Watts Mill Waterfall

Location:  Indian Creek at W 103rd Street, Kansas City, MO

Found:  May 15, 2016

Next to Marco Polo’s Italian Market and along the Indian Creek Bike Trail that passes by here is the Watts Mill Historical Site.  There are a couple of plaques, although one is basically faded to the point of illegibility.  There is also a “sign” erected over a couple of old millstones with plaques on either side with information about the site and the millstones.  I did not take a picture of the millstones because they have been vandalized with spray paint.

There is a small park on the site and there is an overlook from where you can see the waterfall.  If you walk south along the bike path there are some breaks to where you can get down on the rocks right on the creek and right on top of the waterfall.  I walked up the creek a little ways and found a small flock of geese sunning themselves on a rock.  I also walked down the path towards the bridge on 103rd Street and took a couple of long shots from there.

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Ward Parkway Center Fountain

Location:  Ward Parkway Center, 8600 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, MO

Found:  May 12, 2016

This fountain is located at the east entrance to the Ward Parkway Center underneath the skylight dome.  Lots of granite tile but it blends in well with the colour and design scheme of the area under the dome.

Water flows out the top and falls down to the pedestal and then off the pedestal into the basin below.  For an indoor fountain they apparently have trouble with wet floors as there were yellow warning cones next to the fountain, as you can see in the pictures.  Of course, one of the exterior doors was propped open and the wind was blowing in while I was there.  Cause and effect maybe?

The Nymph

Location:  West 69th Terrace and State Line Road, Mission Hills, KS

Found:  April 5, 2015

This sculpture by Raffaelo Romanelli was purchased and placed in 1963 and originally meant to be fountain.  However, the water features were never installed and it became just a sculptural piece.

You can see how the water features would have taken shape.  The face right underneath the nymph looks like where the water would have come out and gone down into the basin below with another face keeping an eye on the drain.

The Nymph herself sits up top.  The nude figure has definitely seen better days as it looks like the elements have not been too kind to her.  Her left arm looks to have been repaired and she is missing most of her feet.

The sculpture is located in the middle of a traffic island at West 69th Terrace on the Kansas side of State Line Road.  She is at the center of the island and is the focal point for a small park.  I took the pictures in early spring when the foliage had not yet bloomed out.  I have driven past here many times and in the summer it is very green and lush.  Perhaps I will go back in the summer and take more pictures and update this post.

Brookwood Fountain

Location:  Brookwood Road and State Line Road, Mission Hills, Kansas

Found:  September 8, 2013 (original), July 4, 2014 (update)

This neighborhood fountain is located on an island on Brookwood Road at State Line Road.  Fountain consists of three children standing on a pedestal around a column.  A bowl sits on top of the column and the water bubbles out of the fountain in the bowl and then overflows down to the rectangular basin below.

I originally visited this site on September 8, 2013 but the fountain was not running at that time.   On July 4, 2014, I visited again and found the fountain to be operating.  I took all new pictures and updated this post to reflect the fountain in operation.

Stratford Gardens Park Fountain

Location:  West 63rd Street and State Line Road, Kansas City, MO

Found:  September 8, 2013

Fountain is found on a triangular island between West 62nd Street and West 63rd Street just east of State Line Road.  Consists of a large antique horse trough attached to a wall with a smaller trough affixed to the wall above it.  This fountain is currently inoperable.  You can see the plumbing on the back of the wall though so perhaps some effort has been made to try and get it running again.  The picture on the Foundation website has the fountain full of flowers and plants, which may be what the containers, in one of the pictures below, are used for.  This fountain is one block west of the Ward Parkway Mirror Pool.

P.S. – This is the 100th post on this blog!

Mission Hills City Hall Fountain

Location:  Mission Hills City Hall, 6300 State Line Road, Mission Hills

Found:  August 17, 2013

In front of the Mission Hills City Hall is this fountain.  In the middle of the fountain is a boy standing on top of a snail.  Water comes out not only from the 6 jets, but also from the snail’s antennae.

September 2, 2013 – Removed old pictures.  Added new pictures.

City of Westwood Hills Fountain

Location:  West 50th Street and State Line Road, Westwood Hills

Found:  July 27, 2013

A sign and small fountain welcoming people to the city of Westwood Hills, “The Most Beautiful Little City in Kansas.”

October 12, 2013 – Removed old pictures.  Added new pictures.