Great cafes include Bella Napoli and the Roasterie. There are even notable ice cream places such as Glace and Foos. Outside of dining and entertainment, just about every service you could want is here. Tailors, spas/salon, shopping, grocery, gas/auto, pet services, churches, etc. Again, the area is linked to Waldo (south) and Country Club Plaza (north) via the Trolley Trail. This greenway is enhanced by small parks sprinkled about the neighborhoods such as Brookside Triangle Park, Brookside Park, Arbor Villa Park, and the crown jewel just outside the area (Wornall@51st to 55th... Jacob L. Loose Park. Annual events like the Art Fair, the St Patricks Day Parade, and the Trolley Run are all fun to go out and see. Are there drawbacks? Sure. Real Estate is more expensive here. Public schools here are not well thought of. And access to major highways is a pain in any direction. But two of the three don't matter too much. First of all it's worth it to live here. I have moved around a lot in my life and the quality of living in Brookside is the best I have experienced. Second, access to highways matters for a few minutes a day... IF you need to go somewhere. But if you come home to Brookside you really don't need to travel too far for anything. You do not need to drive if you are an active person. The schools are an issue, but only if you have kids. And as good as Brookside is, the surrounding neighborhoods are beautiful as well! I can't think of a better place to visit or live.