Missouri 2008 Official Vacation Planner - (Page 26) Wow Town! L ike the barbecue for which it is famous, Kansas City has become one sizzling hot city. Its $4 billion revitalization project has drawn it into the national spotlight and into an exciting era of leisure and living — downtown and beyond. And there’s still more to come. One of the city’s first major unveilings was the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial, the only American museum dedicated to World War I. It’s an experience that takes you across a glass floor suspended above a field of poppies and into the trenches of war. Ride the elevator to the 26 Missouri Vacation Planner 2008 top of the 217-foot Liberty Memorial Tower and take in a 360-degree view of the city and its renaissance. Keeping it KC One noteworthy aspect of the city’s revitalization is that it both preserves and propagates the very characteristics that make Kansas City the alluring all-American city that it is. The imaginative architecture incorporates classic KC elements of light, water and sculpture into fresh venues for the city’s venerable legacy of jazz, sports, arts — and, yes, barbecue. Stirred into the mix: some of today’s most fashionable retail, restaurant and entertainment establishments. From the iconic Power and Light Building to the quirky Sky Stations/Pylon Caps sculpture atop the Convention Center, an Art Deco spirit remains alive and well in Kansas City. The enduring elegance of this bygone era is perhaps most evident in the historic properties that retain their architectural integrity while incorporating amenities for today’s savvy visitors. After being closed for 25 years, the historic President Hotel is now the luxurious Hilton President. The lobby has been authentically GEORGE DENNISTON It’s a Kansas City renaissance. From midtown to downtown, the city has reinvented itself.
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