Eastern Kansas
Vibrant cultural life and rich history blend in scenic region

From Lawrence’s tree-lined streets brimming with shops and galleries, to the awe-inspiring Capitol building in Topeka, to Leavenworth’s storied heritage as the first incorporated town in the state, northeast Kansas offers the perfect blend of history, culture and charm.

All located within about an hour’s drive of one another, the three cities feature a variety of sights, including historic buildings, a zoo, botanical gardens, exceptional museums, one of the most well-known military installations in the country and plenty of shopping opportunities.

To begin a day tour of the area, which could easily be extended into two or three days, explore Lawrence. Located about 40 miles west of Kansas City, Lawrence is a center for the arts, a shopping mecca, an important area in pre-Civil War history and home to the University of Kansas.

Lively Lawrence

Lawrence was once named one of the dozen most distinctive destinations in the country by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. To get to Lawrence to find out why, travel west on Interstate 70 from Kansas City, exit at the Lawrence exit #204 and turn left (south) on Second Street. You can gather information at the Visitor Information Center, located in an historic train depot at North Second and Locust streets. Hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Saturday and 1–5 p.m. Sunday. For details about Lawrence, call (785) 865-4499 or 1-888-529-5267, or visit www.visitlawrence.com.

To the south of the Kansas River Bridge is the city’s downtown district, the heart of which is Massachusetts Street, or “Mass.” Along the tree-lined street are a varied collection of restaurants, galleries, shops and nightlife.

Adding to the charm and cultural flair of the area are sculptures located on the sidewalks. The Downtown Lawrence Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition features work by local, regional and national artists. Also, more than a dozen art galleries and studios are scattered throughout downtown.

The hub of arts activities is the Lawrence Arts Center, located at 940 New Hampshire. The center showcases works by local, regional and national artists, and exhibits are rotated periodically. The center also offers performing arts and classes. Hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Saturday. For details, call (785) 843-2787, or visit www.lawrenceartscenter.com.

To learn about the history of Lawrence and Kansas in general, visit the Watkins Community Museum of History, located in an old bank building at 1047 Massachusetts St. It’s located at the south end of downtown.

The city was founded in 1854 by the New England Emigrant Aid Co., a group of Easterners opposed to slavery. The city was attacked twice by pro-slavery powers, including the infamous Quantrill’s Raid on Aug. 21, 1863. In that attack, Confederate William Quantrill led 300 raiders into the city, killing 150 men and burning much of the town. Each August, Lawrence commemorates the raid with “Civil War on the Western Frontier,” a week-long event featuring lectures, historical workshops and re-enactments.

Watkins Museum contains some artifacts from the raid as well as other exhibits that trace Lawrence’s history. Hours are 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday with extended hours to 8 p.m. on Thursday. For details, call (785) 841-4109 or visit www.watkinsmuseum.org.

After wandering around downtown for a few hours, try a sandwich and a glass of homemade beer for lunch at the Free State Brewing Company, 636 Massachusetts St., the first legal brewery in Kansas since pioneer days. For details, call (785) 843-4555, or visit www.freestatebrewing.com.

Apart from its shopping and cultural attractions, the city draws some of its energy from the University of Kansas (KU), located on Mount Oread west of downtown. For details, call the KU Visitor Center at (785) 864-3911.

Several remarkable museums on the campus offer artistic, historical and natural exhibitions. For example, the KU Natural History Museum features an historic panorama of North American plants and animals, fossils of dinosaurs and other wildlife exhibits. And the Spencer Museum of Art is one of the nation’s finest university art museums, with 11 galleries.

On the west side of campus, visit the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, which features interactive exhibits that trace the career of Sen. Dole and the state of Kansas. There’s also a World Trade Center Memorial, a 12-foot replica of the U.S. Capitol Dome and exhibit areas. For more details, call (785) 864-4900, or visit www.doleinstitute.org.

For a different college experience, visit Haskell Indian Nations University at 23rd Street and Barker Avenue. The school averages 800 Native American students each semester from up to 160 different tribes across the country. On campus, the Haskell Cultural Center and Museum serves as a visitor center and features exhibits from the university’s archival and artifact collections. For details, call (785) 832-6686 or visit www.haskell.edu.

After touring all day, try the Italian specialties at Tellers Restaurant, 746 Massachusetts St., which used to be a bank. In fact, the bathrooms are located in the old vault. For a comfortable stay downtown, try one of the suites at the Eldridge Hotel, located at Seventh and Massachusetts streets. Each room is named after a prominent person in Lawrence’s history.

A capital idea

From Lawrence, head west to Topeka–a city that boasts several of the state’s most popular attractions. To get to Visit Topeka Inc., take I-70 west to the 10th Avenue exit and follow 10th Avenue to Topeka Boulevard, where you turn left. The bureau is at 1275 SW Topeka Blvd. Call 1-800-235-1030 or (785) 234-1030, or visit www.visittopeka.org.

Founded by five anti-slavery activists 150 years ago, Topeka is the center of politics in Kansas. Stop first at the State Capitol, located at Tenth and Harrison streets. At 326 feet from the ground to the top of a sculpture on the building, the structure is a few feet taller than the nation’s Capitol. Free tours include the striking House and Senate chambers and a look at powerful murals painted by John Steuart Curry. Located on a 20-acre site, the building is surrounded by statues, memorials and gardens. Historic guided tours are offered Monday–Friday at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. For more details, including information about tours to the Capitol Dome, call (785) 296-3966 or visit www.kshs.org.

Visitors also can tour the governor’s residence–Cedar Crest. Located in northwest Topeka overlooking the Kansas River, the 12-room French-Norman style mansion was built in 1928 and is surrounded by more than 200 acres of beautiful wildlife. The home is open for tours every half hour from 1–3:30 p.m. on Monday, and by appointment Monday and Tuesday mornings. For details, call (785) 296-3636.

One of the newer attractions in Topeka is the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, housed in the former Monroe Elementary School, which was one of the four segregated elementary schools for African-American children in Topeka. The site commemorates the landmark Supreme Court decision in 1954 when the court unanimously declared that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. The site is open daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Call (785) 354-4273, or visit www.nps.gov/brvb.

To get a historical perspective of Topeka and Kansas in general, stop at the Kansas Museum of History, which is about two miles west of downtown off I-70. Just take exit #356 off the interstate and follow the signs. The museum traces the rich history of Kansas through an array of exhibits, including a full-sized Cheyenne tepee, a fully stocked covered wagon for a trip on the Oregon Trail and a locomotive made in 1880. Hours are 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday, and 1–5 p.m. on Sunday. For details and admission, call (785) 272-8681, or visit www.kshs.org.

Explore more history at Old Prairie Town at Historic Ward-Meade Park. The complex contains a botanical garden as well as a re-created prairie town featuring a general store, livery stable, train depot, one-room schoolhouse and wood-frame church. The park, located at 124 N.W. Fillmore, is open 8 a.m.–dusk daily. Guided tours are offered. Call (785) 368-3888 for details, or visit www.topeka.org/parksrec/ward_meade.shtml.

Then take a walk on the wild side at the Topeka Zoological Park, located within Gage Park. In addition to its array of animals and Children’s Zoo, a domed tropical rain forest habitat contains exotic plants and animals. The zoo is located one-quarter mile south of I-70 at the Gage Boulevard exit. The zoo is open 9 a.m.–5 p.m. daily. For admission information or details, call (785) 368-9180, or visit www.topeka.org/zoo.

Also within Gage Park is the Reinisch Rose Garden, an extensive rose garden with 3 acres of roses amid rock gardens and pools. In another section of the park, visitors can ride a 1908 carousel or a mini-train.

Just south of Topeka on Highway 75, airplane aficionados will enjoy the Combat Air Museum at Forbes Field. The museum displays aircraft and aeronautical items from all 20th-century U.S. military conflicts. Summer hours are 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Monday–Saturday and noon–4:30 p.m. Sunday, and winter hours are noon–4:30 p.m. daily. For admission and more information, call (785) 862-3303, or visit www.combatairmuseum.org.

Leavenworth, the “Great Escape”

While Lawrence and Topeka are rich in history, to visit the first city of Kansas head to Leavenworth. From Lawrence, take I-70 east to the Bonner Springs exit and take Highway 7 north to Leavenworth. Turn left at Shawnee Street and stop at the Leavenworth Convention and Visitors Bureau at 518 Shawnee St. for maps and information. For more details, call 1-800-844-4114 or (913) 682-4113.

In addition to being the first town in the Kansas territory, the city also boasts the oldest continuously garrisoned military installation west of the Mississippi River. Overlooking the Missouri River, Fort Leavenworth was founded in 1827 by Col. Henry Leavenworth to protect wagon trains. From the visitors bureau, head west on Shawnee Street and turn right on Seventh Street, which becomes Grant Avenue in the fort. Visitors must present a photo ID to enter the fort.

The fort offers a self-guided driving tour that includes 17 wayside markers, beginning at the Frontier Army Museum. Pick up a map at the museum after enjoying its exhibits, which provide insight into Army life on the frontier. Hours are 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Monday–Friday and 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Saturday. For details, call (913) 684-3767.

A popular site on the tour is the Buffalo Soldier Monument, a 16-foot bronze statue of a mounted black trooper standing in one of two adjoining reflecting pools. The Buffalo Soldiers were African-American cavalry and infantry regiments formed in 1866 to fight American Indians. Among the theories about how the soldiers earned their name is that the Plains Indians thought the soldiers had the same fighting spirit as the buffaloes.

Other sites throughout the fort include a Berlin Wall Monument with sections of the wall; French cannons from the late 1700s; a national cemetery; stately homes built in the early-to-mid-1800s; and a deep trench cut in the side of a hill where branches of the Santa Fe and Oregon trails crossed. To get a historical perspective of the city, visit the Carroll Mansion, a 1880s Victorian gem and home to the Leavenworth County Historical Society. Located at 1128 Fifth Ave., the 16-room mansion has stained glass windows, period furnishings and elaborately carved woodwork. For hours and admission, call (913) 682-7759, or visit www.leavenworth-net.com/lchs. And the First City Museum (743 Delaware St.) features a collection of early frontier memorabilia, artifacts and prison items. For hours and details, call (913) 682-1866 or visit www.firstcitymuseums.org.

For lunch and shopping, the downtown riverfront area offers numerous antique and specialty stores and several eateries. During the late 1800s, the area was home to banks, saloons, stables and stores. Also in the riverfront area is the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum, with a restored 1913 carousel originally built in Leavenworth as its centerpiece. The museum is open 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Thursday–Saturday and 1–5 p.m. on Sunday. For details, call (913) 682-1331, or visit www.firstcitymuseums.org.

For this day tour from Kansas City, start by taking I-70 west 21 miles to Lawrence. The approximate round-trip mileage for the tour is 200 miles.

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