When people ask, “What makes Kansas City special?”, it can be tough to put your finger on the answer. Sure, there’s the Jazz and barbecue; the Chiefs and Royals and Sporting KC; the Kauffman Center, the nightlife, and of course, the streetcar.
But are any of those things unique to KC? Many cities have great food, music, and sports teams. They have better theaters and public transportation. They’re bigger, or on the ocean, or in the mountains.
Yet anyone who has spent time in Kansas City knows, without a doubt, that there is something special here. The problem is identifying what that something is.
I’ve tried to answer this question ever since moving to Kansas City two years ago. What is that inexplicable thing that makes Kansas City so great?
Then to my amazement, I found the answer buried in an old coffee table book on Kansas City history.
The story starts with a fire and ends with a miracle. It’s one of the great forgotten legends of KC, and it gave a name to the thing that ties us all together.
The Origin of the Kansas City Spirit
By the late 1800s, Kansas City had transformed itself from a sleepy river town to bustling Western trade center. Like every boomtown of the era, city leaders set their sights on the biggest prize of the day: The Democratic National Convention.
Despite its exploding population and commerce centers, Kansas City was still a rugged frontier town. To attract the DNC, they would need a world-class venue. Business leaders began raising money and making plans. They raised $250,000 ($7 million today) and built the finest convention center in the West.
Downtown Convention Hall (built on the site where Municipal Auditorium stands today) was the pride and joy of Kansas City, and it won them their coveted prize. The DNC would come to town on July 4, 1900.
Then the unthinkable happened. On April 4, just three months before the DNC, a passerby noticed smoke rising from one corner of Convention Hall. In 15 minutes, the entire building was up in flames. By the end of the day, it lay smoldering in piles of bent steel and smoking planks.
No one knows what happened. Arson and bad wiring were both suspected, but no conclusive evidence was ever found. Most people thought Kansas City had lost its chance to host the DNC.
But instead of accepting defeat, city leaders convened and decided to rebuild the Convention Hall. It would cost nearly double the original price for expedited shipments and overtime pay for workers. Plus, they had just 90 days to get it done.
And believe it or not, they got it done. On July 4, Kansas City welcomed the 1900 DNC to great fanfare, with still-unfinished walls covered by patriotic bunting. Journalists called it the 90 Day Miracle. Visitors were astonished by the feat.
When asked how they pulled it off, one city leader (unknown today) gave credit to something beyond explanation—something you can’t quite put your finger on: The Kansas City Spirit.
Our Greatest Asset is the Kansas City Spirit
Kansas City has no natural resources. No mountains or beaches or bays. It has none of the usual elements of a great city. But it does have soul, creativity, and a knack for turning nothing into something. That’s the Kansas City Spirit.
Some people say the Kansas City Spirit was born even before the 90 Day Miracle, back when KC was just one of dozens of Missouri River towns vying for the transcontinental railroad.
It was there when prominent black leaders created the National Negro League in Kansas City in 1920. They then founded the longest-running franchise in the history of the league: the Kansas City Monarchs.
It was there again when another unlikely team, the 2014 Kansas City Royals, turned a wildcard playoff win into back-to-back World Series appearances and a championship.
The Spirit was certainly there with Mayor Kay Barnes back in 2005, when she looked at the empty Downtown wasteland and said, Do you know what this city needs? An NBA arena.
The Kansas City Spirit is that thing that makes people fall in love with KC. It makes Kansas City unlike any other city in the world.
Don’t get me wrong, we certainly have our issues: poverty, violence, and relatively slow economic growth compared to other cities. All of these challenges will take soul, creativity, and hard work to overcome. Luckily, Kansas Citians have these traits in spades.
So next time someone asks, “What makes Kansas City special?”, remember that it’s not just the Jazz, barbecue, or sports. Tell them about the feeling in the air— that thing that ties us all together, moving us to build, create, and turn nothing into something.
Tell them: “It’s the Kansas City Spirit.”
