A walk around the neighborhood

This morning we walked to Crown Center to take pictures of the Hallmark ornament window that was displayed on Times Square for Good Morning America from December 3-31. You can find this in the lower level at the bottom of the south escalators. Scott Butterfield, trend consultant and Hallmark employee for 20 years, used Hallmark's Keepsake Ornaments for inspiration as he incorporated iconic Kansas City scenes to build the window. The window includes five oversize ornaments that depict Kansas City scenes, including the Mayor's Christmas Tree and the J.C. Nichols Fountain. With nearly 200 LED lights, the Kansas City holiday display used almost a half pound of specially formulated iridescent flitter to create a sparkling snow effect.

Then we strolled over to beautiful Union Station. This fully restored 1914 landmark is one of Kansas City's treasures. What a great reconstruction! Closed in the 1980s, the Station sat empty and neglected, escaping demolition on several occasions. In 1996, a historic bi-state initiative was passed to fund the Station's renovation, which was completed in 1999.
The Station is once again a popular destination for the surrounding community just stopping by for lunch or to mail a letter from the post office in the west end of the Grand Hall. The station draws tourists from all over the world who marvel at the Grand Hall's 95-foot ceiling, three 3,500-pound chandeliers.

I've never seen anyone do this, but I've heard that some people lay on the floor on their backs just to gaze at the ceiling! We took this photo from the 3rd floor balcony.

Currently on display in Union Station is Canstruction®, a design/build competition sponsored by the Society for Design Administration (SDA). Teams of architects, engineers, and students mentored by SDA professionals compete to design and build giant structures made entirely from full cans of food. The results are displayed to the public as magnificent sculpture exhibits in each city where a competition is held. At the close of the exhibitions all of the canned food used in the structures is donated to local food banks for distribution to emergency feeding programs that include pantries, soup kitchens, elderly and day care centers. Since its inception, ten million pounds of food has been donated to aid in the fight against hunger. You can view Canstruction at Union Station through February 13.