Central Library

These doors once defined the entry of the First National Bank building built in 1906 on 10th and Baltimore streets and what is now home to the Central Branch of the Kansas City Public Library. Local architects Wilder and Wright designed the building in a neo-classical style with heavy stone masonry and frontal colonnad...

This equal-arm balance scale is comprised of metal (likely brass) and weighs in accordance with the metric system. The most simplistic version of a balancing scale, the equal arm scale balance has been used throughout the earliest periods of history as an elementary lever. The oldest evidence for the presence of weig...

Covering what was "New in Kansas City", this article mentions the installment of the Pickwick-Greyhound bus terminal. At the time, it was the world's largest and its placement in Kansas City was decided by the city's central location in the country. The city had highways extend in every direction, and had experienced s...

An original promotional poster for the Priests of Pallas Masquerade Ball held on 21 October 2006 at the Kansas City Union Station. This poster depicts a seated figure, the representation of the Goddess Athena. This figure is resplendently dressed wearing a highly stylized floral print Victorian gown in different hues...

This image is from a page of the April 1929 issue of Aero Digest- a professional periodical covering the aircraft industry. The article focuses on the economy of the growing air transportation industry and Kansas City's potential to be the next "air metropolis". The article shows via a graphic representation that Kansa...

Asian influenced work, depicting sixteen upright attendants on a barge in the shape of a dragon. This appears to be a royal barge based on the use of the dragon and highly decorative aspects of the work. The dragon has a highly stylized gilded head dress, necklace, and gilded wings. The other color's decorating thi...

Lehighton Letters is a series of works created for public libraries worldwide by found object sculptor Richard J. Hinger. Works from Lehighton Letters that he named after the artists Pennsylvania birthplace are on exhibition in London, New York City, Paris, Washington D.C. and 60 other public libraries including the Ce...

"Chaos in Kansas City" was the title of a twenty page comic that was a 1982 supplement of The Kansas City Star. This graphic insert promoted clothing lines carried by the Jones Store. Brands such as Farah, Jordache, London Fog, and Lee were advertised. The cover depicts The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk a...

Born in California, Bill Howe lived most of his life in Ottawa, KS, where he conducted a life long study of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) and translated his studies into paintings. He graduated from Oklahoma University and later studied at the Kansas City Art Institute to develop his command of the watercolor med...

This birdhouse was modeled after Victorian architecture with a tight, heightened layout that features a tower, multiple roof lines, gabled windows with window boxes, and a ground level porch. Circular 1 1/4 inch cutouts on the left and right sides of the house provide entry suitable for smaller bird species. The house...