Sauer Castle has been a part of my life since I was a kid…read more My dad used to take me and my siblings up to the castle at night on family drives and tell us great ghostly stories. Once me and my school buddies could drive, we would make many journeys up to this area, drink and freak ourselves out. I've taken many friends on the drive through Argentine in KCK up the steep incline of a road to the castle to gaze. There are many stories about this place, so many that I have no idea which are true and which are not. I should do the research to find out, but there is something inside of me that wishes to keep *all* the stories I have heard alive and well. But the few that I can think of at this time include: There was an underground railroad tunnel to the Kaw River from this residence. The wife hanged herself on the second story balcony from the bell tower rope.....her ghost could be seen on the balcony in a flowing white gown. There is an outline of an old pond (fountain) on the grounds that two children had drown in. The stories talk about the husband's ghost walking the house and grounds protecting his property. I've been told that the stones and woodwork in the house was imported from Germany. He chose this site because it sat on top of bluff of the Kaw River and he could see the entire city. That's what I've been told through the years, again, I don't know what is and isn't true. When I was a teenager there was a caretaker that lived in the house. He supposedly had guns and dogs to help him take care of all of the curious people making the pilgrimage up to look at the castle from afar or up on the *private property* itself. Since then, the caretake has passed, the house had a huge auction and the house in now surrounded by a chain link fence. I don't know who owns it, but I hope something great happens with this legend of a castle. I'm sure I gave myself crows feet from all of the squinting I've done at this location hoping to see a ghostly figure. (and at times sure that I did see things) I'm sure I've given myself some anxiety disorder from the tricks my imagination has played on me because of this place. I wouldn't change a thing because I love every memory I have of this place. Not only Sauer Castle, but much of the neighborhood itself, stories run rampant in this *interesting* part of town. Now.....go! Go check it out for yourself and I hope you don't get lost in trying to find this mysterious, fantastic piece of local flavor!

Okay so it kind of cracks me up that Sauer Castle is on Yelp. It is on the National Register, and…read morehas a sort of local legend charm to it here in the metro area. I found out about Sauer Castle back when I was dating my now husband. We went on a ghost tour around the city and this was one of the stops. I won't bore everyone here with Sauer Castle lore but it's well worth the wikipedia read. Every once in a while if I'm in the area I'll drive by and see how the renovations are going on this place. It's kind of remarkable to see and take in, even just from the road, as it's in a very modest neighborhood and all of a sudden there is this massive victorian mansion. The ghost stories only make the place all the more interesting. I believe it's currently been purchased and is being restored so who knows, maybe one day this will be a landmark folks can explore - I'd love to go inside. Until then it will just be one of my favorite little off the beaten path KC landmarks.

Giving a five star review for an abandoned building seems out of place, but my visit today has been…read moredecades in the making and is an afternoon that i can't wait to tell friends about and share photos. Built in 1897 as Kansas City's workhouse jail and later served as a storage facility, marine training center and an animal euthanasia center until being abandoned in 1972. With it's dark history, graffiti, collapsed roofs, dark stairwells, debris, and remnants of homelessness everywhere, my solo visit was slightly macabre and a bit scary not knowing if I was alone when turning each corner. I did run into two other explorers and one homeless person in my self guided tour of the darkside. There was talk about a decade ago of renovating the property into a venue for weddings and concerts but that failed to materialize. My advise to you is put on your big-boy pants (or girl) grab a friend and go explore an iconic architectural piece of history before it's too late.

Really neat place to wander around BUT there are a lot of dangers here and you shouldn't bring your…read morekids. You need to wear closed, thick shoes, too. There's a lot of needles and broken bottles, etc. because the property is actively used. Graffiti is outstanding.

This house always gets attention from people who drive by. I grew up across the street from it and…read morepeople would always drive by really slowly when they caught sight of it. This ultra mod house doesn't really fit into our turn of the century neighborhood...but it defiantly adds interest. The view from Valentine is not so spectacular. It stands out because of its Yellow color and bubble dome. (The dome area is awesome containing nothing but a circular couch and build-in speakers...this is such a party house.) The really shocking view is from the park, 30 or 40 feet below. Anyway, its an interesting house in an interesting neighborhood. One could spend a day checking out this whole midtown area with the Frank Lloyd wright house and Thomas Hart Benton home down the street and 39th street shops and restaurants close by too.

The play kitchen got set on fire (according to a young child), the manager of the kitchen is a 4…read moreyear old, I was handed a whole fake loaf a bread and a whole fake eggplant, I got stuck in the slide, the castle was closed and the AI robot guy doesn't have any jax lines. Horrible experience. (No but all jokes aside, this place is awesome, great place to bring your kids for a fun adventure, awesome experience)

This is a HORRIBLE place i kicked my friends neck on the slide. The ai robot guy is off brand chat…read moregpt. The play kitchen got set on fire according to a little kid. The manager of the play kitchen was a four year old and that four year old handed my friend a whole loaf of bread and a whole eggplant My friend also somehow managed to pull up the rope swing chair that was broken anyways i will come back!

Beautiful park to walk through, and plenty of shade if you just want to rest and people watch…read more This park is adjacent to the Country Club Plaza shopping area, which puts you well within walking distance for food and drink options when you're done soaking in the vitamin free (*D). At the southern end of the park is the J.C. Nichol's Memorial Fountain. Folks were walking, running, and biking on the paved trail around and through the park. I didn't expect to find this beautiful fountain here, but it was a beautiful surprise. The walkways of the park put you less than a block away from Country Club Plaza, but I was well within walking distance of the Kemper Contemporary Museum of Art and Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Great green space.

As someone who runs and walks solo about 50% of this time, this is not a favorite of mine. One…read morewould think that with all of the people on the plaza you would feel comfortable, but I don't. There is a hill covered with trees and that section gives me the creeps.

I'm so glad this place was preserved! The entire farm is delightful to tour and it's great to just…read morewander and imagine what it was like during the height of migration.

I've been here three times by now, and I can't say enough good things about this place. There's a…read morefull farm with a active stagecoach and driver, and for a nominal fee you can actually ride in a real stagecoach which is an experience that everyone should experience to appreciate modernity. The house is fully restored and owned by the city of Olathe, marked as a national landmark. There's a functional blacksmith and lessons on particulars of blacksmithing. There is a wash station, and goats and chickens and sheep and horses and all the accompanying accoutrement. The house particularly is wonderful. The stagecoach stop was essentially like a gas station of the old world, and one would get off the stagecoach, which was like a bus, and go down into the cellar of that stagecoach house to have supper at this massive table with functioning 1850s kitchen that they use to this day to make samples in the wood fire. It's really something to see, and they even have an ice house that they tried to make functional but couldn't figure it out. Essentially a massive building where you put huge blocks of ice packed with sawdust that keep the ice Frozen for a year nearly. It's such a neat place, and the dedicated staff really commit. I would recommend anybody that lives in Kansas to go here and check it out, because it truly is living history.

*Missing Review(s)?…read more In my opinion this is one of the best museums in the world. No doubt,pound for pound I would put the Nelson Akins up against any museum anywhere. I love art so, traveling to Kansas City regularly in the early to mid 2000s,I naturally visited the Nelson Adkins. Walking into the building was not particularly interesting as the entrance had been modernized and different from the exterior. However,once you walk into the galleries,you are stunned. The overall building design,galleries and quality of art seems almost out of place in Kansas City. Not that they don't deserve it,every city should be so lucky,it just seems a surprise. One special thing they had, that is just wonderful, is the cafeteria style cafe in a significantly beautiful atrium. I took many pictures and posted them of the entire facility including the marvelous food over several years. I have been trying to come up with a good excuse to go to KC for a Nelson-Adkins fix! Seriously,maybe an UYE! Now for "The"truly significant impact this museum had on my life.On the second floor you could walk out doors, taking you into the large atrium that holds the cafe. Around this walkway were many Rodin sculpture. I must have past these sculpture a dozen times on my walk to the descending stairs in order to eat During one visit as I exited the doors,passed the sculptures,I noticed a large photographic presentation. Stopping to look closer,I learned it was regarding details of Rodin's Hell Gates. If you have the slightest interest in art,look it up, amazing. After lunch,I returned to this exhibit reading all about the Hells Gates. Finding out there are only two bronze cast of this magnificent sculpture,I felt I just had to see one if not both. One is at the Rodin museum in Paris. If I needed a reason to go to Paris( you don't) this was as good as any. I'm proud to report a few months later I was standing in front of the Gates Of Hell at the Rodin museum Paris. All because of a visual display at Nelson Atkins... Go!

My visit to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art was extremely disappointing. While the museum itself…read morewas beautiful the behavior of several staff members completely ruined the experience. Throughout our visit we were repeatedly followed and monitored. At one point, as we were leaving through a doorway a staff member who was entering saw us exiting and immediately turned around after looking directly at us. Another staff member approached us in a very confrontational manner under the guise of "guiding" us and even laughed after I responded with "yikes." The micro-aggressions were impossible to ignore. They didn't even seem "micro." The behavior from staff was excessive, unwelcoming, and deeply uncomfortable. It's unfortunate that such a culturally significant and visually appealing place is staffed by people who ruin the experience. I genuinely hope the museum addresses and provides better training on how staff members interact with guests.

I've been coming to their car shows at both their Olathe Museum and also at The Underground, which…read moreis the former garage for BMA tower. The concept there is that they rent garage space to the owners of collectible cars and have occasional shows there. Their business model is basically a rotating collection with a different theme every month. It keeps the offerings fresh and interesting. There are also full time displays of local car history and local racers such as Masten Gregory. Go check it out, it's a local attraction that deserves to be seen.

"Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car." -E.B. White…read more The Kansas City Automotive Museum is one of those places where the experience shifts every time you walk through the door, because the cars on display rotate in and out and each one is a "gift" from an owner who decided to share their automotive "sculpture" with the rest of us. The vehicles are packed in ticket and nearly every one comes with a caption that gives you a little history lesson about the manufacturer, the model and often the personal story of how it ended up in the owner's hands. Most of the displays include QR codes with translations, which is a thoughtful touch especially if English isn't your primary language and you want to dig deeper into the details. On my visit, the standouts were the 1925 Jordan Seven Passenger Sedan, the 1929 Packard Roadster, and the 1959 Chevy El Camino, each one rare, beautiful, and full of character. There were at least a dozen other rare cars plus a great display about the former Leeds factory, complete with memorabilia and artifacts that add a layer of Kansas City history to the experience. If you're a real fan like me, expect to spend two hours, wandering, reading, admiring and appreciating what these owners have chosen to share. Don't miss the posters on the wall with other interesting details and history. It's a tremendous time. [Review 842 of 2026 - 149 in Kansas - 26023 overall]

Not to be confused with the Power & Light District, this landmark is the glowing, art-deco style…read morebuilding *almost* in the dead center of the KC skyline. For starters, let me show my hometown bias here but the KC skyline is an epic skyline. Sure it's not New York or Seattle, but take a second to Google-image search some other U.S. skylines.. Dallas? Yawn. LA? If I could see it through the smog, I might rank it higher. Denver? The mountains add to it, but otherwise it's like a short section of Lego blocks. The KC skyline frames everything, with great views of the city while packing in Union Station, Kauffman Center, T-Mobile Center, Western Auto sign, the fun-if-not-slightly-cheese Marriott light up billboard (which will always be near and dear to me after seeing it after the Chiefs Super Bowl win), and this cool, old building. This one is most known for it's glowing ember up top, that changes colors. Formerly, it announced sun (yellow), or rain (blue). It rings in Pride Month in June, sports themes, Cancer awareness and other seasonal highlights throughout the year. I've never been into this building, but with iconic placement on the skyline, and nearly century old history, it's a cool building that I always appreciate from afar.

We lived here for sometime, and on leaving I feel like we can call it a home. This is a great…read morelocation and I simply love the building.