The Kansas City Museum is a history museum. It is the City’s leading institution on local and regional history with the collection, capacity, mission, and vision to share the robust multicultural stories of Kansas City and its people.
The Kansas City Museum believes that recognizing and understanding the whole story of our City’s history is healing. Therefore, the Kansas City Museum aims to be the “Home of the Whole Story” where perspectives and experiences from individuals and communities that are often underrepresented and overlooked are acknowledged, honored, and elevated.
Mission: The Kansas City Museum preserves, interprets, and celebrates Kansas City through collections, exhibitions, and bold programs that reflect the City’s evolution and spirit, and engage visitors in unfolding stories about Kansas City’s vibrant history, cultural heritage, and pride.
Vision: The Kansas City Museum is a hub of learning, creativity, and collaboration where individuals and communities innovate and inspire engagement and civic unity.
Values:
- Community engagement
- Collaboration
- Historic preservation
- Educational impact
- Inclusiveness
- Inspiration to creative action
- Integrity
- Fiscal responsibility
The Kansas City Museum is a self-guided experience. Approximately 400 artifacts plus numerous images from the museum’s archives, exhibits, media, and site-specific art installations by Kansas City-based artists are on display.
First Floor:
The First Floor of Corinthian Hall has historically preserved, restored, and renovated rooms including:
- The Betty Milbank Waldrop Salon
- The Charles & Anna Milbank Library
- The Ann & Gary Dickinson Family Charitable Foundation Dining Room
- The Sunderland Foundation Living Room
- The Privitera Family and Mark One Electric Breakfast Room
These rooms have exhibits and historical objects that explore the history, legacy, and impact of the Long family and the architectural history of Corinthian Hall.
The First Floor has the following amenities:
- Café at 3218, The Jack F. and Glenna Y. Wylie Charitable Trust Café
- Wisteria – A retail boutique
The food and beverage program for Café at 3218 will start in 2022.
The following works of contemporary art are on the First Floor: Luminous by Linda Lighton, an installation including 18-lines of “Blind Boone’s Vision” from Olio by Tyehimba Jess and a digital print entitled Nest of Limbs by Jason Piggie, Cotton Wood by David Remley, and Seasons of the Sycamore Series by Dr. Charles Porter.
Second Floor:
The Second Floor of Corinthian Hall has main five exhibition galleries with historical objects that provide a history of Kansas City. The galleries feature the often untold stories of the City and its people. Four main galleries provide a chrono-thematic timeline of the City’s history. The fifth gallery showcases limited-run exhibits that take a deeper dive into the museum’s collection groups.
Exhibition Galleries:
- Culture Confluences: Rivers to 1870s, The Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area Gallery
- An Evolving City Landscape: 1880s to 1920s, The William T. Kemper Gallery
- Flourishing Populations and Industries: 1910s to 1940s, The Joseph Charles Cirese Sr. and Central Bank of Kansas City Gallery on behalf of the Dr. Dominic F. Tutera Family
- The Kansas City Spirit: 1940s to 1980s, The Edward F. Swinney Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee Gallery
- The Greater Kansas City Museum Collections: St. Joseph Hospital’s Donald Piper Medical Museum Collection, The Jean and Tom McDonnell Gallery
The Second Floor has a meeting and education room that is used for meetings, programs, special events, and temporary exhibits that connect to current topics and projects in Kansas City. “Into The Light” An Art Exhibit Honoring Victims of Human Trafficking is on view from January 20 – March 27.
The following works of contemporary art are on the Second Floor: Cordon d’Or by Marv Graff, Healing at the Roots by Clarissa Knighten, Ha · Hou by Mona Cliff, The Ties that Bind Us and Living Memory by Renée Cinderhouse. Portraits of Us by Zac Laman.
Third Floor:
The Third Floor of Corinthian Hall explores Kansas City’s past, present, and future including three exhibition galleries with historical objects and limited-run exhibits, and a 42-seat theater for films, programs, and events.
Exhibition Galleries:
- A Cultural & Community Restoration: 1970s to Present Day, The Edward F. Swinney Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee Gallery
- Our City, Our Stories – An exhibit featuring the personal stories of 21 Kansas Citians from racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse backgrounds and experiences
- Curating a Museum – An exhibit featuring a history of El Torreon and Cowtown Ballroom
- JE Dunn Construction Theater – A space for films and programs
