July 12th Kansas City and Kansas University

A Jayhawk - the Kansas University mascot

As I headed home I planned a route that would take me to Kansas City. Dianne grew up in Kansas and attended Kansas University for her undergraduate degree, so I’ve wanted to see Kansas for many years.

The night before I arrived in Kansas Dianne told me I should visit the Country Club Plaza. At first it did not sound like my kind of place – a shopping center. I hate to shop. But Dianne assured me I’d like it and she was right. The complex of shops was built in 1922 by a forward-thinking developer who recognized how the automobile would profoundly transform shopping habits in the American consumer. He transformed 55 acres of what had been a dumping ground, hog farm and brickyard into a premier shopping complex covering 15 city blocks. It was the first master-planned suburban shopping center designed to accommodate people arriving by automobile.

All of the buildings are unified by a Spanish theme. They are linked with outdoor courtyards, tiles, art, well-maintained plantings, fountains and sculpture.

Many of the buildings in Country Club Plaza have ornate,
Spanish-style towers like this one

Over the years this entrepreneur managed to keep his dream alive even during the depression by programming events that would draw customers. These annual events became traditions and continue to draw people to the center today.

It was 93 degrees the day I was there and I overheard someone in the Visitor Center say, “it felt like 103 degrees with the humidity”, but despite the heat I enjoyed wandering through much of the plaza and even bought some things.

Next I drove another 50 miles west to Lawrence, Kansas to see KU. The main route through the campus is Jayhawk Drive – the school mascot. Each of the buildings along this drive is monumental – nearly all were historic. The street was tree-lined and the grounds immaculate. It is a beautiful campus.

One of the monumental buildings on Jayhawk Drive 

I secured a map and was able to locate the Tri-Delta House – the sorority that Dianne was a member of. The students were gone for the summer so I could not get inside but I did take several nice photos of the exterior. I stayed in Lawrence for the night at Clinton State Park. 

Tri-Delta House where Dianne lived in the sorority

More shops in Country Club Plaza

The tile and Spanish theme continues on the interiors

Well-maintained plantings and a fountain

The shops are high-end and nicely varied

Tile detail in a lobby

J.C. Nicols Memorial Fountain

This waterway along a river extends for several blocks in
downtown and includes fountains and gondola rides

This and the next two buildings on the KU campus