This Week in Kansas City History
Heat Wave
August 14, 1936: Kansas City records its highest temperature ever, 113 degrees Fahrenheit, causing a summer heat wave that sends area residents to Swope or Penn Valley parks to sleep at night in order to cool off.
The Way to Santa Fe
August 10, 1825: Representatives of the Osage tribes meet with American commissioners near present-day Council Grove, Kansas to negotiate a treaty giving the U.S. government rights to land for the establishment of the Santa Fe Trail, which will become a major trade route linking the greater Kansas City area to the Southwest.
Burnt End
August 5, 1901: A suspicious fire destroys Kansas City’s Crystal Palace, once a prime tourist attraction, only five days before its scheduled demolition.
Water Rights
August 2, 1951: Kansas City receives formal notification that the NAACP will bring suit against the municipal segregation policy at the swimming pool in Swope Park.
Hotel Horror
July 17, 1981: One hundred fourteen people die as two skywalks collapse at the Hyatt Regency Hotel during a tea dance.
