With
its 180 degree panorama, the old 12th Street Viaduct includes vistas
of what Kansas City used to look like in the 1800s. Dirty crest lines from the 1951 flood can
still be seen on the west end where it meets the ground. Brick warehouses survive with their faded stockyard
signage and you can still make out “Stowe Hardware” and “Kansas City Bolt, Nut,
and Screw.” I remember seeing the
latter’s name in Prime Cut starring
Lee Marvin. As it came into view, there
was a ripple of laughter from the audience, but, at least, the silly reaction
was checked by the cheers rewarding Hollywood for including a local scene in a
major production.
I
was a frequent visitor to Kansas City’s West Bottoms making my supply runs and
filling up Big Bird, the state truck, at the quickie mart, so I knew the
viaduct well. It’s similar to a
two-tiered Roman aqueduct only, instead of water, the first tier was for motor
traffic and the second, for horses and wagons.
When I left Kansas City for retirement the decision to preserve the
landmark had been made and city maintenance crews were busily resurfacing the
top road and patching the potted supporting columns.
I
wonder if they replaced or repaired the concrete railing on the top end where
the viaduct ends and the bluff begins. There’s
a scraped corner similar to what a glacier does to the valley rock it moves
though - only on a much smaller scale.
This time the scraping was done by a tractor trailer cutting the corner
too close and pinching in half a pedestrian who could not dart forward or
backwards and who could not jump over the rail because he was on a cliff. I remember that tragic tale because there
were TV reports about it and I saw the bloody scrape marks.
Those
who worked in the area also told me of the “Legend of the Naked Models.” It seemed like the fantasies blue collars
concoct during their lunch hours or inmates doing hard time, but they claimed
it was true and furthermore, I believed them.
Some avant-garde photographer and his gullible and clueless model are
always doing things like that in America and Kansas City has its Art
Institute. What little skepticism I initially
had occurred when I thought about the logistics of it all. Does an individual need a permit for being
naked in downtown Kansas City? When
would they shoot the pictures – at rush hour or on the weekends at night when
criminals, the homeless, and illegal aliens prowl the area?
Tales
of the viaduct are not complete without its comic relief. Concerned citizens reported suspicious
activity on the bluff under the viaduct.
Soon Kansas City police officials launched an investigation with onsite
officers, television reporters, and police K-9 units that had detected a foul odor
emanating from a suspicious stack of wooden pallets placed above a rectangular
depression.
Kansas City waited with baited breath the inevitable
headlines of “Mass Grave Found.” I was
not one of them because I knew the area and suddenly, there was not one word
from the police or the Media as to what happened. Turns out, they had inadvertently discovered a
latrine from a homeless camp site. The
foul odor - well, never mind.
