WWI Museum and Memorial

WWI Museum and Memorial

WWI Museum and Memorial Credit Visit KC

Built to honor those who fought valiantly during the Great War, Kansas City’s WWI Museum and Memorial is one of the nation’s best and most visited war memorials. Designed and constructed by local Kansas City citizens, the WWI Museum was a site for locals to remember the fallen and was later embraced by the country as genuine, authentic, accurate, and poignantly and unfailingly true to the legacy of the soldiers who fought.

In 1919, soon after the war ended, Kansas City natives raised over $2.5 million in just ten days to begin building the memorial. Liberty Memorial was dedicated in 1926 bringing out over 150,000 citizens to witness the ceremony officiated by President Calvin Coolidge. Over the years the city has continuously fought to support the iconic monument, raising money for restorations and later adding the museum with several wonderful exhibits further exemplifying the sacrifice and drive of those who participated in the war effort.

The WWI Museum works to educate the public on the Great War, interpreting history and presenting the facts as known by the greatest historians of our time and those who experienced the war firsthand. The museum contains over 75,000 items in its permanent collection with exhibits beginning with The Main Gallery displaying artifacts and personal histories moving chronologically from 1914-1919. Temporary exhibitions always focus on the first world war but may be in a number of ways like the Centenary of Australian War Art depicting over 100 years of Australian military from WWI through Afghanistan or Political Cartoons published during WWI.

The museum’s regular operating hours run Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am-5 pm.