- “Christopher Elbow” may sound like something you’d see the doctor for, but chocolate-loving Kansas Citians know better. Elbow, a Liberty native, worked as a pastry chef for Emeril Lagasse’s Delmonico in Las Vegas and the American Restaurant. Now he’s renowned for artistic, pricey “artisan chocolates.” (He has a shop in San Francisco, too.) His chocolate is art... and don’t forget Elbow’s collaboration with Boulevard Brewing — Chocolate Ale, which comes out once a year and can be hard to get — and his unique and decadent Glacé Artisan Ice Cream (get it at the shops south of the Country Club Plaza and in Leawood).
- The Kansas City Royals won their only World Series on Oct. 27, 1985, beating the St. Louis Cardinals four games to three in what was known as the “I-70 Series.” Pitcher Bret Saberhagen was named series MVP. Twenty-seven years later, fans are still hoping this will be the Royals’ year. The 2014 year with the Kansas City Royals in First Place in their division after August 15th is really the first time this has happened in a VERY LONG TIME!
- Short on gas and near the state line? Head for Missouri. Due to a difference in the state gas tax, you can often find gas 10 cents cheaper per gallon. Just one of the reasons there are convenience stores and gas stations all along State Line Road.
- Kansas City is the barbecue capital of the world. Just ask any Kansas Citian. Back in the day, the stockyards provided cheap meat that was slowwwwww-cooked over native hardwoods like hickory and fruit trees. As for KC-style sauce, it’s typically tomato- and molasses-based. The American Royal, a great Kansas City institution very near and dear to The Bubb Cribb Team is an every-autumn-since-1899 horse and livestock show, was first known as the National Hereford Show. It picked up a new name, the story goes, after an Iowa State ag school dean returned from the British Royal Agricultural Fair and declared that the KC show compared favorably with the Brits’. The American Royal, meanwhile, is also at least part of the reason our major league baseball team is known as the Kansas City Royals. BBQ and Kansas City go hand in hand and the American Royal World Series of BBQ is the world's largest BBQ event, this is a Fall event for Kansas City that needs to be on your calendar and brings an estimated $70 Million dollars in annual revenue to Kansas City.
- Hyatt Regency Collapse - One dark day: On July 17, 1981, during a tea dance, two skywalks collapsed in the Hyatt Regency hotel’s lobby atrium. The death toll would be 114 souls, with more than 200 people injured. (Just last year the hotel became known as Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center.) A memorial is planned for Hospital Hill Park across the street.
- Shawnee Mission is a school district and a postal district, but not a city (though Shawnee and Mission both are). Confused yet? It’s named for the old Shawnee Indian Mission in what is now Fairway.
- Kansas City is not one of the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the country (not even close — 27th), but it does boast one of the nation’s largest urban parks. That’d be Swope Park, which at 1,805 acres is more than twice the size of New York City’s 843-acre Central Park.
- It doesn’t really matter whether you say “Plaaaza” or “Plahza.” What matters is knowing that the elegant shopping district, the brainchild of developer J.C. Nichols, is a Kansas City original (though it’s modeled after Seville, Spain), considered the first suburban shopping center, The Country Club Plaza. When it opened in 1922, the area around Brush Creek was considered, as we say these days, “out south.” We now know the 15-block Plaza as a mix of stores, restaurants and apartments. Plus lovely courtyards, fountains and other public art such as a sculpture of Mr. and Mrs. Winston Churchill. By the way, you can hardly call yourself a Kansas Citian if you don’t know what happens every Thanksgiving evening on the Plaza. That’s when the switch is flipped on the Plaza Lights, one of the city’s most enduring holiday traditions. Throw in some softly falling snow and you’ll feel like you’re in a dream.
- The famous song “Kansas City” promises some women, some wine and definitely a good time at the corner of 12th Street and Vine. But don’t take it too literally; there is no such place. Not anymore. But do pose for photos under the commemorative sign that marks the historic intersection at the renovated park that has been there since 2005. The crazy little women? Good luck! (You can, however, find a jazz museum, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and more at 18th and Vine.)
- What’s in a name? Plenty. Lore has it that “Possum Trot” and “Rabbitville” were in the running before “Town of Kansas” was agreed upon, which then became “City of Kansas” as it grew, and ultimately, Kansas City. Such a great name, there are two. Thank goodness we are not Rabbitville, people already think Kansas City is where Toto is from and the true "midwestern hick" motif would be stronger than ever, PS - who would want to write Rabbitville on their post cards - and by the way, where are all these rabbits now?
If you are looking to sell and list your home or to put an offer in on a new home, now is the time and the Bubb Cribb Team would love to help you!
The Bubb Cribb Team at ReeceNichols would love to be your neighborhood experts in buying or selling your home in any part of Kansas City. We have great area specialists in Union Hill, Hyde Park, Brookside, Sunset Hills, Waldo, Mission Hills, Prairie Village, Overland Park, Fairway, Leawood, Kansas City North, Lees' Summit and more; please contact Christopher Cribb, Megan Bubb Cribb or Eric Bubb for assistance!
Christopher Cribb - The Bubb Cribb Team
ReeceNichols - StateLine / Southgate - Direct Line 913.239.2023
ReeceNichols - StateLine / Southgate - Direct Line 913.239.2023
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