Daylight hours only are strongly recommended. Use common sense, stay aware of your surroundings and if the area doesn't seem safe, don't risk it.
This cache is a continuation from Electric Park I (GC7T3KE) located several miles to the north. It does not have to be found first but its description gives the beginning of the story.
Kansas City was growing to the south, and the Heim Brothers followed. Closing their original park in the East Bottoms, they opened the second Electric Park at the corner of Paseo and 47th on May 19, 1907.
Almost twice the size of the original, it was a marvel to behold. Lit by 100,000 electric bulbs, the park featured a huge variety of attractions, eventually including five roller coasters, an alligator farm, a recreational lake, a steam train, and more, all set within the well-maintained grounds. The famous composer John Phillip Sousa supposedly claimed the bandstand was one of the best in which his band had performed. One of the park's most famous attractions was its "Living Statuary" night show with dancers that would emerge from the park's fountain and entertain guests alongside lighting and water effects. Another was its grand nightly fireworks show. In 1911, over one million visitors came to the Electric Park, a number that puts it roughly in the ballpark of significantly larger (in size) regional amusement parks today.
At the same time that the second Electric Park was operating, one of America's most iconic figures was growing up in Kansas City--Walt Disney. His childhood home was only 15 blocks from the Electric Park, and at the age of 9 some claim that he repeatedly visited the park along with his younger sister. It is likely no coincidence that, over 40 years later, he would incorporate many of the elements of the park into his park, Disneyland, including a steam train, attention to landscaping, and perhaps most notably, the nightly fireworks show.
As the years passed, many of the electric parks in the U.S. failed, some to competition and some to fire. By the end of World War I, most were gone. But the Kansas City Electric Park held on until 1925, when it was struck by a devastating fire. Interestingly, this fire was observed by another future American icon--a young Walter Cronkite, who wrote about it later in his life. The park continued operating after the fire. One source says that it closed at the end of that season, ending its run with one last fireworks extravaganza. Other sources claim that some public dances and swimming continued until a second fire in 1934. Prohibition had put the Heim brothers out of business, and there was no longer capital to rebuild the park.
What was left of one of the coasters was torn down in 1948 to build the Village Green Apartments on the site. Today, no trace of what was one of America's great early amusement parks remains. The Heims and their business ventures faded into history and obscurity. But its legacy lives on through the man it inspired and the park that he built. Disneyland changed the amusement industry forever and has impacted the lives of the millions who visited it in significant ways, and an important part of its legacy can be traced back here, to 47th and Paseo. To three brothers who made the best of a failed business idea, and turned it into something amazing. And that's worth remembering.
As you find the cache, you will be standing on the grounds of what once was the second Electric Park. Take a moment to imagine what it was like, and reflect on how what was here ultimately became a part of the lives of hundreds of millions.
You are seeking a bison tube. Daylight hours only are strongly recommended. Use common sense, stay aware of your surroundings and if the area doesn't seem safe, don't risk it.
While the story of the Heims is complete, there was a third Electric Park in Kansas City--Lincoln Electric Park. Visit GC7T47E to learn more.
A subset of my sources, search for "kansas city electric park" in any search engine to learn more:
https://rcdb.com/10626.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Park,_Kansas_City
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Park
http://www.kchistory.org/week-kansas-city-history/tripping-light-fantastic-and-then-some