Kansas City Streetcar and The Western Auto Building

 

The Kansas City Streetcar passes in front of the Western Auto Building.

When my family and I left a restaurant recently near Kansas City’s Union Station, I saw the Kansas City Street car traveling south on Main Street. My daughter has moved near the route of the streetcar so some day soon I hope to hop on for a ride.

In the background is the Western Auto building on Grand Street. The building was constructed for the Coca-Cola Company in 1914 and later became the headquarters of Western Auto Supply Company. It is now a condominium residence. The Western Auto sign is a Kansas City, Missouri, landmark.  The Western Auto building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

According to Wikipedia, The KC Streetcar, formally branded as the RideKC Streetcar, is a streetcar system in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Construction began in May 2014. The system opened for service on May 6, 2016. The KC Streetcar is free to ride, as it is funded by a Transportation development district. As of April 30, 2018, the streetcar has a daily average ridership of 5,373 daily riders, logging over 4 million riders since opening.

The downtown streetcar runs along a 2.2-mile-long (3.5 km) route between the River Market and Union Station, running through the central business district and the Crossroads, mostly along Main Street. It makes stops about every two blocks and has 16 designed stops along the route. Along the way it connects directly with Amtrak, local and commuter RIDE KC bus services (including a direct route to Kansas City International Airport), and several B-cycle bike-share kiosks.

Proponents tout this initial linear segment as one of the simplest and straightest modern streetcar routes in the United States. All platforms offer level boarding and real-time arrival information.

About the Western Auto Building.

Kansas City Streetcar Website

About the Kansas City Streetcar

Cycling in Denmark

Bicyclists are everywhere in Copenhagen, and they are very skilled at maneuvering in traffic. Here, two young lovers hold hands as they speed down the street.

One of the first things my husband and I noticed in Copenhagen was that it’s a city on two wheels. The city is flat, has many bike lanes, a lot of narrow streets, limited parking in the city and everything costs a lot — at least for Americans. So bikes make a lot of economic sense. Almost 40 percent of the city’s inhabitants commute on bicycles.

A crowd of bicyclists peddle rapidly at rush hour on H.C. Andersens Boulevard at the Town Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Almost everyone on the bikes looked fit and attractive.  It was like being a Ralph Lauren ad without the pretentiousness. Copenhagen is considered the most bike-friendly city in the world. More people commute on bicycles in Copenhagen than in all of the much, much larger United States. Pedestrians need to be aware, because they will easily be knocked down at rush hour. There also were a lot of bikes in Aarhus, Denmark’s second largest city, which is also a college town.

A mother and her son bike to the store together in Copenhagen, Denmark.

A father and son ride a tandem bicycle in Copenhagen, Denmark.

A pedicab enters an historic prison area at Slutterigade in Copenhagen.

A biker crosses the courtyard of Amalienborg Palace, the winter residence of the Danish royal family. The equestrian statue depicts Amalienborg’s founder, King Frederick V.

Højbro Plads (Hojbro Square) is a popular spot for tourist and locals. On this July day, there were so many parked bicycles that there’s hardly room for people. Højbro is public square located between the adjoining Amagertorv and Slotsholmen Canal in the City Center of Copenhagen, Denmark. According to Wikipedia, It takes its name from the Højbro Bridge which connects it to the Slotsholmen island on the other side of the canal while Gammel Strand extends along the near side of the canal. The most striking feature of the square is an equestrian statue of Absalon, the warrior-bishop who has traditionally been credited as the founder of Copenhagen. It was inaugurated in 1901 to commemorate the septcentennial of his death.

 

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Click here to see my photographs of “Bicycles in Denmark” on Fine Art America.

How Denmark Became a Cycling Nation.

Wikipedia: Cycling in Copenhagen

Wikipedia: About Denmark.

The Official Website of Denmark.

The Danish Royal Couple on Bikes (Horses, Yacht…)

The Danish People are the Happiest People on Earth.

 

 

Some of my Postcards of Bicycles in Copenhagen:

Dude, Your Bus is Rad!

The ’68 VW bus has arrived in Kansas City.  How will this surfer-mobile fare in the Midwest, far from any toasty waves? 

The saga is detailed on The Thing About Life Is.