Along the eastern border of Kansas is the state capital of Topeka. For some reason I thought Topeka was the largest city in Kansas before I visited but it’s actually only the fourth. I always list the capitol buildings as my first photo in every state, but on this trip it actually was where I began my exploration of Kansas. I found the capital to be a nice clean welcoming city. About 125,000 people make this city their home. When I arrived to this state in August I had just been in India the week before. The dry temperatures here felt a million times better than the hot and humid conditions of India. It was nice to be able to walk around again and not be covered in sweat! Above is one of several government buildings along the main street of Topeka.
These photos were taken on a Saturday afternoon. Despite over 100,000 people in the city the downtown area was nearly completely empty! The only exception was a large group of what seemed to be high schoolers or college kids dressed up and getting their photo taken in front of the capitol building. Above is another government building, the department of travel & tourism! The building on the upper right got my attention from its massive size. I thought this might be a large cathedral but it’s actually Topeka high school. Below are two more shots of downtown Topeka all taken along 10th avenue. There were a few businesses open but this definitely wasn’t an exciting place to be at the time of my visit.
Only a mile away from the capitol area is probably the most famous museum in all of Kansas. Since it was so close I walked to the Brown Vs Board of Education museum. From the late 1800s through the 1950s many schools in America were separated by race. Prior to the 1950s, 17 states required racial segregation while 16 states made it illegal. The remaining parts of the country had no laws for it. In 1951 a class action lawsuit was filed against Topeka’s board of education calling the segregation in the state unconstitutional. In a landmark case and major historical turning point in the United States, the court ruled that segregation was indeed unconstitutional and a violation of the 14th amendment. The museum here details the background of the events leading up to the lawsuit and many of the people involved. The museum also continues with a modern section which discusses religious intolerance and other forms of bigotry around the country and world.
Despite being home to one of the most turning points in the country regarding civil rights, only a few miles from the museum is the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. This church is without question one of the biggest faces of modern day bigotry in the United States. They received world wide attention for their harsh interpretation of the bible and their hatred for homosexuals. They are especially known for appearing at military funerals around the country and holding signs that say such things as “God loves dead soldiers”. To be honest I expected a larger more public like church, but instead this I found this place to be more of an upscale home found in a quiet neighborhood. I never bothered to look into their opinions until I came upon their church, I actually never even realized they were based in Kansas until I arrived to Topeka. So curiosity got the best of me and I visited their website. They basically believe that “God loves the world” written in the bible isn’t meant to be taken literally and rather means he loves a very small percentage of people. The Westboro church even took the time to research every country in the world and write crimes they believe that each nation did! There isn’t a single nation or group of people they favor other than themselves. Above are some of their signs as well as a rainbow flag and the US flag both flying upside down on their property.
Just like I thought the Westboro church would be larger and on public property, I also mistakenly assumed most people in the neighborhood would be supporters. Other than the church itself, I didn’t see a single other home in the neighborhood that had any kind of hate or religious rhetoric on display. Actually a large percentage of houses in the area were flying the American flag.
I’d say my favorite place in Topeka was easily Gage Park. I almost didn’t visit here since I thought it would be nothing more than a large picnic area and a few local teams playing soccer or baseball. The park is actually huge and is filled with lots of different places to explore. It’s even big enough that it has a small train track for all the little kids! I had absolutely perfect weather when I visited. I was in the middle of a good book and wished I had brought it with me, I would have probably spent some time reading it in the garden section of the park.
Gage Park is also home to a water park, an outdoor theater and a zoo. I wasn’t really feeling like visiting the zoo at the time but maybe I should have gone. In 1991 this park was where the Westboro church began their crusade and is also known for being the beginning of one of Stephen King’s most famous books in the Dark Tower series. The photo on the right was also part of the 70 year old rose garden. Several benches like the one above were dedicated to people who had passed away.
