Opening in summer 2024, the historic Rock Island Railroad Bridge will be reinvented as the world’s first entertainment district over a river! With live music, dining, coffee shops and bars, pop-up shops, trailhead service, and more…there’s always something to experience on the bridge. This 1905 bridge that once carried freight and livestock into the historic West Bottoms is being reinvented as a keystone for the emerging Kansas waterfront. Recreational activities emerging around the bridge include hiking and biking trails, kayaking and canoeing, farmers markets, and art fairs – the Rock Island Bridge is like nothing you’ve ever seen or done. Longer than the St. Louis Arch is tall, the bridge offers open-air community spaces with viewing platforms—the perfect setting to catch a yoga class or grab a coffee. Enjoy lunch, dinner and drinks on the enclosed main deck. The top deck features a 50-foot bar with sweeping views of the river valley, as well as an indoor event space with seating for 250 people. Destined to be Kansas City’s newest icon, be among the first to experience the Rock Island Bridge. Scheduled to open in summer 2024.
Employing Egyptian Revival architecture, the Liberty Memorial Tower, overlooks the main courtyard of the Liberty Memorial and the north lawn. Providing breath-taking views of Kansas City, the Memorial Tower was designed in the early 1920s by H. Van Buren Magonigle. There's a Flame of Inspiration made of steam and lighting effects that is lit at night.
Open now
Adorning the yard at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, World's Largest Shuttlecocks is designed by the artist duo of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. True to its name, this art installation depicts giant shuttlecocks. In total, there are four giant shuttlecocks dotted across a well-manicured lawn. World's Largest Shuttlecocks was installed in 1994 and have since piqued the interest of thousands of visitors.
