Here come the waterworks: Kansas City launches bus tours to explore fountains
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- Tours are run by Kansas City Parks & Recreation and City of Fountains Foundation.
- Tours run June 17, 23, 28, July 1 and July 8 with departures at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
- Tickets are $75, sold rain or shine; proceeds will support fountain preservation.
In Kansas City’s early planning in the late 1800s, now-renowned landscape designer George Kessler saw a vision of utility and aesthetic — he wanted to harmonize the beauty of the city’s rolling hills, creeks and rivers with the practicality of emerging urban lifestyles. Glorious sculptures entangled in water spouts were erected across the city over the next century.
At the significant expense of low-income communities of color, the City of Fountains was created.
Local history buffs and the projected hundreds of thousands of visitors in town for the World Cup — some of who may have noticed the city’s obsession with water — can learn more about the history of 28 city fountains with Kansas City Parks and Recreation and City of Fountains Foundation’s new bus tours — running June 17, 23, 28, July 1 and July 8 from Mill Creek Park Fountain.
Tourists can tear up at Firefighter Memorial Fountain, capture the picturesque Rose Garden Fountain at Loose Park and sink into the history of not just fountains, but neighborhoods, cultural landmarks and public art across the city.
While private companies and COFF have offered various tours before, Jocelyn Ball-Edson at the COFF doesn’t believe that this special project will be returning any time soon.
Buses — an escape from Midwest summer heat that doesn’t require jumping into the fountains — take off from West 47th Street and Mill Creek Parkway at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on tour days. Attendees must check in 30 minutes prior to departing on the 2- to 2.5-hour tour. Visiting World Cup fans can register for a Spanish tour on June 17 or French tour on June 28.
With tickets being a steep $75 per person, it’s no wonder that the tours will happen rain or shine. Weather could, however, impact the number of stops or the route. Ticket proceeds are to be put toward preserving and maintaining the fountains.
Parking and transit shouldn’t be a barrier to attending. Nearby Country Club Plaza houses free parking garages and street parking — just be wary of time limits on street parking. Enforcement of the two-hour limit was recently bumped up, according to Plaza District Council. If arriving on the KC Streetcar, tour-goers can get off at the Plaza stop and easily spot and walk to the Mill Creek Park Fountain for check-in.
Brief off-the-bus visits at Firefighters Memorial Fountain and at Rose Garden Fountain — where bathrooms will be available — can get tourist up and moving during the 2-hour tour.
You can book your ticket for the guided tour by navigating to the bottom of COFF’s webpage about the tours.
